Find A Good Supplier And Don't Let Go

If you’ve ever been to a fancy restaurant where the menu feels longer than The Old Testament, you’ll know just how infuriating choice can be. But you’ll also know how amazing it feels to pick perfectly and have everyone else drool over your dish, their blood boiling with food envy. Well, this scenario is not too different from choosing the right suppliers for your business.
They are the unsung heroes of your success; the relationships that have so much sway over your reputation, quality, pricing and timely deliveries. The trouble is, picking the perfect supplier isn’t as easy as Googling it and running away with the one that’s nailed their keywords and spend money on a great content writer. No. You want the best vendor to for you and to your business, the one that is going to make your success levels skyrocket.
So, without further ado, here’s how you can pick right first time:

1. Know Your Needs

This is as true as anything: you can’t pick the right supplier if you don’t know what it is you need. That’s why you need to go through it in as much detail as you can and then determine what your criteria is. But it won’t just help you know what sort of vendor you want, it will help you understand the difference in what several vendors might be offering. If you have a large farm, then you know you’ll want to have a fertilizer supplier who can handle the load, such as those at Fertilizerdealer.com, in the same way that, if you have a marketing business, you’ll want creative content writers more than white-paper copywriters. It’s knowing what you need and who can offer it.

2. Identify Who Is Out There

The next thing you should do is your own research so that you can identify which organizations will be able to do the best job of supplying your needs. It could be quality of price, or timeliness over quality, or innovation over timeliness. Whatever your needs, look for vendors that match. Once you’ve done that, contact each one and state your needs. How interested they are in jumping through the hoops of your selection process will be determined by the business you are offering, so keep that in mind, but people want repeat business so that should see them put their best offers forward.

3. Skip The Whole Process

A great option, and one that is getting easier by the day, is starting at the source. After all, if you're selling branded items, why not go directly to the manufacturer of the product and see if they would be interested in a partnership – something that usually comes with a minimum order requirement. If you are too small, you can always ask them for a list of suppliers they would recommend. Either way, you’re setting yourself up for the best price or most reliable vendors.
What’s more, you’ll be going through far fewer people too and that will lower your costs, which will make you more competitive.