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Bartering infoproducts for physical products?

by John9586
19 replies
Hi, have you ever tried to barter infoproducts for physical products?

Which infoproducts would be the best for this? Would it need to be specialised for their niche, like Marketing for restaurants, or Selling for retail stores? What is your experience, or is there no sense to try it because the local businesses are too conservative.

What about making them offer they cannot refuse? If I could show them its selling online for 299 and I would barter it for products worth 100 and their real cost is 50. As a reason why it is so cheap I would say this is a special offer for new local customers because I am sure many of them would come back and buy my services.
#bartering #infoproducts #physical #products
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  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    First questions first: why do you want to barter?


    There is only so much food you can eat at one restaurant. Do you plan to barter the products/services you received with someone else? As in, a restaurants accepts your SEO proposal in exchange for 50 dinners. Will you go to your barber and get a cut in exchange for 3 of the 50 dinners you got?


    Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

    Hi, have you ever tried to barter infoproducts for physical products?

    Which infoproducts would be the best for this? Would it need to be specialised for their niche, like Marketing for restaurants, or Selling for retail stores? What is your experience, or is there no sense to try it because the local businesses are too conservative.

    What about making them offer they cannot refuse? If I could show them its selling online for 299 and I would barter it for products worth 100 and their real cost is 50. As a reason why it is so cheap I would say this is a special offer for new local customers because I am sure many of them would come back and buy my services.
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  • Profile picture of the author John9586
    I want to barter because you need only one infoproduct and then you can barter it with all local businesses for all products.
    It is inflation proof and recesion proof, its easier to get products than money, you get new customers who would never buy it and then you can upsell them. So barter is extra profit and additional customers.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Which infoproducts would be the best for this? That would depend on several variables:
      1. What can you create (your skills/resources)?
      2. What has value to them? (That depends on business type. Some things, though, apply to all businesses: Like a step-by-step guide on how to set up your Google business page or a Step-by-step guide to onpage SEO).


      Would it need to be specialised for their niche, like Marketing for restaurants, or Selling for retail stores? What is your experience, or is there no sense to try it because the local businesses are too conservative.
      No, you do not have to be specialized, but it's a hell of a lot easier to get clients when you tell them: Hey, Mr. Restaurant Owners, I've done SEO for X Restaurant once city over, got them to be #1 for Restaurant in Their City and Best Restaurant in Their City. I can do it for you in your city too. In their case, that meant X% increase in visibility. Doing the same for you in your city being about the same size will get you similar boost in visibility, seeing that you are on page 3 right now, like they were before I worked with them.

      What about making them offer they cannot refuse? If I could show them its selling online for 299 and I would barter it for products worth 100 and their real cost is 50. As a reason why it is so cheap I would say this is a special offer for new local customers because I am sure many of them would come back and buy my services.

      That is an offer they can refuse all day long, 365 days a year for the next 847942 years. When making offers they can't refuse, put yourself in their shoes. The fact that you have it listed for sale on the internet for $299 does not mean a) that it is selling and b) that it has any value to them.

      An offer they cannot refuse would be something like: Here's the complete guide to online marketing for restaurants free to you just for talking to me.

      Here's what I can do for your business;
      1. Package a. Price $500.
      2. Package b. Price $900, includes everything in Package a + xyz.
      3 Package c. Price 1200, includes everything in Package b + abc.

      If you act by xx/xx/2022, I will give you package b for $550. Or package c for 1100.

      Package c for $550 sounds a lot like an offer I could not resist.







      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      I want to barter because you need only one infoproduct and then you can barter it with all local businesses for all products.
      It is inflation proof and recesion proof, its easier to get products than money, you get new customers who would never buy it and then you can upsell them. So barter is extra profit and additional customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

    Hi, have you ever tried to barter infoproducts for physical products?

    Bartering info products is like bartering anything else.

    First, they have to want what you are selling, and be willing to pay for it.

    Then is when you can change the offer to a barter offer.

    The problem with your question is that it assumes that, because of a price difference, your customers will jump at the chance to barter...because of the price difference.

    The problem is...bartering is selling..........bartering is selling.

    Try this experiment. Place an ad anywhere and say that you have a course on (anything) that cost you $1,000. And you'll be willing to barter it for $20 in goods or services.

    The reason for that cricket sound is that they don't want the course you are offering.

    First, you have to sell the course. Then you have to sell the value. Then you sell the idea of barter.

    Physical products are far easier to barter with, because they have a known value.

    And even then, the prospect has to want what you are bargaining with, before the idea of barter even comes up.

    The closest I've seen this work is when someone sells the prospect on a service...and they are almost ready to buy...but give a "I can't do it now" objection. If you then offer barter, it can work, because they don't have to come up with cash.

    But again, they have to already want she you are offering.

