July 22, 2025 • 24 mins
Trader Stu shares strategic approaches for blending trade and cash to maximize business revenue and expand customer reach with real-world examples from new members.
• Combining trade with cash transactions creates a powerful marketing strategy that preserves cash while driving new business
• Birch Run Speedway uses trade for ticket sales while keeping concessions, merchandise, and sponsorships cash-only
• Customers who attend events on trade often spend more cash on-site since they perceive their admission as "free"
• Filling otherwise empty seats or appointment slots with trade customers brings in additional revenue with no incremental cost
• Salon example shows how to accept trade for select services (red light therapy, facials) while keeping high-cost services cash-only
• Trade clients often become loyal cash customers and refer others to your business
• Consider trade as part of your marketing budget, not a replacement for cash sales
• The strategic approach works for nearly any business with unused capacity or perishable inventory
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello and welcome to the Trading Post Podcast, where
we unlock the secrets ofbusiness-to-business trade, dive
into powerful networkingstrategies and share my exciting
journey of using a podcast tomarket my business instead of
relying on SEO.
I'm your host, trader Stu.
Hello and welcome back to theTrading Post Podcast.
(00:27):
I am your host, trader Stu.
Of course, this episode issponsored by Metro Trading
Association and the MichiganRenaissance Festival coming soon
Next month, actually August.
I'm excited.
Be sure to check that out.
I want to get right into ittoday and talk about a couple of
things about blending trade andcash and the reason why I say
that I just happen to havesigned up.
(00:47):
My two last members orpotential members or future
members that I signed up becausethey're not officially in the
system yet.
Just say it like that.
Anyway, there are new up andcoming members and one of them
is the Birch Run Speedway.
Of course, it's kind of like,if you're around the
neighborhood that I'm in, wecall it Dixie Motor Speedway.
As a matter of fact, I thinktheir caller ID still says that
(01:09):
when they call in.
That's just what I grew up with.
They're the figure eight bustrack in Birch Run, where it's
always fun to see them intersectand smash in the middle.
It's kind of like a derby.
And then, of course, if you'rein the area, it's always like
(01:30):
Pine Knob.
They called it DTE EnergyTheater or something like that
for a while, because DTE boughtit, but everyone the old school
folks, just called it Pine Knoband could never convert and
acclimate over to DTE.
So to me, if I say Dixie MotorSpeedway, I'm talking about
Birch Run Speedway.
They just got new owners orsomething like that and changed
the name, and then I also signedup a salon.
So I want to use both of theseas an example of how you can
leverage trade or barter creditsfor additional cash.
(01:52):
Now I found both of these,these establishments, on a
platform called Tease the Deal,and basically they're
advertising for business, right?
So what is trade all about?
Bringing additional businessthat you wouldn't otherwise had.
So I was like, well, I'll givethem a call and the first thing
they can say is no, and theyboth said yes.
(02:15):
So one thing that I wanted tomention about the Speedway is
that they will take trade.
So what we're gonna do is likewhat we do at Michigan
Renaissance Festival we buytrade.
Are the tickets up front andErebus to the Haunted House in
Pontiac that's, I think, in theGuinness Book of World Records.
We buy both of them up frontand we sell the tickets for them
(02:38):
.
So let's just say we buy Idon't know $1,000 worth of
tickets at 20 bucks a hitter Ican't remember what it was, but
just using numbers and thenwe'll then turn around and sell
that.
But the benefit is that they'llget the trade, you know,
upfront and then we are now incharge of offloading those
tickets for them.
So it's a win-win for them.
We're literally their sales andmarketing team that they don't
(03:00):
pay for until well, actuallythey get it up front, which is
rare doing tickets like that.
So Speedway doesn't mean thesame thing.
So we're going to buy.
I think they charge $15 perseat.
All right, we're back.
I'm actually recording this atwork and the phone rings, so I
had to go ahead and grab that.
So anybody who's out theretrying to use podcast to help
generate additional business youdon't really got to take off.
(03:22):
You know extra time and be timeaway from the time of family
and kids Do it at work, hitpause when the phone rings and
continue on your way, right.
So, at any rate, what I wassaying was that blending trade
and cash is that it's a twotiered approach and that you can
take your trade on tickets butthen you're going to get cash on
food, drinks and evenmerchandise.
So, like in the way of Arabist,they sell swag.
(03:45):
You know, on cash you can't buyhats and t-shirts and
sweatshirts on trade.
I don't think they sell food ordrinks, maybe they do, I think
they do, anyway, it doesn'tmatter.
And then of course, at theSpeedway I think they have beer
and drinks and of course youknow swag.
So there's that.
It's kind of like I don't sayit's a no brainer, it sounds
(04:07):
kind of rude or whatever likethat, but I think it's a no
brainer and we'll get into thesalon here in a second too on
what she does.
So a couple more benefits ofselling tickets on trade.
So it fills the seats with newcustomers when they move in.
With trade you tap into theuntapped barter market, filling
otherwise empty seats andthere's no incremental cost, but
(04:28):
you do get a larger audience.
And then of course, you reach anetwork of barter members to
introduce your venue to them andindividuals outside of your
typical circle, driving a lot offirst-time visits and new
relationships, because everyonein the barter system is our
business owners essentiallyright, and then of course, that
(04:49):
preserves their cash reserves.
So instead of advertising,spend or doing deep discounts
which is where I found theSpeedway it's kind of like a
Groupon, but a local Grouponthat we have around here in the
metro area they now get fullprice, full value for their
tickets on trade and it uses uptheir spare inventory or their
(05:10):
empty seats, because I mean,I've been there a lot of times
and I don't think it's ever beena full house Like you can't sit
down anywhere.
