Yesterday morning, Kevin Graff of
Graff Retail, opened the
CGTA Spring Gift Show in Toronto with a seminar in which he outlined 13 critical management mistakes that retailers make and gave advice on how to avoid them. One of his suggestions concerned negotiating terms with suppliers. Everything, he said, is open to negotiation.
Bram suggests thinking outside of the price box in your negotiaions with vendors. They may not have much wiggle room when it comes to price, so think of other terms that you can benefit from. She also says to think long-term.
It's also important to think in terms of working with a vendor for years. If you're willing to take the focus of your negotiations off of price, your vendor may be more interested in working with you in the long run.
Phil Marcus, of NegotiationPro.com, has negotiated deals for clients as an attorney for more than 35 years. He offers a simple piece of advice for negotiating with any vendor:
Don't try to do what in Yiddish is called 'hondling.' That is, try to arrive at a fair price that allows the vendor to pay their bills and make a profit so they stay in business, rather than pressing and pressing for a cheaper price. Don't overpay, of course, based on what prices the commodity sells for elsewhere, but act like you want a long-term relationship and you will build one.
Taking the long view, she concludes, will payoff in new opportunities in the years ahead. Makes sense to me.
