How An “Empty Suit” Can Spoil Your Day
In foodservice purchasing jargon, an “empty suit” is a restaurant owner or chain executive that has buying authority, without knowledge or substance, yet maintains a know-it-all attitude with suppliers. Nothing makes a new national account sales executive more wary or a purchasing director more nervous that sitting down with an empty suit to negotiate the annual steak/burger/oil/or fry contract.
Such a person will want to control the big deal, forcing suppliers to feel compelled to go forward because of past business or future opportunities. I’ve watched less-than-savvy suppliers try to reach this type of owner/executive with information, education, logic and, more commonly, entertainment. For nothing! And when the supplier finally goes to the wall for the account and meets the pricing demands, the next demand is revealed or worse, the great price is handed to the competitor who closes the deal.
If buyers and suppliers don’t work together to manage the growing number of “empty suits” in foodservice, they can spoil your day. Most of the time the solution rests with telling the empty suit in advance what the Company wants to accomplish in the negotiations. Use the "KISS" system because they don’t want to know how you know about egg sets or cattle on feed or commodity trends. Too many purchasing directors try to please the boss when they should be taking charge. Hey, if the executive changes the game plan, use your skills to make lemonade out of lemons.
Based on my 17 years in foodservice consulting, my advice to sales executives is to ask yourself two questions: Am I being intimidated or is this request just a habitual response from a powerful person? And, how will giving in to this guy affect my company over the next 6 months? To most sales executives' amazement, when faced with a ridiculous proposition then can win by blurting out loudly, “You’ve got to be kidding!" to be following by confirmation that “you have best deal on the table”; then go silent…and stick to your guns.
To Higher Profits!
Fred
Fred Favole is Founder & President of Strategic Purchasing Services (SPS) a foodservice industry consulting firm specializing in purchasing department outsourcing and distribution program warehouse audits. He can be contacted at SPS@Gate.Net or 912.634.0030
