1. Save your organization big bucks with your newfound know-how for getting better deals – every time.
2. Gain new sources for finding dependable suppliers, vendors, and contractors.
3. Know how to screen potential vendors to find out if they can really deliver what they promise – when they promise.
4. Use smart strategies to get suppliers to be more competitive in bidding projects.
5. Avoid costly mistakes commonly made in purchasing.
6. Save valuable time and money by knowing how to buy online – without getting burned.
7. Tactfully but assertively get sales reps to stop schmoozing you and get down to business.
8. Know how to find a “ballpark figure” for what you should have to pay so you’ll know if you’re getting gouged.
9. Understand exactly what should go into a contract to ensure you get what you’ve paid for.
10. Ensure that quality and service measure up to your specifications.
11. Gain win-win negotiating techniques that’ll build strong business relationships with suppliers.
12. Recognize instantly when a bargain is NOT a bargain.
13. Write crystal-clear proposals that can’t be misinterpreted.
14. Spot unscrupulous tactics suppliers’ reps sometimes use so you’ll avoid being taken in.
15. Contain costs when prices keep rising by using savvy techniques for stretching your budget.
16. Know exactly what your options are when goods or services are delivered late.
17. Get through to even the most out-to-lunch vendors with proven communication techniques.
18. Understand when to use which kinds of contracts.
19. Solve day-to-day operational problems that have plagued you for so long.
20. Unlock the secret to getting vendors to treat your small-potatoes account like gold.

• Office managers
• Purchasing agents
• Business unit supervisors
• Buyers
• Assistant buyers
• Purchasing assistants
• Others who want to work more effectively with vendors, contractors, and suppliers – and get better deals!

Essentials for Making Smart Purchasing Decisions

• The impact of buying decisions on an organization’s bottom line
• Basic do’s and don’ts for purchasing success
• 3 key skills you must have to make smart purchasing decisions
• Understanding the impact your attitude and apprehensions can have on your results
• 7 key considerations in purchasing goods or services
• Be a quick study: how to turn yourself into an expert on the goods and services you’re buying
• Drafting standardized letters, purchase order forms, and other documents that save you tons of time
• Solutions to common day-to-day operational problems that plague purchasing
• The importance of having a policies and procedures manual, and what it should contain

Know What You Want So You’ll Get What You Want

• Setting realistic purchasing goals and objectives
• How to write crystal-clear proposals for bids and specifications for projects
• Keys to creating specifications that will ensure the level of quality and service you need
• How-to’s for effectively using RFQs (Request for Quotation)
• Tactics for getting competitive bids when you need them “yesterday”
• How many bids should you get, and what do you do if only one bid comes in?
• When bids vary enormously: how-to’s for finding a “ballpark figure” of what you should have to pay
• Requesting rebids: How often and under what circumstances should you do it?

The Care and Feeding of Vendors and Suppliers

• Great sources for finding reputable suppliers and vendors – and how to gather information on them
• Developing criteria and standards for vendors, suppliers, and contractors
• Proven methods for screening and evaluating vendors with greater success
• Being wined and dined: tips for cutting through the schmooze to establish productive relationships
• Recognizing unscrupulous tactics that reps for suppliers, vendors, and contractors may try to use
• Communication techniques for making sure you’re on the same wavelength as your suppliers
• The secret to getting vendors to treat your small-potatoes account like gold
• Asserting your purchasing authority when a vendor’s sales rep tries to “work around you”
• What you got isn’t what they promised? Techniques for getting prompt action from suppliers
• Partnering with your suppliers for mutual benefit

Negotiation Tactics: Bargaining Your Way to a Win-Win Deal

• Developing a sound strategy before you negotiate
• Understanding where your real bargaining power comes from
• Recognizing how suppliers and vendors establish their prices
• Sidestepping common negotiating mistakes that can really cost you
• Important questions you should ask whenever you negotiate
• Win-win negotiating techniques that work like a charm
• Which charges and terms can likely be negotiated?
• Why price is not always the most important consideration
• When and how to compromise on a deal without giving up too much
• Cues that signal you’ve got the best deal they can give you

Cost-Containment Strategies That Can Save Big Bucks

• Immediate ways you can save that buyers often overlook
• Avoid commonly made purchasing mistakes – and save big-time
• When is a bargain NOT a bargain? Here’s how to tell
• Avoid getting burned by suppliers’ out- of-stocks and late deliveries: Here’s how
• Savvy techniques for getting suppliers to bid more competitively for your business
• Value analysis: How to make it work to improve the bottom line
• Forward buying, long-term agreements, and other cost-cutting strategies that can pay off big
• Spotting hidden costs in a deal, including your time
• Strategies for controlling costs when prices keep climbing

What Every Buyer Needs to Know About Contracts and Purchasing Law

• A few basic points of purchasing law you must know
• Different types of contracts, and when to use which for best results
• How to draft a binding contract that ensures the quality, level of service, and delivery time you require
• When – and how – you can get your organization out of a bad deal
• How to make sure your specifications can’t be misinterpreted
• Clearly stating terms of delivery, payment and more
• Which purchasing records must be kept – and how long
• Understanding your options when a vendor or supplier violates a contract

Using the Web to Make Better Buying Decisions … and Get Better Deals!

• Reverse auctions: A Web-based tactic to use for getting competitive bids when you need them “yesterday”
• Six benefits of reverse Internet auctions
• Internet information hubs: How to REALLY get purchasing information on the Web
• E-mails and the danger of “spoliation” – a legal nightmare
• Security issues: What are the risks of using e-mail to do business in purchasing?

“This was the best, most useful class I’ve ever taken. It was exceptional.”
K. Cash

“Wow! This is training I should have attended long ago!”
J. Russell

“... the most beneficial seminar I’ve attended in terms of overall increase in knowledge and techniques. Thank you!!”
R. Duda

“The training covered a wide variety of topics which I found helpful. I am looking forward to practicing the concepts I learned during the course.”
M. Guenther

“You leave feeling like you can do anything.”
L. Poindexter

“I wish I’d have taken this workshop a long time ago … what a difference!”
A. Todel