You know what I mean.
You gain new customers and youkeep your cash in the bank for
other expenses.
So your cash, I always say youknow, save your cash for things
that you can't get on trade.
So power, gas, whatever yourutilities, and maybe payroll
(05:31):
things like that.
But your barter, you need tothink about if you got
advertising or you need to getmaybe I don't know plumbing,
electrical, seal coating, ifthey have it paint, striping,
stuff like that.
Look at trade first and thenyou'll get that.
You know, save that cash in thebank for other expenses.
So think of trade and thenbarter and then down the line
(05:53):
cash right.
So we'll trade and barter.
I say it one of the same.
The reason why I go back andforth.
I just people say it.
We're called Metro TradingAssociation, so it's trade.
But when I say trade, peoplethink I'm in the stock market
floor in New York City.
And then when I say barter,they think of you're trading
services without getting paid.
You're just like one for one.
(06:14):
So like, let's just say they'relike oh, I don't need whatever
you know, bananas for my ticketsfor Speedway.
I have enough bananas, I don'tneed to barter anything.
I'm like no, it's not the samething, it's like a hybrid
approach.
It's B2B barters like trade.
So attendees who get in on tradeare less likely or more likely
(06:35):
to purchase concessions.
Right, because they've gottheir tickets.
They feel like they're gettingin for free, even though they're
not, because they traded theirservices for it.
So they're getting this ticketbasically at their wholesale
cost.
They're going to probably spendmore there and then that'll
generate more direct cashrevenue For many venues.
The margins on food andbeverages, of course, exceed the
(06:57):
ticket profits.
We all know that about movietheaters.
Why movie theaters right now?
Why can't sign them up?
I know why because they'recorporations.
But I should be able to sign upevery movie theater in the area
on trade.
It doesn't make any sense notto, because they don't make any
money on the ticket sales.
It's all about the popcorn popand candy, right?
So of course, hey, guess what?
(07:19):
You'll get more word of mouthand return on your business.
So, barter, visitors who have agreat experience will recommend
your event and then they'llpotentially return and bring
their guests, friends, family orwhoever who will pay cash next
time, because, guess what?
They're not trade.
So they're going to tell peoplelike, oh man, if you've seen
the bus races or the Derby andon Birch Run, you should go.
(07:42):
Of course, everyone knows wordof mouth.
Marketing is the best,referrals are the best.
Boom, you're going to get more.
You know, seats butts in seatsthat way.
So it's a win-win for cash flow.
There's no risk ofcannibalizing your core revenue.
By segmenting which products aresold via trade, you protect
your core business cash assetswhile leveraging your spare
capacity for marketing and reachcash assets while leveraging
(08:05):
your spare capacity formarketing and reach.
Like I said, the best way touse your trade dollars for these
guys, I think, is going to befor more marketing.
Turn trade into cash indirectly, even though your tickets are
fulfilled in trade.
Every attendee becomes a cashcustomer once they're in the
venue.
Like I said, there's yourconcessions and then I think,
the drivers, the pit crew, alsosell things too, you know, to
(08:26):
help fund things.
But then you get the networkingeffect which barter guests.
Often they're business owners,right?
Like I said, they'reprofessionals, prime candidates
for group booking, sponsorshipsand future cash deals, because I
thought about that too.
If we can get them to acceptsome trade dollars for banner
advertisements out in the circle, like out in the racetrack, or
(08:47):
even maybe sponsorships, I'm notsure how that whole gig works,
but like it's funny, a funeralhome, I know, is one of the
sponsors there.
I'm like, it just seems I don't.
It seems like a bad karma, likehaving a funeral home, you know
, sponsor a high-risk sport.
To me I'd be like, instead ofRed Bull sponsoring all these
skydiving things or, you know,these high-risk adventures, it's
(09:09):
like here's a funeral home,it's a genius idea, but anyway,
what else?
Here's some pro tips for venuesand the event planners, if
you're listening.
Set trade ticket limits.
Get the cap number of ticketsavailable via barter to prevent
diluting your regular audienceand keep events feeling
exclusive.
So I mean, obviously they'regoing to sell me so many dozens
(09:30):
or hundreds of tickets perseason, I imagine, and we'll go
from there.
You promote your concessionspecials so you encourage your
higher cash spend at concessionswith exclusive deals, combo
offers or a trade night special.
That's a good idea.
And then track and upsellbarter attendees, collector
email info when they read dinotickets that encourage the
(09:52):
repeat visits and cash onlyincentives and then clear staff
instructions.
Each staff should know whichones barter and cash what.
They don't got to worry aboutthat because the salon owners
that is owner and then the trade.
Everyone at the track isn'tgoing to have to know the
difference between barter versuscash.
(10:14):
So talking points andconversation starters how trade
brought tickets into the cash atthe snack bar is one thing that
the members that are going tobe there might think now, right
outside the box, like man, Idon't even think about at my own
establishment, whatever they do, let's just say they're in
Arcade and let's just say, oh,you know what.
(10:36):
Let's say they're with a friendand they own Arcade, like, for
example, let's just say Dave andBuster's.
This is a good example.
Supposed to say Dave andBuster's, right, this is a good
example.
I could sell, maybe like 50credits on trade to get a card
at you know the arcade.
They pay nothing for thatbecause they already own the
machines, let's just say, butthey're going to get cash for
(10:57):
the beer and pizza sales.
