1. Exchange Ideas You can never have enough good ideas yourself. So ask vendors and suppliers for their “good ideas”. After all, they see many others stores just like yours. Tap them for the better things they see on their daily routes.

2. Just Ask The easiest way to get more for less? Just ask. That might seem obvious, but it’s not widely practiced. This is especially true when it comes to getting a lower price.

3. Ask For Rebates If suppliers are unwilling to cut prices, they may be willing to offer rebates or other incentives.

4. Seek Training Nothing horrifies suppliers more than finding out that you aren’t properly representing their goods. Most vendors offer free training, but companies don’t usually look at their vendors as a training source.

5. Shop Around Suppliers appreciate loyalty and are likely to give a better price the longer you do business with them. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shop around – and let your suppliers know you’re doing so.

6. Make It Personal If suppliers and vendors feel like they’re more than your business associates, they’ll go the extra mile. They can also help you learn what other stores are doing successfully and unsuccessfully.

7. Give, Then Take Although many vendors will happily give little extras if you ask, it’s a good policy to put in extra effort yourself before asking for freebies.