BarterNews.com � World�s Largest Depository Of Barter Information

Hundreds of valuable articles, techniques, and strategies are found in the following various barter categories:

�  Entrepreneur�s Corner,

�  Travel,

�  Media,

�  Trade Exchange,

�  Corporate Barter,

�  Offset & Countertrade,

�  Secondary Capital,

�  Real Estate,

�  Community Barter, and

�  Restaurant & Entertainment

(The Barter Categories are found on the horizontal bar at the top � 3^rd button from right.)

The International Reciprocal Trade Association has announced that it will be offering Certified Trade Broker (CTB) and Registered Trade Broker (RTB) training from 3:00pm to 6:00pm on Thursday, September 19, thus allowing brokers to attend the full agenda the following two days. The new training time will improve the overall convention experience for every broker and owner attending the IRTA conference at the Venetian Resort. 

Kim Strabley from IMS and Dea Allgood from BizXchange will administer the CTB and RTB training and testing program for IRTA. They are both enthusiastic about the new format.

Says Strabley, �Education is the key to successful brokering. The CTB/RTB course is a way to enlighten new brokers and reinvigorate seasoned brokers and owners alike. While there is a major focus on brokering, there is also discussion about the barter industry, common currencies, trade dollar economics, barter terminology, reciprocals and travel. Brokers will have the opportunity to share ideas and discuss handling difficult issues. Taking the course does not require you to take the exam. So why not come for the educational value?�

�We are trying something new this year at the request of the IRTA members,� added Allgood. �The course will be administered on Thursday afternoon to allow brokers to attend more convention seminars on Friday and Saturday. Everyone arrives on Thursday and since there is no agenda for brokers that afternoon, we chose to make quality use of that time.�

For a CTB or RTB application, e-mail Kim at kim.strabley@IMSbarter.com.

For convention registration, click here. 

Is Your Trade Exchange Missing Out On Valuable New Business?

If your barter company�s listing on BarterNews.com isn�t current, you are definitely missing out on new business. The web site BarterNews.com receives heavy traffic � with over 150,000 page-views every month. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives check the thousands of articles, the weekly �Tuesday Report,� and the �Contacts Section� of our site. They use the latter to find barter companies with which to do business.

Is your barter company�s listing up-to-date?

To keep your listing current is very easy. See the links below to (A) update any changes to your company�s listing, such as new location, phone number, web site or other information, and (B) if your company has not been listed.

Here�s how to get on board:

To make changes to your listing click here.

For new listings click here.

A team from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, set out to establish the definitive answer to the question: �If I spend this much money on advertising, what can I expect to see as a result?�

Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Colgate-Palmolive and a host of other big companies collectively invested more than a million dollars so that Wharton might track the return-on-investment experienced by several dozen small businesses as a result of advertising.

These businesses were scientifically monitored and measured for seven full years. The final report filled more than 2,500 pages, and the following conclusions were reached:

1) There is no direct correlation between dollars invested and results gained.

In other words, how much you spend and what you can expect to see in return are not directly linked by any kind of mathematical equation.

2) Results are inextricably linked to the message.

Two advertisers invest the same amount of money, reaching the same target audience. The difference between succeeding brilliantly and failing miserably was in the message of their ads. Ads that speak to the heart of the customer and touch a nerve are the ones that turn little companies into big companies.

But few people know how to write such an ad. And there is no evidence to suggest that the goal of merely getting one�s name out there will help you in the slightest. The Wharton study indicates everything hinges on the message you attach to your name. Is it boring? Is it believable? Is it relevant to the perceived need of the target audience?

3) Results increase with repetition.

When you�ve identified a message that generates a positive response and you deliver it consistently, business growth in year two will be approximately twice the growth of year one. Growth in year three will be about triple the growth of year one...with growth measured in dollars, not percentages.

Following year three, anything can happen. Your business can explode exponentially, or it can flatten out as though hitting a glass ceiling. The difference at this point is in the clients, not in the ads.

To find the answer to the above question, consider this: What makes my business work?� In retailing most business owners will say the critical function is providing good service, providing quality control in product selection, maximizing sales, or turning inventory.

Every one of these is a characteristic of a well-operated retail business. But the critical function for any retail operation is, pure and simple, foot traffic. That�s why retailers pay more per square foot for space in a major regional mall, as opposed to lesser-priced space in a shopping center three miles away, or the even lower rent in strip stores and free standing locations.

A restaurant environment has a different critical function, because a restaurant is not a retail store. In a restaurant you�re absolutely limited by the amount of tables available in your unit. So unless you have unlimited dining space, �table turns� is a critical function for you. Yes, good food and excellent service is important, but the �heart and soul� of a restaurant operation is the extent which you are capable of filling and then turning your tables.

In both instances the critical function is discernible: for retailing it�s foot traffic, for restaurateurs it�s table turns. Hence, the entrepreneurial retailer who discovers a unique way to maximize the foot traffic through the door, or the restaurateur who finds new ways to speed the turns of tables, will obviously benefit in the process.

Not only must you ask yourself the question, �What makes my business work?� But you must take the next step and follow through after you�ve answered the question. This requires implementation of necessary programs that you must design.