Boom.
You know, sometimes it takes alittle extra just to think
outside the box and be like howcan I leverage this to get more
cash?
Right, you're gonna, of course,pack the stands or your
business.
It'll boost your cash registers, and letting inventory go
unsold is more expensive thantrading for new customers.
(11:19):
Well, I already said that,because if you're gonna lose the
inventory, if you alreadybought the food and it gets
thrown out, well that sucks.
You might as well get somebarter for it.
Barter bucks, right.
And then, of course, younetwork your way to cash sales,
one barter kick at a time.
The guy who owns this place ownscar dealerships, so he knows
(11:39):
all about that.
There's plenty of venues in thecountry that use this exact
model.
Prevents the cash flow, keepsseats filled and then boosts
overall revenue, and especiallyduring off-peak times for less
popular events.
There's another point there too.
If you have an off-peak times,you know it's a great time for
(12:01):
me to send us an email and say,hey, can you promote this one,
because they think they're goingto have maybe some low seat
numbers.
You know, it's a great time forme to send us an email and say,
hey, can you promote this one,because they think they're going
to have maybe some low seatnumbers.
You know, of course, the morepeople in the stands there at a
situation like this, the moreenergy, the better the drivers
are.
Maybe I don't know, but eitherway it's a win-win.
So another one I wanted to talkabout real quick I got a few
(12:22):
minutes left is the salon.
So she said she'll offer atrade for services like she's
got a red light therapy boothwhich is kind of like a tanning
bed.
It looked like, but they usered lights instead of UV lights.
She has an IV vitamin drip soyou can go there.
You can get hooked up with abunch of like different you know
, vitamins, magnesium, whateveryou're lacking.
(12:44):
She'll also do waxing.
They do, I think, from head totoe waxing, eyebrow threading
and she'll do facials on trade.
But she can't offer the weightloss services that she has or
the supplements, because theprofit margin I think she said
just is not there Because, likeI said, we do charge a
percentage to bring people inand it's also very expensive for
(13:07):
her.
I think she said her averageticket for the weight loss
service is two grand and sothat'd be a big hit for her.
I don't know what her profitmargin is on that, but she wants
to start out small.
But I said, don't worry aboutit, and here's why I'll tell you
in a minute She'll get moretraffic into the establishment
and here's why I'll tell you ina minute She'll get more traffic
into the establishment and shemight have otherwise had that
(13:27):
without me bringing them in ontrade.
So If they're a local salon andthey're a small business and
many are, and we have hadfranchise too, salons the hybrid
trade model will boost herbusiness and here's why she
accepts the trade for selectservices.
Like I said, she'll do the redlight therapy of vitamin drips,
(13:49):
waxing, eyebrow threading andfacials.
That excludes the high cost lowmargin items like due to the
profit margins, weight lossservices and supplements that
she can't take and that remainscash only.
But she'll boost the foottraffic in there by tapping into
the barter network reaches newcustomers and new groups of
clients who may not haveotherwise visited.
(14:10):
People will drive for trade.
They just will.
And you got upsellopportunities.
And that's what I was gettingat is that once the clients are
in the door for a service ontrade, they'll more likely learn
about and potentially upgradeto the salon's exclusive weight
loss programs and products forcash sales.
So while they're in there, like, oh, we had this, like I don't
know, fish oil pill, I don'tknow.
You know you should take thisand it's 20 bucks for the bottle
(14:33):
, but we can't take the trade onit because I whatever.
So, yeah, okay, well, maybethey're already there and it was
by the $20 bottle on cash,that'll maximize her revenue per
visit.
So that owner now leveragestrade as a marketing tool which
is what I've always said itshould be and you use it to turn
your unsold appointmentinventory time into growth
(14:55):
opportunities and cashtransactions.
Like I told her on the phone, Isaid look, if your red light
therapy booth isn't being used,if you're open from 9am to 6pm
and it's not on all the time,you're losing money, right?
You don't get that time back.
So let's throw some extrapeople in there and keep the
lights on, and more than one way.
(15:16):
I guess you could think aboutit.
But yeah, you know, I just kindof, I just have fun with it.
So she's like, oh yeah, that'sa really good idea.
Why not If the booth's notbeing used?
I mean, that's time, I'll neverget back.
Boom, we'll throw maybe somebarter folk in there and then
done so.
A couple of key takeaways onthis one Selective trading
(15:37):
allows service businesses toprotect their bottom line while
increasing revenue exposure.
So, anything in the servicesindustry anybody, I think
anybody if you are not bookedout three months or whatever,
you need to consider taking atrade clients here and there to
keep your door spinning.
You know, especially services,because all you have is usually
(16:00):
in services is your time andknowledge.
I say it again, I hate to sayit it's a no-brainer.
It's a no-brainer because ifyou're an electrician and you're
not wrenching constantly onsomething that's electrical and
making money, you need to takeon some trade clients.
Consider it, don't considerwell, I need cash.
(16:20):
Put trade into your marketingbracket If you have.
I say I spend 10% on marketingout of my revenue.
I go right back to my marketingbudget.
Your trade needs to be part ofyour marketing budget.
And then here's what's funnyabout that your marketing budget
(16:44):
will now become into your tradebudget because you can buy
marketing on trade, so.
But a lot of people just can'tthink like that outside the box.
They they're trying to replace,you know, cash with trade,
trade with cash.
And well, I need to pay mybills, I got to pay my employees
.
I'm like, yeah, but aren't youadvertising?
Oh yeah, okay.
