Wholesale Negotiating Tips

Writen by Donny Lowy

It might seem funny for me as a wholesaler to give you tips on negotiating.

After all you might end up calling my wholesale business one day and using these negotiating tips on me!

But that concern aside, I do believe that the more knowledge there is in the wholesale business, the more all its participants will gain.

Before I offer you my negotiating tips I want you to understand my position as a wholesaler.

I buy products in large quantities. Quantities can range from a thousand units to an entire container load. Since I work on small profit margins I need to move volume in order to make money.

Given that I have a large overhead in terms of rent for a 7,200 sq warehouse and daily advertising, I need to move allot of volume to stay in business.

If you haven't already got an idea of what my negotiating tips are, then you need to reread what I just wrote above.

Since most serious wholesalers operate the same way the tips I will give you now are universal.

Tip #1

Since wholesalers buy in large volume they want to sell in large volume. You can obtain lower prices by offering to buy a larger volume of merchandise. Even though I have no minimum order requirements, I am happy to offer further discounts for a decent sized order.

Tip #2

Wholesalers want to have long term customers. It's allot easier to serve a steady customer than it is to look for new customers. Show wholesalers that you can buy regularly and ask for a discount in exchange for your steady business.

Tip #3

Ask for slow moving merchandise. Every wholesaler has merchandise that for one reason or another isn't moving. Maybe the style is out of fashion or the colors are kind of funny. You just might have the right customers for that slow moving merchandise. Offer to buy it at a reduced price.

I hope you enjoyed these negotiating tips. Try them out and see what happens.

Donny Lowy operates the following wholesale sites:

http://www.closeoutexplosion.com
http://www.salehoo.net
http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com

Brilliant Strategist Or Lawyer Or Not Bring Forth Your Inherent Negotiating Skills With Mind Mapping

Writen by Vj Mariaraj

We are often confronted by situations that call for negotiations at different levels. Be it vegetable vendors or buying garments or purchasing a house/flat/apartment or tying up a business venture, each of these calls for different approach to negotiations. Whether domestic, personal or business conditions, negotiations involve resolving conflicts and interests to the best of all concerned. In business situations, negotiations are indeed an indispensable part of any financial activity.

In any negotiation, it is important to first identify the goals that you are seeking and also to size up the likely goals for the other side. This provides clear objectives to attain and helps in working your way around them. The next thing is to weigh what you can trade off to gain from the other, and similarly think of what the other side can possibly lose to gain in return from you. Being ready with alternatives is another important element of negotiation. It helps you to climb down from hard stances and aid in meeting the goals halfway, if not in entirety.

There are also other subtle elements as relationships, emotions and anticipation to deal with. Using psychology and great deal of common sense, you have to analyze in depth the nature of relationship involved, the precedents if any, basic anticipations from both sides and other aspects.

Along the same lines, a clear view of the importance of winning, the impact of failure or winning on your future opportunities and overall situations are some of the other aspects that must be thoroughly considered.

In all these, the style of negotiation is of prime importance. Ideally, negotiations should end on a pleasant note, where both parties feel positive and satisfied about the outcome. A brazen approach to negotiation that leads one side to become a total winner while reducing the other side as a clear loser can create ill feeling and a sense of unfairness, which could affect long term.

In all these long haul to negotiation, Mind Maps can serve as a route map to your destination. Beginning with laying down your goals and that of the other side, right up to exploring alternatives and the impact of emotions, anticipations and other elements in the negotiating process, Mind Maps can help a great deal to plot your way through the various aspects of a winning negotiation.

Using Mind Maps you can outline all the goals pertaining to you and the possible expectations from the other side. Next you can explore the trade-offs that both the sides can place on the negotiating table as well as in coming with up alternative proposals at different levels. With Mind Maps you can explore in full all the intricate details and see the link and association between the various elements of negotiation. Weighing the emotional factors involved, relationships, and the anticipated outcomes through weighted analysis can all be most thoroughly done using Mind Maps. This way, Mind Maps can help you to gauge clearly where your path and that of the other side lie.

Like a rider plotting the best and pleasant route to the final destination, Mind Maps help in providing a comprehensive view of the whole process so you could see the links in the chain and know how to tackle them at every point. Being ready for sudden contingencies with ready answers and solutions will further help you to thoroughly prepare for any kind of turn in the negotiating process.

Mind Maps therefore are excellent tools for making an in-depth analysis of the various steps to negotiations and to handle them effectively. By using Mind Maps for different types of negotiations, you will gradually learn how to approach negotiations. In the long run, it will help you to hone your negotiating skills.

