Victory from the jaws of defeat

I decided to use the fact that I'm the new guy as a negotiating tool with one of my major suppliers. At the moment they are a sole source for that particular item. Gently and politely I acted somewhat crazy, asking for price reductions, improvements in terms, free engineering changes, and so on. Give me the world! The first response was a firm "NO". This was somewhat understandable since being the new guy also means I don't have any record of paying my bills. So, I tossed out more requests for help. I'd like to think that this was a clever and well-thought-out negotiation, but it was actually rather ad hoc.

Today something very interesting happened. I received an email I shouldn't have received. In essence it told me that the supplier was having the very reaction I hoped. They were willing to make adjustments because they feared losing me as a customer. "He's not the same as [the previous owner]," they said. Yeah! So, the end result? Although I only got about 50% of what I asked for, it's about 100% of what I hoped for. Absolute victory! It's good for both sides because I'll maintain the exclusive relationship as long as they continue to adjust the terms and price as I've asked. We'll both benefit in the long run. Anyway, I'm happy! Especially because I was terrified that they would continue to stonewall and I really would have to shop for an alternate supplier.

Also, we got another big order today. Go, magic fax machine!