What they know to be true is true

Posted on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:37:00 Author : From :

You need to know certain golden points in order to give the impression of a professional buyer.

The first is, leave your ego behind in your office. What they know to be true is true, just agree. You have to remember that the majority of suppliers you will meet are 30 year olds who have had a very socialist / communist , closed eduation. What they have learnt when they were young is true to them.

To illustrate my point. I remember about 7yrs ago, I was in china during the christmas season, more concretely I was in the sunglasses / lighters city of china, Wenzhou. We got into a discussion with some supplier friends of mine, that was astonishing to me. According to them the new year was on the 30^th of december and not the 31^st of december.

No matter how many times I would tell them , they would not beliee the fact that it is the 31^st when the new year was to come. And funnily enough, my insistence on the fact was actually infuriating them and they were feeling insulted. It is only natural, if all yoour life they have told you that the world is square, and suddently it is round, you are going to feel quite angry about it, to say the least.

My point is, just accept what they believe. You are not going to win a prize for being right or wrong, but on the other hand you may become friendlier to your supplier, which means, there are more chances to win on the negotiating table.