If part of your job role is purchasing office supplies you will know there are many of office supplies companies wanting your business in the current economy. Many suppliers still hit the phones and promise buyers they can save around 20 -30% on supplies before they even know what they currently pay for stuff. Salesman with superhero genes still exist!
The reason many salesman are so confident in being able to save you such a large amount of money is they know the high margins they make from their existing customers (not new business customers as they need to LOOK cheap)
Supplier will want to make around 35-40% profit from as many stationery accounts as possible so who better than to do this with accounts they already have good relationships with. Is your existing supplier making lot’s of profit from you?
With NEW BUSINESS prospects suppliers are fare more generous on discounts so making high margins early on is not so important. But rest assured it won’t be long before your account starts making them money so buyers will have to stay on the ball. Quick profits can be made by replacing branded for non branded products and other product swapping tactics.
Unlike most products we all tend to buy on a daily basis like bread, milk etc many of us don’t know how much stationery products cost. Would you know how much is a lever arch file is? 10p – 50p – £1 -£2 or £3!
What you pay for individual items like lever arch files is neither here nor there really as it comes down to your total stationery or office supplies spend. The supplier’s software helps them work out the profits they need to make from ALL the products you buy from them. If an item you don’t buy many of can be charged at a high price they can make the lever arch file look like it only is costing you 10p. Believe me it’s very complicated until you work with a supplier who is OPEN, HONEST and UPFRONT about the margins they make from you.
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