Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

A Key to Bargaining with Suppliers

Can you overcome suppliers' bargaining tactics?

  • By Charles Dominick
  • 09/01/13

There are many keys to successfully bargaining with suppliers: preparing thoroughly, learning an arsenal of techniques, being able to think quickly, communicating persuasively and so forth. One of the most important keys is persistence.

Persistence is necessary because suppliers who bargain well wear down their procurement counterparts through these tactics that put buyers’ persistence to the test:

1. Ignoring. When you bargain for an improvement to pricing or terms, your supplier may behave as if they didn’t even hear your request. This is particularly easy for suppliers to do if you try bargaining by email (which I don’t recommend for critical negotiations).

2. Diverting. When you bargain for a reduction in price, a common supplier tactic is to divert your attention to another business issue. For example, the supplier may say, “I can’t really discuss price until I understand how the arrangement will work and the value that you are seeking to get out of the arrangement.”

3. Delaying. When you bargain for an improvement to pricing or terms, a supplier representative will often say, “I gave you the best price/terms that I am allowed to give. I’ll have to check with senior management to see if we can do any better.” Because the supplier creates the impression that nothing further can be accomplished through the conversation, the supplier gets you to stop bargaining in the hopes that you will not ask again before awarding the order or contract.

Suppliers know that weak procurement negotiators only ask for improvements to pricing or terms once, and often end up awarding the order or contract to the supplier even if the supplier didn’t budge. Prove that you are a strong negotiator. Be persistent. Ask again… and again, if necessary. By showing how important it is to get what you want, you will increase your chances of getting it.

— Reprinted with permission from the Next Level Purchasing Association.

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management September 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3, is the president and chief procurement officer of the Next Level Purchasing Association (www.NextLevelPuchasing.com), a leading provider of procurement training and certification. He is also the lead author of The Procurement Game Plan: Strategies & Techniques for Supply Management Professionals. Prior to founding the Next Level Purchasing Association, Charles managed procurement for three leading organizations, including the University of Pittsburgh.

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Texas A&M Opens First Building at Fort Worth Campus, Breaks Ground on Research Facility

    The Texas A&M University System marked a major milestone in the development of its Fort Worth campus by opening its first completed academic building and breaking ground on a second facility designed to expand research and industry collaboration.

  • Minnesota District Converts Middle School into Community Hub

    White Bear Lake Area Schools in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the end of a major renovation project that converted a former middle school into a new centralized district and community hub, according to a news release.