Well, instead of spending athousand dollars cash on
(17:06):
marketing, spend whatever $500 amonth cash and then 500 trade,
because you're going to getmoney in trade.
So it's a win-win,win-win-win-win.
Also, one thing to think aboutis that trade clients become
loyal cash customers, and that'sbecause with the right upsell
(17:27):
strategies, it's a strongerin-person experience than seeing
it online, and you got to thinkabout that too.
Trade clients also will kind ofautomatically become loyal
customers, because the way tradeassociations work is that they
only allow so many types of onekind of business in a certain
area.
At least they should, unlessit's restaurants.
(17:48):
Well, I don't know, maybe evenaccept restaurants, because if
you got two taco joints, Iprobably wouldn't want to do
that if they're across thestreet from each other or
neighbors, you know what I Imean.
So I would give whoever signsup first boom and then, if
they're, if they ever say youknow, I got, I'm too busy, I
can't take any more trade.
I'm like, okay, well, sign upyour neighbor and then boom, you
(18:10):
know, now that's how you gettwo taco places in the same area
or whatever.
It's an example.
But generally business ownersof restaurants will refer the
other business owners that theyknow, friends or whatever, or
networking partners, becausethey don't sell the same thing.
Like I just had one of ourclients refer another client.
But one guy is a bar who hasarcade games and it's called One
(18:33):
Eye Jacks and what do you callit?
Not horseshoes, but bean bags,cornhole, he's at cornhole
tournaments and I said, hey, youknow, would you recommend if I
had this guy call you fromRosita Streets who does like
empanadas and you know he's gotoxtails and plantains, dude, oh,
the plantains are awesome there.
If you ever go there I thinkit's on Van Dyke and 23 Mile or
(18:57):
something like that off the topof my head you need to get the
plantains.
Oh, my God, awesome To die for.
So that's why I signed him up,actually because I found out he
had plantains.
Like, you got to sign up, dude,you just do Because you have
plantains and I want plantains.
On trade.
He's like, okay, and thenactually, what's awesome is that
he immediately took me to hisneighbor, who happens to be a
(19:18):
taco joint.
I say taco Mexican joint,mexican restaurant, and he said,
hey, man, you got to sign upfor this.
This is a great idea.
And the guy was like literallyI interrupted him in the middle
of construction.
So he's like, yep, sounds good,like I'll be with you, like get
a hold of me in a couple moremonths, because I just can't
right now I'm still setting up,my shelves are empty, I've got
no customers yet and you know Ineed to get some money first.
(19:41):
I'm like I'll get it.
So actually, oh my God, Iforget to follow up with that
guy.
I forget to follow up withRosita's neighbor.
Okay, anyway, so that's why youtalk out loud sometimes,
because I get so busy witheverything, I'm like, oh, whoops
(20:01):
, I didn't get back with thatguy.
So I think it's been longenough.
He should be open.
He should be getting businessin the door anyway.
So we'll see.
What else can we talk about here?
The model.
This model can be adopted for alot of different kinds of
different businesses.
Focus on what you can offer ontrade to drive the interest and
then keep up your high margininventory sensitive offerings
that are a cash exclusive.
So a lot of things have lowmarkups, right, but you get
(20:24):
what's called, you know, lossleaders.
So like, for example, costco,their loss leader is chickens,
those rotisserie chickens.
They should just take those ontrade and then bring people in
the door.
And I know I can't get Costcoon trade.
That'd be a dream come true,holy crap, that'd be awesome.
But what else?
Oh, my grandpa owned adrugstore.
(20:44):
His milk was, I think, a lossleader, he said.
When he had sold gallons ofmilk, I think he said it either
broke even or came out slightlynegative to beat everybody else
in town.
But that brought people in thedoor to buy the milk there, to
grab maybe a few other thingswhile they're there.
He also had a restaurant inthere.
He also, of course, was apharmacy.
(21:05):
So you know it was a reallynice drugstore, way cooler than
like CVS or.
You know, all those guys areout of business but and I sadly
enough they came in, put themout of business, bought the
drugstore, then turned it into aparking lot, it leveled it, put
up a brand new building downthe road and now that one's
(21:27):
empty because they're out ofbusiness.
Crime shame, anyway.
That's why you diversifyportfolios.
You know you got big playersand then they I digress Anyway.
So I hope you enjoyed that.
There's some examples on howtrading associations empower
members to grow smartly, usingflexibility and creativity to do
(21:48):
that for you.
And you know, like I said,think outside the box.
You're thinking of trade.
What can I offer on trade andwhat can I maybe hold for cash?
Let me use trade to bringpeople in the door and use it
for marketing and then that wayyou get more work.
So you have to forget, don'tforget.
We do a lot of advertising formembers before they even pay us.
We do the text blast, the emailblast.
(22:10):
We've got brokers that makephone calls for all our new
members.
We'll go around once a week.
We call.
You know we're trying to hiteverybody and we'll do emails or
texting because you knoweveryone's so busy because they
don't have employees anymore.
But they'll say hey, did youhear we got the?
You know, dixie or not Dixie?
See, I did it.
Bertrand Motor Speedway they'retaking trade for tickets.
Would you like some for thisweekend?
(22:31):
They have Mechanical Mayhem 2or something like that is coming
out this week and I'm prettysure that sounds like we call it
the Destruction Derby orConstruct.
I think it's a DestructionDerby.
I think it doesn't matter, butI digress.
So, yeah, you know.
Anyway, keep your mind open.
Think about trade in your area.