    And info products? The problem is, nobody is out looking for them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
      Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

      And info products? The problem is, nobody is out looking for them.
      Precisely. Outside of the internet marketing field, I doubt many are even familiar with the term. So before you can sell them on the product, you have to sell them on the concept. The concept that a digital download has a value comparable to the physical products they're selling in their stores.

      Good luck with that.

      As a reason why it is so cheap I would say this is a special offer for new local customers because I am sure many of them would come back and buy my services.
      What services? Do you mean the services you've already shown to be of such low value that you're willing to trade them for a discount on physical products?
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    because you need only one infoproduct and then you can barter it with all local businesses for all products

    You are thinking of having one good infoproduct and the ability to 'barter' THAT one product over and over for physical goods.


    Most infoproducts you BUY will have login or other TOS limitations that allow the buyer to use the product but do not allow 'other distribution'.
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    This is a good one...

    I wont say its simply a no go, BUT if you have the ability to create a product that would actually step by step produce results lets say "How to leverage Social Media to bring Customers through your front door" The actual service would be easier to sell and in the end far more profitable than the info product. probably in the neighborhood of 10 to 1 more profitable to sell the actual service.

    As a case in point...I sell services to local business'. More than some of my services are tied to a 90 day time frames - with the guarantee of X results in those 90 days or it cost nothing. Lets just throw out there I charge $1000 for the service. For me to go around and offer a info product that step by step walks the person through whatever process i could ask $100 for it?

    BUT we are talking an info product where you can repeat this over and over and over much like I do with services.

    I see the overall issue being "Life of Customer". Selling an info product your life of customer for that specific customer is a 1 pop deal - done and done. Me, selling services, Life of Customer expands. I do 1 90 day service, it produces the agreed apon results. sometime later they come to me for another service... and another, and another and another.

    The other way of looking at this is "Outcomes" The services I provide have a defined outcome and a defined period of time that will happen. If I meet the expectations and agreed apon goals I have done a good job, and this I can then leverage to referrals. Extending my prospect base - without me doing the leg work. ( not that I am against leg work )

    If someone exchanges / barters for your info product and never even opens the file... they will at some point say "watch out for this shady guy, his info product doesnt work" because THEY didnt follow the steps let alone attempt the steps - YOU have no control of outcomes - where as providing the service YOU do.

    i say all the time... there are 2 variables in life, Money and Time...and an info product doesnt fit into either of those categories.
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  • Profile picture of the author animal44
    Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

    Which infoproducts would be the best for this? Would it need to be specialised for their niche, like Marketing for restaurants, or Selling for retail stores? What is your experience, or is there no sense to try it because the local businesses are too conservative.
    I'd tend to agree with what others are saying, IMHO this is a non starter..,

    However...

    If you can sell something, then you can barter it...

    So try selling it... and if you are able to make sales, offer barter as an alternative...

    Always better to test a concept than listen to people on forums...


    As an alternative, I licence digital products to businesses.

    These digital products are used as

    1. Giveaways in exchange for emails.
    2. Bonuses for a sale.
    3. Sometimes sold separately in addition to above.

    Easy to show the value and you get an annual licence fee...

    I haven't done a barter on the licence fee, but shouldn't be hard to do... if you really wanted to...
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  • Profile picture of the author Jamell
    Sounds like a brilliant Idea .I think you should survey people and get feed back and also network with others bartering. You might also want to start a blog as well and drive targeted traffic from the search engines .
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  • Profile picture of the author John9586
    OK, it looks like there is no Chance to make it work. I have expected it, I just asked if somebody ever tried it.
    Maybe I will try bartering online services, it could be still worth it, if I can buy the services much cheaper than what I can get as barter.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      OK, it looks like there is no Chance to make it work. I have expected it, I just asked if somebody ever tried it.
      Maybe I will try bartering online services, it could be still worth it, if I can buy the services much cheaper than what I can get as barter.
      A service is much easier to barter. A Done For You service might work.

      But again, they have to be willing to pay for the service, for them to be willing to barter for it.

      And of course, you need to want what they sell also.

      For years, the sales trainer Tom Hopkins would carry cassette albums (remember those?) with him. When he want into a store, he would talk to the owner and say something like this "I want to buy this. If I showed you how to add $10,000 a year to your bottom line, how much would that be worth to you?"

      No matter what they said..

      "I teach salespeople how to sell. This program will teach you the fastest and easiest way to make an additional $10,000 in sales a year here. It'll trade you this item for this cassette program".

      I screwed up the verbiage, but you get the idea.

      it was easier to trade for services, or products with a low cost.

      I used to trade vacuum cleaners (that I sold) for just about everything I needed in my store, advertising, printing, furniture, credit card services, dental services, and more.

      Of course, that only worked once with each vendor. I traded retail for retail.

