IDEA: Sell to your vendors: they may be the easiest customers you will get!

Of all of the companies that your firm deals with, vendors are normally the easiest to sell to if they have a need  you can fulfill. Vendors want more business from you.  If they have the need for your products and or services, they might as well buy from you in order to tie you up into their contract. Move Purchasing near the Sales department and make sure that Sales knows the name, address, telephone number and sales person of every new vendor you set up every day. They need to evaluate any potential to this easy new potential customer.  To generate interest, send free solicitations to your vendors along with their accounts payable checks you mail to them every week.  Give them discounts others will not because it is worth it. Offer to offset their invoices against yours when cutting net cash checks between each other if that is attractive to them. It will reduce the cash float between your two firms. Give your vendor’s list to the sales department and let them know how much you buy from them to get them started. Make sure to not only look up the firm but all of the associated companies that firm is related to.