Small Business Tips: Spring Cleaning, Part 1

As you contemplate the weeds in your yard and cleaning out clutter in your closets, spring is also an excellent time of year to find ways to clean up specific areas of your small business.

The area of concern we'll focus on now is current suppliers or companies you use that provide regular services or products. By reevaluating your various accounts that you pay every month, you just might find areas to decrease your spending and increase your profit.

• First, you’ll need to research the market for specific services you use. For instance, if you’re open to changing your current shipping company, then gather all the promotions or advertisements you can from competitors for that service. You’ll need to know what current rates are before you attempt to negotiate a better deal or switch providers.
• Next, gather all the most recent statements of every account you pay on a regular basis. These could be bills you pay monthly, annually or twice a year.
• Schedule in a stretch of time to make some phone calls. Begin by contacting the companies you already use and ask to lower your rate, or have them match a current promotion for new customers.
• If you meet resistance, negotiate with the representative, or ask to speak with someone having more authority. Be pleasant and courteous, but also be persistent. If you do not get anywhere from your current provider, then call around to competitors to see if you can get a better deal.

It takes time and energy to renegotiate your payment plans with current providers, and it’s easy to put it on the back burner. But if you make the effort, you can find ways to trim costs and improve your benefits or services, which can increase your business profit. In the next part of this series we’ll take a look at specific areas where you can focus on cutting costs.