      But they had to at least want what I had to trade.
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  • Profile picture of the author John9586
    Could it work better if I put the infoproduct on DVD? Then I would have something to show them and they would get something physical. Probably they know DVD videos better than online courses etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      The many issues mentioned above still stand, even with the DVD.


      And, in my office, at least, the new computers do not have DVD readers... Expectation's you get it on youtube or some such site.


      I have some wonderful marketing dvd's from the early 2000's that I can only watch / listen to on one of the 14 computers in my office. When that one dies, I might just give up on the DVD's altogether.


      But you're still selling info. They still have to want it. They still have to agree that its value is whatever the value of what you want traded is (or better).


      But, for many, a DVD has more appeal than a pdf file. So, from that point of view, yes, it's better. Not enough to cancel the other things, in my opinion.


      I have bartered website for plumbing, for instance. They wanted the website. When I was done, they had a product that kept working long after we parted ways without them doing anything (except what their web guy was already doing... but they did not fully understand or care...). And they thought they got an amazing deal... So did I.


      I have been involved / owned several businesses. As a marketer / internet person, there are some info things I would trade for. As anything else, none. I would trade for Google ads management (assuming you could convince me you can get me clients) or other services. I would trade for office supplies and other things. But not for info packets, not even if you put them on a DVD.



      One of the reasons: I've bought (sometimes for more than $1k) info products (dvd, booklets, access to follow-up seminars) that are, years later, in a closet, with the neat wrapping still intact.


      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      Could it work better if I put the infoproduct on DVD? Then I would have something to show them and they would get something physical. Probably they know DVD videos better than online courses etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      Could it work better if I put the infoproduct on DVD? Then I would have something to show them and they would get something physical. Probably they know DVD videos better than online courses etc.
      It's not that the training is on DVD.

      They have to want what you are trading. First.

      Once the demand is there, because you sold, then barter is an option.

      I used to partially barter when making sales in people's homes. It helped with down payments, and made the decision easier.

      But again, they had to already want what I was selling, before barter could be considered.

      Trust me, we have all had ideas like this before. We get excited about an idea. And when you are young, and new to business...these ideas make perfect sense.

      All of us that are criticizing your idea have had multiple similar ideas that we invested time and money in. Some ideas just aren't great.

      And trying to trade an info product, where there is no demand created (by you mostly), is unworkable.

      A service (like building websites) is more workable, because there is already perceived value.....and there are business owners that are right now, thinking about a website.
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  • Profile picture of the author John9586
    OK, thanks, it was just an idea, nothing serious yet. I will probably try the services and see how it works. I have also another idea, maybe I will start another thread about it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      OK, thanks, it was just an idea, nothing serious yet. I will probably try the services and see how it works. I have also another idea, maybe I will start another thread about it.
      One approach I've seen work is finding something you want that is a service. Like braces for teeth. The cost of the service is low, the mark-up high, and there are orthodontists that have the time.

      I once traded braces (not for myself or my family) for my local online marketing service. A local orthodontist attended one of my short seminars on local online marketing...and didn't buy my service.

      On a whim, before she left, I asked her what she thought, and she said she thought the price was a tad high. I suggested trading even up for a complete braces process. She agreed. I kept that trade in my pocket for some time, until I found someone who told me their kid needed braces, and that's why they couldn't buy from me.

      So I agreed to pay for the braces. They bought my offer (a few commercial vacuum cleaners), and their daughter got braces.

      But everyone had to truly want what they were getting in the swap.
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  • Profile picture of the author John9586
    How exactly are you doing these barter deals? You could make online course about it, it will be important skill in the next 10 years of stagflation.

    Have you done the service for the orthodontist first and then waited if somebody will need the braces or you got the customer for the braces first and only then you did the service for the orthodontist?

    Do you have some agreement about barter from lawyer or she just gave you some paper with stamp and signature where she promised to give you the braces later?
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      How exactly are you doing these barter deals? You could make online course about it, it will be important skill in the next 10 years of stagflation.
      Almost none of my sales involved barter. Maybe 50 in all. All these deals were done by the seat of my pants. And they were done at the time of the sale.


      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      Have you done the service for the orthodontist first and then waited if somebody will need the braces or you got the customer for the braces first and only then you did the service for the orthodontist?
      I did the deal with the orthodontist, provided the service, and then waited until I found someone who needed braces. It's conceivable that I never would have collected.


      Originally Posted by John9586 View Post

      Do you have some agreement about barter from lawyer or she just gave you some paper with stamp and signature where she promised to give you the braces later?
      No lawyer, just written out on a receipt and we both sign. When I did these deals with local merchants, they just gave me a receipt with a credit on it. So I could use it later as cash. Sometimes these deals were done at once. They agreed, and then we swapped the same day.

      Essentially, these deals were done when I was selling, and I couldn't get them to buy by paying me in full. would suggest barter as a last ditch offer. I never went in with the goal of bartering.
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