(22:52):
If you are looking at it anddon't necessarily take it as
like all or none, maybe use itfor a little bit.
A ticket sale, a cat, do giftcards, bring people in the door,
you get the breakage.
Boom.
You know, if they don't spendall the money, you get the
breakage.
If they spend more, then guesswhat?
That trade association just gotyou cash business because they
overspent their tradecertificate and now they got to
(23:13):
pay the rest of it in cash.
That's it for now.
Whatever you do out there,y'all.
Hello and welcome to the Trading Post Podcast, where
we unlock the secrets ofbusiness-to-business trade, dive
into powerful networkingstrategies and share my exciting
journey of using a podcast tomarket my business instead of
relying on SEO.
I'm your host, trader Stu.
Hello and welcome back to theTrading Post Podcast.
(00:27):
I am your host, trader Stu.
Of course, this episode issponsored by Metro Trading
Association and the MichiganRenaissance Festival coming soon
Next month, actually August.
I'm excited.
Be sure to check that out.
I want to get right into ittoday and talk about a couple of
things about blending trade andcash and the reason why I say
that I just happen to havesigned up.
(00:47):
My two last members orpotential members or future
members that I signed up becausethey're not officially in the
system yet.
Just say it like that.
Anyway, there are new up andcoming members and one of them
is the Birch Run Speedway.
Of course, it's kind of like,if you're around the
neighborhood that I'm in, wecall it Dixie Motor Speedway.
As a matter of fact, I thinktheir caller ID still says that
(01:09):
when they call in.
That's just what I grew up with.
They're the figure eight bustrack in Birch Run, where it's
always fun to see them intersectand smash in the middle.
It's kind of like a derby.
And then, of course, if you'rein the area, it's always like
(01:30):
Pine Knob.
They called it DTE EnergyTheater or something like that
for a while, because DTE boughtit, but everyone the old school
folks, just called it Pine Knoband could never convert and
acclimate over to DTE.
So to me, if I say Dixie MotorSpeedway, I'm talking about
Birch Run Speedway.
They just got new owners orsomething like that and changed
the name, and then I also signedup a salon.
So I want to use both of theseas an example of how you can
leverage trade or barter creditsfor additional cash.
(01:52):
Now I found both of these,these establishments, on a
platform called Tease the Deal,and basically they're
advertising for business, right?
So what is trade all about?
Bringing additional businessthat you wouldn't otherwise had.
So I was like, well, I'll givethem a call and the first thing
they can say is no, and theyboth said yes.
(02:15):
So one thing that I wanted tomention about the Speedway is
that they will take trade.
So what we're gonna do is likewhat we do at Michigan
Renaissance Festival we buytrade.
Are the tickets up front andErebus to the Haunted House in
Pontiac that's, I think, in theGuinness Book of World Records.
We buy both of them up frontand we sell the tickets for them
(02:38):
.
So let's just say we buy Idon't know $1,000 worth of
tickets at 20 bucks a hitter Ican't remember what it was, but
just using numbers and thenwe'll then turn around and sell
that.
But the benefit is that they'llget the trade, you know,
upfront and then we are now incharge of offloading those
tickets for them.
So it's a win-win for them.
We're literally their sales andmarketing team that they don't
(03:00):
pay for until well, actuallythey get it up front, which is
rare doing tickets like that.
So Speedway doesn't mean thesame thing.
So we're going to buy.
I think they charge $15 perseat.
All right, we're back.
I'm actually recording this atwork and the phone rings, so I
had to go ahead and grab that.
So anybody who's out theretrying to use podcast to help
generate additional business youdon't really got to take off.
(03:22):
You know extra time and be timeaway from the time of family
and kids Do it at work, hitpause when the phone rings and
continue on your way, right.
So, at any rate, what I wassaying was that blending trade
and cash is that it's a twotiered approach and that you can
take your trade on tickets butthen you're going to get cash on
food, drinks and evenmerchandise.
So, like in the way of Arabist,they sell swag.
(03:45):
You know, on cash you can't buyhats and t-shirts and
sweatshirts on trade.
I don't think they sell food ordrinks, maybe they do, I think
they do, anyway, it doesn'tmatter.
And then of course, at theSpeedway I think they have beer
and drinks and of course youknow swag.
So there's that.
It's kind of like I don't sayit's a no brainer, it sounds
(04:07):
kind of rude or whatever likethat, but I think it's a no
brainer and we'll get into thesalon here in a second too on
what she does.
So a couple more benefits ofselling tickets on trade.
So it fills the seats with newcustomers when they move in.
With trade you tap into theuntapped barter market, filling
otherwise empty seats andthere's no incremental cost, but
(04:28):
you do get a larger audience.
And then of course, you reach anetwork of barter members to
introduce your venue to them andindividuals outside of your
typical circle, driving a lot offirst-time visits and new
relationships, because everyonein the barter system is our
business owners essentiallyright, and then of course, that
(04:49):
preserves their cash reserves.
So instead of advertising,spend or doing deep discounts
which is where I found theSpeedway it's kind of like a
Groupon, but a local Grouponthat we have around here in the
metro area they now get fullprice, full value for their
tickets on trade and it uses uptheir spare inventory or their
(05:10):
empty seats, because I mean,I've been there a lot of times
and I don't think it's ever beena full house Like you can't sit
down anywhere.
You know what I mean.
You gain new customers and youkeep your cash in the bank for
other expenses.
So your cash, I always say youknow, save your cash for things
that you can't get on trade.
So power, gas, whatever yourutilities, and maybe payroll
(05:31):
things like that.
