When you are in sales you always have to be ready for objections to the sale. Most objections I’m ready for but occasionally I run into something truly baffling. The concept that one can be “too broke to barter” is one of those ideas that eludes me. My goal here is to map out exactly what the issues are when you run into someone who says this what you can do about it.
The objection
In case you haven’t run into this issue before, here’s how it usually goes: Somewhere usually pretty early in the discussion with a potential trade partner the talks break down. You are told that they simply can’t continue to trade anymore. They have hard-cash expenses and they just afford to spend “real money” to earn trade credits that they can’t use to pay their bills.
What’s behind it
Usually there are two things going on behind the scenes when you hear this:
- Fear. It’s a very motivating emotion. People with a weak business are running scared and doing anything they can think of (rational or not) to stop the bleeding.
- On top of that there is often a basic lack of understanding about how barter works. People who are not effective at spending trade credits wisely will never understand the real value of barter
What you can do about it
Honestly many times you can’t do much. Scared people are pretty tough to reason with. If they will listen with an open mind, try to address both the fear and the educational aspects of the issue. With regard to fear, I simply tell them that I understand where they are coming from. It’s tough for a lot of businesses now. The good news is that barter can help them through this. It’s a source of relief, not trouble. I explain that I used barter to buy things that I would otherwise have to spend cash on, then I can take that saved cash and use it to pay rent, utility bills and other things that I can’t barter for. During lean times it can be very tough to find new clients and keep staff busy, but barter makes it much easier to bring in those new clients. My barter exchanges are my secret sales weapon. I then spend those barter credits on essential services for my business. Offer to help your barter partner find smart ways to spend the barter credits that you want to pay them with. Assure them that you can work together to find how to spend them BEFORE you make your deal with them.
I will sometimes personalize the issue and tell them that times can be tough for me as well and how much barter has helped me. In times when there wasn’t money for bonuses, I could still do nice things for my staff. Same thing on a personal level. At times when I couldn’t buy some things for my kids, I was still able to keep all three of my kids in karate lessons because of barter.
If you are one of those people who doesn’t think you can afford to barter any more, please feel free to give me a ring. I’d love to see if I can brainstorm with you about how you can use barter to help your business through tough times. Now more than ever it’s time to stick together and help one another out.
One more thought before I wrap this up. If you are in debt, it is possible that barter can help you dig your way out. Talk to your barter broker and see what ideas they have. You can also offer to trade directly with folks that you owe money to. Even if it’s only a partial payment, it generally means a lot to your creditors to see how motivated you are to make good on your debt.
Assuming you truly understand barter you can NEVER be too broke to barter. You can only be too broke NOT to barter.
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