I know times are tough.....

I know times are tough for a lot of people - but please expect the challenges to increase your ability to “see” opportunities - not diminish them. --Dan Miller
To all of my Twitter followers, if you haven't ever visited Dan Miller's blog, or his website, take the time to stop by today. He has some great information that is especially relevant for today's tough economy. Dan isn't on Twitter yet,--think I will have to try to convince him....
--"No Boxes"

Making Money and Marriages

March 2, 2009 by Dan Miller

Here is the sequence for successful selling - of anything.

1. Developing rapport and trust - 40% of the process.
2. Identifying Needs - 30% of the process.
3. Product Presentation - 20% of the process.
4. Closing - 10% of the process.

I see people coming in to 48Days.net and immediately blasting multiple blog posts with their greatest MLM company that you just must join. I see people wanting jobs who simply walk in and tell the manager they need a job. I see car salesmen who grab a customer and walk them right over to the Chevy Tahoe because that’s where they make the most commission. I see pastors who scream that their listeners are evil and must change their ways.
These are all examples of inexperience and missing the critical first two steps of selling. With no trust and no identification of the need, there will be no sale.
Years ago, on the first day of my sophomore year at Ohio State University, my friends and I were watching the new batch of freshman girls arrive. Upon seeing Joanne (17 and gorgeous), I quickly asked for someone who could introduce me - a trusted friend of hers. While walking with her briefly I noticed she was struggling to hold her books while putting a notice on the community bulletin board. I offered to post the notice and saw that she was asking for a ride to school from her home on the other side of town. I kindly offered to supply that ride - just for a couple of days until she found someone to bring her regularly (ha). Six months later, having charmed her with my simple farm boy ways, I asked her to marry me.
On March 23rd we will celebrate 41 wonderful years of marriage. I’m glad I understood the process of effective selling. I developed trust and rapport, identified multiple needs, presented the product (me) and closed the most important deal of my life.
Only an idiot would walk up to a girl and begin the conversation by asking her to marry him. You have to go through the process of selling. In the same way, no one who understands selling would blast masses of people with some business deal without first understanding their needs and desires.
If you need a job - you have a product to sell (you). If you are starting a business - you have a product or service to sell. If you have a job and want to keep it - you have a product to sell (you) - every day! If you want to find a mate, you have a product to sell.
Understand this process of selling and you can transform your success in any area of your life. It’s not manipulation or deception, just common sense finding a need and filling it.

No Cash? Not a Problem If You Can Barter‏

The New World of Bartering

Natalie Ladd

The Trade Exchange

arter -- the cashless exchange of goods and services -- is enjoying new popularity. Hundreds of Internet sites and barter exchanges around the country let you swap for everything from travel accommodations to dental care. Even people who think they don’t have anything worth bartering might be surprised to find their skills -- perhaps a knack for gardening or interior decorating -- in demand.

Here’s how to get started...

ONE-ON-ONE BARTER

How it works: You join a low-cost online barter service, where you can list or respond to offers. Or you can barter on your own by personally contacting people whose goods or services you need.

Best for: Individuals who want to trade occasionally for a specific item or service, such as trading babysitting for lawn services.

Sample savings: A high school tennis coach needed to pay for his daughter’s wedding. The coach went around to local businesses and offered to trade tennis lessons for goods and services. In this way, he was able to get all the flowers for his daughter’s wedding and the alterations to her wedding dress.

Important: Make sure you and your trading partner are bartering at the same value level. You don’t want to trade your goods at wholesale, while he/she is charging you retail prices.

Also, many professionals are willing to barter their labor, but they still might need to charge you in cash for certain fixed costs, such as paying their staff or buying raw materials.

My favorite sites: www.craigslist.org, click on your state, then “Barter” under “For Sale” (free)... www.web-barter.com ($2 to answer a listing/free to place a listing)... www.targetbarter.com ($2.50/transaction for items presumed to be valued under $25... 10% of the transaction for trades valued over $25... free to place a listing).

Drawbacks: You’re limited to trading with people who live nearby -- an optician in New York has little to offer a landscaper in California.

You do all the leg work -- evaluating the quality of goods and services.

There is no governing body with a code of standards or ethics and little recourse, other than small-claims court, if something goes wrong.

TRADE EXCHANGE BARTER

How it works: A barter exchange acts as a broker, a third-party record keeper and, in cases of disputes, a mediator for your transaction.

People who use the service are called “exchange members” and trade in “credits.” (One credit typically equals $1.) Members receive statements monthly. Traders (referred to as “brokers”) who work for an exchange can tap into an international network and put together deals for almost anything.

There are barter exchanges nationwide. You can research them as you would any business. Check the Better Business Bureau for complaints. Make sure the exchange has been in business for at least three years and belongs to a governing body, such as the International Reciprocal Trade Association (585-424-2940, www.irta.com), which has a code of ethics, a peer review board and a certification program for traders.

Resource: To get a state-by-state listing of exchanges, go to www.barternews.com and click on “Barter Contacts.”

Best for: Small-business owners or people looking to trade regularly and save cash for non-tradable items and overhead.

Sample savings: A New England radio station wanted to do an on-air promotion for which it needed 2,000 pairs of socks. The station was willing to barter $1,000 worth of advertising airtime. A trade broker for a national exchange found a local barter exchange in Kansas that had a sock manufacturer among its members. That manufacturer didn’t need radio ad time in New England, so he traded him the socks for a white-water rafting trip offered by one of the exchange’s other members, a travel company in Maine. The travel company used its exchange credits from the deal to purchase the advertising airtime from the radio station.

Drawbacks: Higher costs, including annual dues of $120 and up, and transaction fees (for example, a fee of 6% of the transaction value) each time you buy or sell. You generally need to offer at least $500 worth of goods or services to open a barter account.

TAXES

According to the IRS, barter “income” is treated the same as cash income. You must list the fair market value of goods or services received through barter on your federal tax return, Form 1040, Schedule C.

For federal rules on barter income, call 800-829-1040 or go to www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html.

Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Natalie Ladd, a certified trade broker and director of The Trade Exchange, based in Portland, Maine, which has been in business for 30 years. The Exchange, which has more than 300 members, brokers barter deals nationwide on goods and services, including auto repairs, bookkeeping, hair styling and medical care. www.thetradeexchange.com