But your barter, you need tothink about if you got
advertising or you need to getmaybe I don't know plumbing,
electrical, seal coating, ifthey have it paint, striping,
stuff like that.
Look at trade first and thenyou'll get that.
You know, save that cash in thebank for other expenses.
So think of trade and thenbarter and then down the line
(05:53):
cash right.
So we'll trade and barter.
I say it one of the same.
The reason why I go back andforth.
I just people say it.
We're called Metro TradingAssociation, so it's trade.
But when I say trade, peoplethink I'm in the stock market
floor in New York City.
And then when I say barter,they think of you're trading
services without getting paid.
You're just like one for one.
(06:14):
So like, let's just say they'relike oh, I don't need whatever
you know, bananas for my ticketsfor Speedway.
I have enough bananas, I don'tneed to barter anything.
I'm like no, it's not the samething, it's like a hybrid
approach.
It's B2B barters like trade.
So attendees who get in on tradeare less likely or more likely
(06:35):
to purchase concessions.
Right, because they've gottheir tickets.
They feel like they're gettingin for free, even though they're
not, because they traded theirservices for it.
So they're getting this ticketbasically at their wholesale
cost.
They're going to probably spendmore there and then that'll
generate more direct cashrevenue For many venues.
The margins on food andbeverages, of course, exceed the
(06:57):
ticket profits.
We all know that about movietheaters.
Why movie theaters right now?
Why can't sign them up?
I know why because they'recorporations.
But I should be able to sign upevery movie theater in the area
on trade.
It doesn't make any sense notto, because they don't make any
money on the ticket sales.
It's all about the popcorn popand candy, right?
So of course, hey, guess what?
(07:19):
You'll get more word of mouthand return on your business.
So, barter, visitors who have agreat experience will recommend
your event and then they'llpotentially return and bring
their guests, friends, family orwhoever who will pay cash next
time, because, guess what?
They're not trade.
So they're going to tell peoplelike, oh man, if you've seen
the bus races or the Derby andon Birch Run, you should go.
(07:42):
Of course, everyone knows wordof mouth.
Marketing is the best,referrals are the best.
Boom, you're going to get more.
You know, seats butts in seatsthat way.
So it's a win-win for cash flow.
There's no risk ofcannibalizing your core revenue.
By segmenting which products aresold via trade, you protect
your core business cash assetswhile leveraging your spare
capacity for marketing and reachcash assets while leveraging
(08:05):
your spare capacity formarketing and reach.
Like I said, the best way touse your trade dollars for these
guys, I think, is going to befor more marketing.
Turn trade into cash indirectly, even though your tickets are
fulfilled in trade.
Every attendee becomes a cashcustomer once they're in the
venue.
Like I said, there's yourconcessions and then I think,
the drivers, the pit crew, alsosell things too, you know, to
(08:26):
help fund things.
But then you get the networkingeffect which barter guests.
Often they're business owners,right?
Like I said, they'reprofessionals, prime candidates
for group booking, sponsorshipsand future cash deals, because I
thought about that too.
If we can get them to acceptsome trade dollars for banner
advertisements out in the circle, like out in the racetrack, or
(08:47):
even maybe sponsorships, I'm notsure how that whole gig works,
but like it's funny, a funeralhome, I know, is one of the
sponsors there.
I'm like, it just seems I don't.
It seems like a bad karma, likehaving a funeral home, you know
, sponsor a high-risk sport.
To me I'd be like, instead ofRed Bull sponsoring all these
skydiving things or, you know,these high-risk adventures, it's
(09:09):
like here's a funeral home,it's a genius idea, but anyway,
what else?
Here's some pro tips for venuesand the event planners, if
you're listening.
Set trade ticket limits.
Get the cap number of ticketsavailable via barter to prevent
diluting your regular audienceand keep events feeling
exclusive.
So I mean, obviously they'regoing to sell me so many dozens
(09:30):
or hundreds of tickets perseason, I imagine, and we'll go
from there.
You promote your concessionspecials so you encourage your
higher cash spend at concessionswith exclusive deals, combo
offers or a trade night special.
That's a good idea.
And then track and upsellbarter attendees, collector
email info when they read dinotickets that encourage the
(09:52):
repeat visits and cash onlyincentives and then clear staff
instructions.
Each staff should know whichones barter and cash what.
They don't got to worry aboutthat because the salon owners
that is owner and then the trade.
Everyone at the track isn'tgoing to have to know the
difference between barter versuscash.
(10:14):
So talking points andconversation starters how trade
brought tickets into the cash atthe snack bar is one thing that
the members that are going tobe there might think now, right
outside the box, like man, Idon't even think about at my own
establishment, whatever they do, let's just say they're in
Arcade and let's just say, oh,you know what.
(10:36):
Let's say they're with a friendand they own Arcade, like, for
example, let's just say Dave andBuster's.
This is a good example.
Supposed to say Dave andBuster's, right, this is a good
example.
I could sell, maybe like 50credits on trade to get a card
at you know the arcade.
They pay nothing for thatbecause they already own the
machines, let's just say, butthey're going to get cash for
(10:57):
the beer and pizza sales.
Boom.
You know, sometimes it takes alittle extra just to think
outside the box and be like howcan I leverage this to get more
cash?
Right, you're gonna, of course,pack the stands or your
business.
It'll boost your cash registers, and letting inventory go
unsold is more expensive thantrading for new customers.
(11:19):
Well, I already said that,because if you're gonna lose the
inventory, if you alreadybought the food and it gets
thrown out, well that sucks.
