Season 3 Ep 67: Are You Asking? Negotiating with Vendors

If you sell product, you should be asking.In this episode, Cheryl and Liz discuss how to build vendor relationships that actually improve your margin with better pricing, extra percentages, showroom discounts, and free samples by strategy. They share how to pre-sell projects, position your showroom as leverage, communicate upcoming sales, and negotiate from clarity instead of hope. Because reps are motivated by volume — and if you’re moving product, you have influence. This is about operating like a business owner.If you are ordering it anyway, ask.If you are promoting it, ask.If you are bringing them business, ask. Margin often lives in the conversation you didn’t initiate.Have a question--click here to ask us.RESOURCE LINKS:Damn Good Workshops - WebsiteJoin us for our next workshop on February 25!These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - WebsiteThe best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching ProgramThe Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching ProgramThe Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business CoachingJoin our FREE Facebook GroupsSmall Business - Think Big - FacebookWhat They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook GroupFor designers who need honest talk and a place to work on the business, marketing and promotion small business owners need.Subscribe to our NewsletterABOUT US:Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***