About the Author:

Dr. Vj Mariaraj is a Mind Map enthusiast and has been using Mind Maps for the past twelve years. He has created over 5650 Mind Maps. To learn more about mind mapping send an email to freemindmap@aweber.com He is the founder of BusinessBookMindMap.com that creates Mind Map Summaries of Business Books. To learn more visit http://BusinessBookMindMap.com/mind-map.php?ea18

When Is Negotiating Not Negotiating 4 Tips For Improved Success

Writen by Bob Selden

When you left home for work this morning, did you feel ready to face the day knowing that you were going to have a number of successful negotiations? Chances are, the word "negotiation" never entered your head. Perhaps it should have!

We often think of negotiation as a formal process conducted behind closed doors by high powered executives, politicians or world leaders. Yet everyday all of us negotiate. You may have to agree with colleagues on the content of a report or presentation; with a customer over a disputed invoice; with a supplier on the terms for goods or services; or with your partner on what to have for dinner tonight! All of these things are negotiations.

Our problem is that we don't recognise them as negotiations, nor ourselves as negotiators. As a result, we enter these discussions less prepared than we could be. The result? Sometimes a less-than-successful outcome!

To help make all our daily negotiations more successful (for both you and the other party), you need to:

- State your case clearly and appropriately

- Organise your facts

- Control the timing and pace of your discussion

- Properly assess both yours and the other parties needs

How do you carry out these four points successfully? First, you need an understanding of some of the key principles of successful negotiation. Try this quiz to test your knowledge of negotiating by answering "True/False" to each question.

1. Should you ask for twice the amount you need?
2. Is your aim to prevent the other party from saying "No"
3. Will a small concession relieve the pressure?
4. A "Win/Win" result is always possible.
5. Is admitting to an error or omission a sign of weakness?

The following answers will provide some useful tips for your negotiating situations.

1. Should you ask for twice the amount you need? False. You will have to back down and will lose an important opportunity to influence the other party. Research clearly indicates that negotiators who make large concessions end up worse off. The secret of successful negotiating is to first identify your needs, then work out a range of options that will satisfy those needs. Start the negotiation by asking for the options that best meet your needs.

2. Is your aim to prevent the other party from saying "No"? False. In fact getting a "No" from the other party can be very useful because it gives you the opportunity to ask "Can you give me your reasons?". This leads to uncovering the other party's real needs and some options that will satisfy them ¡V options which you can probably supply.

3. Will a small concession relieve the pressure? False: If you make a small concession, chances are you are negotiating over options rather than needs. Additionally, the other party may think you are weakening and put more pressure on. Far better to state or restate your needs and then explore as many options as possible to satisfy them. As part of this discussion, you may come back to the offer that was just rejected, or you may find some even better options. Either way you have gained a lot more information and not weakened your position.

4. A "Win/Win" result is always possible. False: It's desirable, but not always possible. Sometimes, even the best of negotiators have to "agree to disagree". The way to improve your ratio of "Win/Wins" is to focus very clearly on your own real needs (not positions) and the needs of the other party. Searching for many different options to satisfy both party's needs generates more "Win/Win" situations.

5. Is admitting to an error or omission a sign of weakness? False: Research shows that disclosing such information demonstrates honesty. In psychological terms, it breeds what is called "reciprocity" - if you do something for me, then I'll do something for you. People are far more likely to be honest with you when you are honest with them. Pulling the wool over someone's eyes may give you a short term result at the expense of a long term relationship.

Four tips to help you negotiate successfully

1. If you want a better deal, ask for one. You'll never know unless you ask! Remember, make sure it will satisfy your needs - do not get locked into bargaining over positions.

2. Argue to learn, not to win. To meet your own needs you need to learn as much as possible about the other party and their needs. The more you learn, the better chance you have of getting a good deal.

3. Make proposals regularly during the negotiation - proposals move the negotiation forward. Use proposals such as "If you will provide . . . . then I might consider . . . ." The other party's response to these proposals will give you a lot of information to work with.

4. Ask for, and give as much information as possible. For example, questions such as "Can you explain your reasons for . . . . ?', "What are your priorities? and "What else is there that you think I should know?" are excellent ways of gathering the information you need.

Successful negotiating!

If you would like some more tips on negotiating, feel free to contact me via www.nationallearning.com.au.

Copyright © 2006 The National Learning Institute

Bob Selden is the Managing Director of the National Learning Institute and the author of the Negotiating Advantage™, an exciting way of improving your negotiating. You can get more information on Bob and the Negotiating Advantage™ at
http://www.nationallearning.com.au/index_files/NegotiatingAdvantageProfile.htm