You might as well get somebarter for it.
Barter bucks, right.
And then, of course, younetwork your way to cash sales,
one barter kick at a time.
The guy who owns this place ownscar dealerships, so he knows
(11:39):
all about that.
There's plenty of venues in thecountry that use this exact
model.
Prevents the cash flow, keepsseats filled and then boosts
overall revenue, and especiallyduring off-peak times for less
popular events.
There's another point there too.
If you have an off-peak times,you know it's a great time for
(12:01):
me to send us an email and say,hey, can you promote this one,
because they think they're goingto have maybe some low seat
numbers.
You know, it's a great time forme to send us an email and say,
hey, can you promote this one,because they think they're going
to have maybe some low seatnumbers.
You know, of course, the morepeople in the stands there at a
situation like this, the moreenergy, the better the drivers
are.
Maybe I don't know, but eitherway it's a win-win.
So another one I wanted to talkabout real quick I got a few
(12:22):
minutes left is the salon.
So she said she'll offer atrade for services like she's
got a red light therapy boothwhich is kind of like a tanning
bed.
It looked like, but they usered lights instead of UV lights.
She has an IV vitamin drip soyou can go there.
You can get hooked up with abunch of like different you know
, vitamins, magnesium, whateveryou're lacking.
(12:44):
She'll also do waxing.
They do, I think, from head totoe waxing, eyebrow threading
and she'll do facials on trade.
But she can't offer the weightloss services that she has or
the supplements, because theprofit margin I think she said
just is not there Because, likeI said, we do charge a
percentage to bring people inand it's also very expensive for
(13:07):
her.
I think she said her averageticket for the weight loss
service is two grand and sothat'd be a big hit for her.
I don't know what her profitmargin is on that, but she wants
to start out small.
But I said, don't worry aboutit, and here's why I'll tell you
in a minute She'll get moretraffic into the establishment
and here's why I'll tell you ina minute She'll get more traffic
into the establishment and shemight have otherwise had that
(13:27):
without me bringing them in ontrade.
So If they're a local salon andthey're a small business and
many are, and we have hadfranchise too, salons the hybrid
trade model will boost herbusiness and here's why she
accepts the trade for selectservices.
Like I said, she'll do the redlight therapy of vitamin drips,
(13:49):
waxing, eyebrow threading andfacials.
That excludes the high cost lowmargin items like due to the
profit margins, weight lossservices and supplements that
she can't take and that remainscash only.
But she'll boost the foottraffic in there by tapping into
the barter network reaches newcustomers and new groups of
clients who may not haveotherwise visited.
(14:10):
People will drive for trade.
They just will.
And you got upsellopportunities.
And that's what I was gettingat is that once the clients are
in the door for a service ontrade, they'll more likely learn
about and potentially upgradeto the salon's exclusive weight
loss programs and products forcash sales.
So while they're in there, like, oh, we had this, like I don't
know, fish oil pill, I don'tknow.
You know you should take thisand it's 20 bucks for the bottle
(14:33):
, but we can't take the trade onit because I whatever.
So, yeah, okay, well, maybethey're already there and it was
by the $20 bottle on cash,that'll maximize her revenue per
visit.
So that owner now leveragestrade as a marketing tool which
is what I've always said itshould be and you use it to turn
your unsold appointmentinventory time into growth
(14:55):
opportunities and cashtransactions.
Like I told her on the phone, Isaid look, if your red light
therapy booth isn't being used,if you're open from 9am to 6pm
and it's not on all the time,you're losing money, right?
You don't get that time back.
So let's throw some extrapeople in there and keep the
lights on, and more than one way.
(15:16):
I guess you could think aboutit.
But yeah, you know, I just kindof, I just have fun with it.
So she's like, oh yeah, that'sa really good idea.
Why not If the booth's notbeing used?
I mean, that's time, I'll neverget back.
Boom, we'll throw maybe somebarter folk in there and then
done so.
A couple of key takeaways onthis one Selective trading
(15:37):
allows service businesses toprotect their bottom line while
increasing revenue exposure.
So, anything in the servicesindustry anybody, I think
anybody if you are not bookedout three months or whatever,
you need to consider taking atrade clients here and there to
keep your door spinning.
You know, especially services,because all you have is usually
(16:00):
in services is your time andknowledge.
I say it again, I hate to sayit it's a no-brainer.
It's a no-brainer because ifyou're an electrician and you're
not wrenching constantly onsomething that's electrical and
making money, you need to takeon some trade clients.
Consider it, don't considerwell, I need cash.
(16:20):
Put trade into your marketingbracket If you have.
I say I spend 10% on marketingout of my revenue.
I go right back to my marketingbudget.
Your trade needs to be part ofyour marketing budget.
And then here's what's funnyabout that your marketing budget
(16:44):
will now become into your tradebudget because you can buy
marketing on trade, so.
But a lot of people just can'tthink like that outside the box.
They they're trying to replace,you know, cash with trade,
trade with cash.
And well, I need to pay mybills, I got to pay my employees
.
I'm like, yeah, but aren't youadvertising?
Oh yeah, okay.
Well, instead of spending athousand dollars cash on
(17:06):
marketing, spend whatever $500 amonth cash and then 500 trade,
because you're going to getmoney in trade.
So it's a win-win,win-win-win-win.
Also, one thing to think aboutis that trade clients become
loyal cash customers, and that'sbecause with the right upsell
(17:27):
strategies, it's a strongerin-person experience than seeing
it online, and you got to thinkabout that too.
