It's truly amazing what you can get when you just ask. Even though I'm going to focus on applying this to your business, this can also be applicable to other areas. My wife and I have found favor and received upgrades at the airport and at hotels just by simply asking for them.
In your business don't be afraid to ask for discounts - especially with vendors you do a lot of business with. In our furniture business we were able to negotiate a 5% discount with two of our major suppliers. 5% doesn't sound like a lot, but when you're talking about a higher ticket item like furniture, it adds up to be thousands of dollars per year in savings.
We also work with a warehouse that helps us with our shipping needs. We simply asked for a discount and they cut our monthly fees by 40%!!!
Remember, none of this would have happened had we not asked. If you're already in business take a look at all your expenses and see where you can "trim the fat" so to speak. Do some research on where you might be able to get items for your business at a better price. If you find another source that is less, see if your current source will match it or even beat it.
We saved a whopping 50% on wooden shipping pallets for our furniture because we ship nationwide just by shopping it around. My wife is a great negotiator and shopped around for a credit card processing company and got such a good rate that when telemarketers call from other processing companies they tell us that they can't come close to the rate we have. Again, all of this happened because we asked.
If you're just starting your business remember that everything is negotiable. Even though you may not be doing a ton of business with your vendors yet, you can still get a better deal by asking for it.
I realize that none of this information is brand new or anything you probably haven't heard before, but as a business owner even little discounts can add up quickly and make a big difference in your bottom line.
I am typically by nature a little more shy about asking so if you're like me, have your spouse or business partner ask for the discount or handle the negotiations. It really does pay off.
For more business ideas, tips, and strategies see Ryan's blog at http://www.ryanreger.com.
