Getting A Better Deal With Suppliers

I organised quite a few things like photographer and transport early on in the planning processes when I was still relatively green.

Now I'm a fully blown wedding obsessive I realise that whilst I have got decent prices by shopping around, the suppliers I did choose I didn't do any negotiating with, I just accepted their first price! Do I just put this down to experience or is there any other way I can improve value for money with them?!!

Answer:

Everyday, we’re surrounded by price tickets on goods and services and we assume the cost is a fixed price. We tend to accept the face value of the price and don’t negotiate. After all, the English are particularly renowned for not wanting to make a fuss.

I’m glad to hear that you shopped around for the best prices and hopefully you ended up with a price for the that you’re happy with (and on budget). Well, now that you’re a little further down the line, there’s no reason why you can’t ask for more.

Negotiating isn’t just about getting the lowest price possible for a product or service. It’s much more than that and good negotiators will focus on the relationship, the added extras and the final service. After all, you don’t want to negotiate your supplier to death on price and end up with a sub standard service and a frustrated, resentful supplier!

If you’ve already agreed on price and your wedding date is coming up, the supplier knows that there is little room for manoeuvre. You don’t have the opportunity to change to suppliers at this late stage if something isn’t quite right, and as far as they’re concerned the contract is signed and the deal is done. Therefore, they’re in the mindset of just delivering on what on you ordered.

Instead of trying to negotiate on price, you could try to get ‘value adds’ instead. These little ‘value adds’ might be extra decoration, a few more flowers, free delivery, an upgrade on the room or your honeymoon flights, free favours, a better type of wine.... the list is endless really. Just use your imagination and see what you can think of, or what you’d like.

To do this, you really need to start to develop a good relationship with your supplier. After all, we like to business with people we like and we’ll generally go a little bit further if we like the person we’re dealing with.

Build that rapport with your supplier and make them your friend. Then when you’re ready, ask for the additional extra, but with no extra cost. People generally don’t like to say ‘no’ and if you’re a ‘friend’, it’s even harder.

Use positive language and avoid asking in a way that would invite a ‘no’ response. For example, instead of ‘can I get an upgrade on my wine at no cost?’, ask ‘how could I get an upgrade on my wine without increasing my budget?’. The latter requires them to give you the solution, rather than just saying ‘no’.

You may be lucky and get what you want, but you may find the response is a big fat ‘sorry, it’s not possible’. After all, the contracts been signed and probably paid for, so it’s tricky to get those added extras thrown in for free.

A clever way to achieve what you want, is to offer them something in return. Obviously, your budget won’t stretch any further, but you could offer your services in exchange for what you want. Some examples might be:
- You could offer to spread the word among your engaged friends. There’s nothing like positive, personal recommendations for a service, especially in a market like weddings. Make sure you mention how many friends this might include.
- If you have a service that might be useful to the supplier, you offer your expertise or time. For example, I used to work in marketing, so I could give them a couple of hours of my time to review their marketing plan and give them recommendations.
- You could promote their business in your shop, work place or within your local community.

You’re not handing over cash, but instead you’re offering something in exchange. You get the added extra and they gain from the relationship too. It’s a win-win scenario.

See if you can get anything thrown in and if you do, tell us how you did it by adding a comment below!

Best of luck