Trade clients also will kind ofautomatically become loyal
customers, because the way tradeassociations work is that they
only allow so many types of onekind of business in a certain
area.
At least they should, unlessit's restaurants.
(17:48):
Well, I don't know, maybe evenaccept restaurants, because if
you got two taco joints, Iprobably wouldn't want to do
that if they're across thestreet from each other or
neighbors, you know what I Imean.
So I would give whoever signsup first boom and then, if
they're, if they ever say youknow, I got, I'm too busy, I
can't take any more trade.
I'm like, okay, well, sign upyour neighbor and then boom, you
(18:10):
know, now that's how you gettwo taco places in the same area
or whatever.
It's an example.
But generally business ownersof restaurants will refer the
other business owners that theyknow, friends or whatever, or
networking partners, becausethey don't sell the same thing.
Like I just had one of ourclients refer another client.
But one guy is a bar who hasarcade games and it's called One
(18:33):
Eye Jacks and what do you callit?
Not horseshoes, but bean bags,cornhole, he's at cornhole
tournaments and I said, hey, youknow, would you recommend if I
had this guy call you fromRosita Streets who does like
empanadas and you know he's gotoxtails and plantains, dude, oh,
the plantains are awesome there.
If you ever go there I thinkit's on Van Dyke and 23 Mile or
(18:57):
something like that off the topof my head you need to get the
plantains.
Oh, my God, awesome To die for.
So that's why I signed him up,actually because I found out he
had plantains.
Like, you got to sign up, dude,you just do Because you have
plantains and I want plantains.
On trade.
He's like, okay, and thenactually, what's awesome is that
he immediately took me to hisneighbor, who happens to be a
(19:18):
taco joint.
I say taco Mexican joint,mexican restaurant, and he said,
hey, man, you got to sign upfor this.
This is a great idea.
And the guy was like literallyI interrupted him in the middle
of construction.
So he's like, yep, sounds good,like I'll be with you, like get
a hold of me in a couple moremonths, because I just can't
right now I'm still setting up,my shelves are empty, I've got
no customers yet and you know Ineed to get some money first.
(19:41):
I'm like I'll get it.
So actually, oh my God, Iforget to follow up with that
guy.
I forget to follow up withRosita's neighbor.
Okay, anyway, so that's why youtalk out loud sometimes,
because I get so busy witheverything, I'm like, oh, whoops
(20:01):
, I didn't get back with thatguy.
So I think it's been longenough.
He should be open.
He should be getting businessin the door anyway.
So we'll see.
What else can we talk about here?
The model.
This model can be adopted for alot of different kinds of
different businesses.
Focus on what you can offer ontrade to drive the interest and
then keep up your high margininventory sensitive offerings
that are a cash exclusive.
So a lot of things have lowmarkups, right, but you get
(20:24):
what's called, you know, lossleaders.
So like, for example, costco,their loss leader is chickens,
those rotisserie chickens.
They should just take those ontrade and then bring people in
the door.
And I know I can't get Costcoon trade.
That'd be a dream come true,holy crap, that'd be awesome.
But what else?
Oh, my grandpa owned adrugstore.
(20:44):
His milk was, I think, a lossleader, he said.
When he had sold gallons ofmilk, I think he said it either
broke even or came out slightlynegative to beat everybody else
in town.
But that brought people in thedoor to buy the milk there, to
grab maybe a few other thingswhile they're there.
He also had a restaurant inthere.
He also, of course, was apharmacy.
(21:05):
So you know it was a reallynice drugstore, way cooler than
like CVS or.
You know, all those guys areout of business but and I sadly
enough they came in, put themout of business, bought the
drugstore, then turned it into aparking lot, it leveled it, put
up a brand new building downthe road and now that one's
(21:27):
empty because they're out ofbusiness.
Crime shame, anyway.
That's why you diversifyportfolios.
You know you got big playersand then they I digress Anyway.
So I hope you enjoyed that.
There's some examples on howtrading associations empower
members to grow smartly, usingflexibility and creativity to do
(21:48):
that for you.
And you know, like I said,think outside the box.
You're thinking of trade.
What can I offer on trade andwhat can I maybe hold for cash?
Let me use trade to bringpeople in the door and use it
for marketing and then that wayyou get more work.
So you have to forget, don'tforget.
We do a lot of advertising formembers before they even pay us.
We do the text blast, the emailblast.
(22:10):
We've got brokers that makephone calls for all our new
members.
We'll go around once a week.
We call.
You know we're trying to hiteverybody and we'll do emails or
texting because you knoweveryone's so busy because they
don't have employees anymore.
But they'll say hey, did youhear we got the?
You know, dixie or not Dixie?
See, I did it.
Bertrand Motor Speedway they'retaking trade for tickets.
Would you like some for thisweekend?
(22:31):
They have Mechanical Mayhem 2or something like that is coming
out this week and I'm prettysure that sounds like we call it
the Destruction Derby orConstruct.
I think it's a DestructionDerby.
I think it doesn't matter, butI digress.
So, yeah, you know.
Anyway, keep your mind open.
Think about trade in your area.
(22:52):
If you are looking at it anddon't necessarily take it as
like all or none, maybe use itfor a little bit.
A ticket sale, a cat, do giftcards, bring people in the door,
you get the breakage.
Boom.
You know, if they don't spendall the money, you get the
breakage.
If they spend more, then guesswhat?
That trade association just gotyou cash business because they
overspent their tradecertificate and now they got to
(23:13):
pay the rest of it in cash.
That's it for now.
Whatever you do out there,y'all.
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