Page 105 - Paulisms: Gold Nuggets for Small Business

A recent example was when I noticed quite an increase in what we were purchasing from a company. I also saw that they were charging freight on some orders and not others. I said to my accounts staff, ‘Go to that company and say you want free freight.’ And we got it. ‘Now go back and say, ‘In view of the increased volume, we want an extra 30 days credit.’ They still got their price – they weren’t dropping it and we weren’t asking for a discount. We weren’t negotiating the price but negotiating the terms. The freight was a big saving (straight on bottom line) and the terms were huge, as it again saved us on the overdraft.
Paulism: Eighty percent of discounts are given when they don’t have to be. Read and know the person you are dealing with and work out their response. Don’t be afraid to ask or negotiate. As long as they get their price, they are flexible.
3.5.2 Possession is 9/10ths of the law
Early in my career I learnt this one from one of my lawyers: possession is 9/10ths of the law.
If you owe someone some money or have the products in your possession, you have the upper hand. You have the power in the negotiation.
That is why you never pay in full tradespeople or companies who are doing work for you (not unreasonably) until the job is 100% complete, you are happy and issues are sorted. It is very difficult to get the contractors/tradespeople back if you have already paid them.