5 Tip for Successful Bartering

Bartering and negotiating are two skills that seem to have gone to the wayside for so many, but they both as useful to a savvy businessperson as the budget minded mom or dad. Developing the ability to hold your own during negotiations or while bartering your way to a desired item or outcome takes some skill. Most businessmen and businesswomen have developed this skill and use it all the time in the boardroom, but it is not just an activity meant for the corporate world.

For whatever reason you want to learn to negotiate better and be able to barter confidently for, you need to get over and past a couple things that keep most people from even trying or being able to close the deal.

5 Tip for Bartering Successfully

Understanding the Difference

Before you can learn how to negotiate and barter better, you need to understand the difference between them. You can negotiate within a barter, but when you negotiate you are talking and making allowances and requests that will ultimately get you what you want and still walk away with the better deal– if only in your eyes. When you barter you trade or exchange goods or services without either party having to use money. You can negotiate yourself to a better barter by making the other party understand and see the value and worth in your item or services.

Get Over Any Negative Ideas You Have

Over the years negotiating has become a negatively viewed activity for women to engage in, and bartering has been viewed as something only done by those that are unable to pay or unwilling to. Neither of these skills is any of these things, and it is a skill that is important to have in your toolbelt. If it feels like something that is negative to you, try negotiating or bartering in a way that puts the idea out there as something that will be beneficial not just to yourself, but also for the person you are bartering with.

Go For What You Want

One of the best ways to improve your skill as a barterer and negotiator is to keep your use of the practice solely to the things you want most. An impassioned negotiator fights harder for the things they want and deserve, and this will help you hone the skills needed.  Success leads to getting the things we need and gives us the confidence boost to try again.

Use Your Network

Rather than starting to barter or negotiate outside your network of already established friends or family, keep it personal. Ask family and friends first, and if there is no one in possession of what you want to barter for, ask them who they know that might be interested in working with you. When people know who is involved in their barters personally, it is easier to work out a deal and negotiate in a friendly way that everyone is comfortable with.

Timing is Everything

If you have something that you have been wanting to barter for a while, but the timing is not right for other people, you might have a hard time negotiating something that works for you or is fair. Hang on to seasonal items or services that are not in demand yet. The same goes for the condition of the items you are bartering or details you are trying to determine for your negotiation. If you cannot trade items when you are making arrangements, wait until you can.

The best negotiators and barterers are the ones that ask. Make that first step and you’re sure to surprise yourself.

What other tips do you have for successful bartering?

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