In business, everything’s negotiable.

If you don’t have a deal in place right now, then you simply haven’t discovered the best solution for both parties.

When was the last time you revisited your existing purchasing practices with your wholesale suppliers?

If it’s been a while, here’s some items to consider to help you negotiate a better working relationship with your supplier:

1. Your Leverage is Your Purchasing Volume

How many units can you realistically sell over a given time period? Have you identified new ways to increase your own sales? How can you use those projections to negotiate better deals with your suppliers?

The point isn’t to trap and coerce a better deal out of your partner. You want to have something you can give them. And understanding your own sales data and forecasts is the starting point for all negotiations.

2. Look for Alternative Solutions If Prices Aren’t Negotiable

Always focus on extending terms, which improves your cash flow. Or, see if you can get faster shipping.

Maybe you can negotiate better return terms. Or maybe you can get a discount if you pay your invoice early.

Creative, original thinking, that’s fair and a win-win for both parties leads to successful deals.

3. Have Multiple Suppliers in Place

If you want to play hardball, you can talk to several suppliers at once. Just make sure that whatever offer you get from each, you get it in writing so you can show it to other suppliers.

Then, let the negotiating fun begin.

4. Make Yourself The Ideal Long-Term Customer (And Mean It)

Always be nice and friendly. Have a willingness to compromise. Because, you need your supplier just as much as they need you.

And if you become too emotionally taxing to justify the effort of working with you, your supplier might simply choose to stop doing business with you.

So think of what you like about your favorite customers, and always exemplify those characteristics to the best of your ability.

5. Add More Value to Your Supplier

You are your supplier’s gateway to new markets and more sales. What access do you have that they already don’t?

You can also work to reduce your supplier’s risks by signing a multiyear contract and agreeing to a purchase volume that works for you.

Negotiations can add quite a bit of profit to your margins and net profit. And if you’re a creative, open-minded thinker, you can make your bottom line much healthier.