Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Blog: Ask Your Vendors Now How You Can Cut Your Costs -- With Them

Don't vendor partners just want to be loved? And what better way for you to love them? During this economic slow-down, ask them how you can cut your costs with them.

You all know this family mobile phone service scenario. Your family runs up a ton of extra minutes of usage (maybe from text messaging!), you freak out over the bill, call the provider - who then calmly agrees that you're spending way too much and how your plan can be exchanged for one that costs far less. And by the way, you're due for a free phone upgrade.

Imagine if you or your team called up your top 10 IT suppliers and partners and asked them for suggestions to help you reduce your spending with them by 10 per cent or more. They lose revenue near term, but they retain a happy client who will want to do more when the economic clouds lift.

So what do you do for them in return for when they helpfully drop a price or suggest some other way for you to save? You recommend them to others, provide them with a success story they can use, agree to expand your relationship with them when your business picks up, introduce them to execs in another part of your firm.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other ways to cut costs. And even more compelling, maybe use the money you save with vendors, and actually invest!

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Bill

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Cloud Storage Strategy Guide
    Cloud Storage articles include: Public Cloud storage buyer’s guide: FAQ’s & Shopping Checklist; CIOs see promise in public Cloud storage; Cloud storage a steep climb; Cloud architecture: Questions to ask for reliability.
    Learn more »
  • Transforming Software Delivery: An IBM Rational Case Study
    The IBM Rational® software development organization consists of more than 2000 analysts, architects, project managers, developers, and quality professionals distributed over 15 locations on six continents. Our mission is to ensure the success of our customers through the development of a robust portfolio of software and systems delivery products. We create and maintain 57 product families that span distributed, System z®, and Power® operating environments.
    Learn more »
  • ALM Buyers Guide: A Practical Guide to Choosing the Right Agile Tools for your Team
    This buyer's guide describes the key criteria for application lifecycle management (ALM) solutions for today's high-performance teams. It includes key considerations for enhancing your single- or multi-vendor ALM environment.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments

HP and IDG news, product videos and resources