Why You Should Barter With A Resturant

SolidTactics

SolidTactics

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Here is a little nugget of good info I thought I would share.

Find a good, upscale restaurant in a high traffic, commercial area populated and dense with business. (I personally live in Miami, Florida so it's not hard to find such a place).

Once you find a few decent places, work out a bartering deal with them. The objective is to get them to pay your lunch / dinner tab whenever you come to their place to eat, if they could cover your food cost daily that would be perfect! You're not looking to get any money out of the deal (that will come later, trust me!).

Once you get the deal, give them your best service you can offer, whether its seo, ppc, local seo, rep management, etc. Whatever you do, give them the best, and of course make sure you have a contract agreement.

After you deliver on your end and your ready for your free food, this is where you start prospecting with the local businesses in the areas. Let's say you want to build websites for lawyers, you basically prospect to them and offer to take them out for lunch at the restaurant. Most business owners are too busy to talk about services, but they are not too busy for a free meal, especially at a good restaurant! They will appreciate the meal and you'll score customers.

Hope this helps someone. :)
 
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Ha, good tip.
I agree the barter service works great.
Think about what barters could come in handy and save on your everyday items.
Example, gift card to local businesses...
 
Good way of thinking outside the box. That does sound helpful. I might use this. Thanks + Rep'd.
 
Great idea... until the check comes and a new waiter/waitress isn't aware of the agreement you have with the owner and causes an embarrassing ordeal. Could easily backfire ... Free meals are a plus though! I was able to barter with the local bowling alley for unlimited bowling with no restrictions for me and a friend in exchange for graphics. ;)
 
This is interesting, but its along the lines of Poor Man business practices.

The owner will sniff out your desperation due to bartering your services for meals at a restaurant.
If you're low on funds, I guess this is a good way to go but I would not make it a permanent practice.
 
Wait, so first you have to try and get free food and then you have to try and sell them something?
 
I used to do it in my city with big restaurants! It works. And the good part is that when u go to the restaurant with a chick u'r treated like a KING :D
 
Social Media,
Good points, It's a good idea to make sure the barter deal is agreed on a contract, which should eliminate some of those issues mentioned. Additionally, before each meal you plan to have, call the restaurant first so they know your coming and to even have your spot reserved to give you some real VIP treatment, that will impress your prospect even more. :)

SocialMedia10 said:
Great idea... until the check comes and a new waiter/waitress isn't aware of the agreement you have with the owner and causes an embarrassing ordeal. Could easily backfire ... Free meals are a plus though! I was able to barter with the local bowling alley for unlimited bowling with no restrictions for me and a friend in exchange for graphics. ;)
Click to expand...
 
I forgot about this trick.
This definitely works but it has other benefits too. If your service is good, you don't need to bring in customers. In fact, if you don't spell out to the owner this is what you plan to do he might be offended.
On the other hand, if you deliver on him and all you take is a meal he will advertise you himself turning the free meal into your local office. Will work slower in the beginning but will definitely pay off.
 
SolidTactics said:
Social Media,
Good points, It's a good idea to make sure the barter deal is agreed on a contract, which should eliminate some of those issues mentioned. Additionally, before each meal you plan to have, call the restaurant first so they know your coming and to even have your spot reserved to give you some real VIP treatment, that will impress your prospect even more. :)
Click to expand...

this will never work
 
Bartering with restaurants is a fantastic idea - especially if you're single. I've done this as well with a few local places over the years and there's nothing like coming in with a date to be greeted by the owner, receiving awesome service and then walking out without having to pay a bill. It's both impressive and convenient, and no one is the wiser about how you get treated like a king wherever you go.
 
bigeazy said:
This is interesting, but its along the lines of Poor Man business practices.

The owner will sniff out your desperation due to bartering your services for meals at a restaurant.
If you're low on funds, I guess this is a good way to go but I would not make it a permanent practice.
Click to expand...

I disagree and it ends up a win-win for everyone, you win because you get free meals for you + one, and the owner wins because their true cost is cheaper than what they are obviously billing for, so you can actually get more bang for your service because you know they have a mark up.

Just don't forget about tipping your waiter, and since the food is free if you tip more than the average 20% you're sure to have the kings treatment when you walk in.
 
imprint said:
Just don't forget about tipping your waiter, and since the food is free if you tip more than the average 20% you're sure to have the kings treatment when you walk in.
Click to expand...

Protip: just have your credit card on file with them and call ahead to state that you'd like to give a tip of $x to the waiter when you use your barter credit.

Make it seamless. It's the whole point of bartering with clients!
 
imprint said:
I disagree and it ends up a win-win for everyone, you win because you get free meals for you + one, and the owner wins because their true cost is cheaper than what they are obviously billing for, so you can actually get more bang for your service because you know they have a mark up.

Just don't forget about tipping your waiter, and since the food is free if you tip more than the average 20% you're sure to have the kings treatment when you walk in.
Click to expand...

It ends up as a win-win situation for you in your perspective, but remember...

Whats good for you isn't necessarily good for me.

I would rather buy food with the money I earn. Why would I trade my services for that food.

You know why? I don't eat $xx,xxx to $xxx,xxx of food a month, but I do take care of my family... my brother, my mother and even my dad haven't worked for the past year. I could feed them all the food in the world but someone still has to pay for gas, credit card bills (fucking shopping online is addicting), clothing, cars, etc etc

OP don't sell yourself short, it might sound good at the start but you are trading your services for something which YOU COULD CHARGE MONEY for. Why not buy the food with the money you earn?

Do not sell yourself short... thats the biggest mistake you will ever make.
 
I don't think that anyone is suggesting that you barter for 100% of your business. We do 5-figs a month in revenue in content alone and are still able to barter for a bit here and there. It's great for building relationships with local businesses, and can really help out other entrepreneurs that are just getting started with their business as well.

Think about it - if you can help a brand new restaurant owner with his website in exchange for some free meals for a while... how much goodwill is that going to earn you with that person? How many others are they going to tell - especially if you do a great job?

It's not all about the cash!
 
OP, do not listen to a single person saying this isn't a good idea.

If your only concern in business is making a sale, you're not in a business that will last.

Barter and Contract are kind of mutually exclusive terms. When I think barter, I think off the books and personal. I think trust. I think business. I think relationship-building. I think opportunity.

Another: Learn to dissimulate. This is a great idea to implement when you have funds, when it's something you don't need but want. Make damn sure that it's a desirable addition to your business plan and not a requirement to stay afloat.

In regards to never trading services for services: 100% irresponsible. Businesses do this all the time. To not trade a service in exchange for a service is mind bogglingly stupid, and I almost never use that word here. Why should I do something you do better than me, and why should you do something that I do better than you when we can trade, right? For the sake of extra sales? Mergers win the day, independents fight and die alone.

Short selling can make you a fortune, too.
 
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