How To Get The Best Deal on Business Supplies
“I care … but not that much.”
Herb Cohen, author of You Can Negotiate Anything, famously quipped that great negotiators need to be stoic to be successful. As the buyer, you have a lot more power than you realize. You have something they need desperately; a checkbook and a signature on their contract. The key is waiting for the right moment to make your requests. You want to wait for them to slip up and show how much they actually care.
Anyone selling to you will have specific measures they are judged on. They must hit a monthly, quarterly, and annual targets, or their jobs may be in jeopardy. Just like slot machines that are set to pay out at higher rates at month’s end, sales reps are also willing to get generous under a deadline. The first thing you should do before meeting with a new vendor is to look up their fiscal year ends.
Ideally, you can plan to hold off until the month before their fiscal year ends. The sales reps will undoubtedly be willing to cut a deal, any deal, just to make a final push. Like I said, we want to close a deal when they are emotional, so listen for the magic phrase: “What is it going to take to close this deal?”
When a vendor utters these words to you, it is out of desperation and this is exactly the position you want to be in. They are violating Herb Cohen’s golden rule; they are letting their emotions get the best of them. This is when they are at their most vulnerable. They just gave away their position. Now is the time to ask, and ask big. “What is it going to take? It is going to take no price increases, no auto-renewal, a 24-month term instead of 36, and two free weeks of service when we re-sign. If we can do that, I will sign today”. Then shut-up. You’ll be able to hear their heart sink over the phone, because they just realized they were put into checkmate. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t agree to cutting so much out of the deal.
Vendors are well-trained and won’t show a break in their armor very often. But, when the opportunity presents itself, take full advantage of it.
