Smart Buyer
Good morning everyone. Let me begin by asking, how many men present here think that they are smart buyers. And how many ladies think that they negotiate better than men.
(Responses)
Buying and negotiating is a part of our daily life. It starts from the time we wake up. The Door bell rings ! Everyone pretends to ignore as no one wants to get up. Negotiation starts, who will go and open the door. Remember, I opened the door yesterday, You go, No you go. Negotiation.
My daughter says, "Papa, I have to go out with friends to KFC, I need 500 rupees" "why ? You will get a meal in 300 and a drink in less than 100, I think 400 should be sufficient" - Negotiation.
I tell my son "you have to complete this chapter in one hour " After 40 minutes he has not reached even the half way mark. "Son, you are behind schedule, Do it fast " Project Execution and Follow up.
Next in line is the wife, "we have to go shopping in the evening try to reach home by 6" "Oh no, I have a meeting at 4 and a con call at 5. Take your call in the car" - Negotiation.
Well, I used to think that I am a smart buyer, After all I am a Buyer professionally and I am supposed to be buying materials and services for my organisation. For everyone else buying is a casual activity but not for me, I earn my living out of it !
Actually, we start buying when we are small kids. Our mothers ask us to buy petty things from the nearby retail store like onions. As we grow up we mature, more money is given to us to buy more items like medicines etc. But, if you are the youngest of your siblings even if you grow 40 year old, your parents will have more confidence on the buying power of your elder brother. My mother never believed that I could make costly purchases. It is ironical that at the same time I handled purchases worth crores in my Organization but was not considered a good buyer by my own mother.
Another scene, MD calls me to negotiate a deal worth 20 crores. I get on the job immediately call meeting of Operations Team, gather specifications, float enquiry, get quotation, compare, mercilessly negotiate with the vendors, Get good discounts. System is implemented and accolades flow from all corners. Everyone is happy. My smart buying powers earn me money in the form of salary and increments.
Another day, another scenario, I am returning home after closing a big order in office, When my wife calls, "can you please buy a kg of onions" A Smart Buyer to go and buy an item worth twenty rupees ! Anyway, I wear my Buyers mask and try some of my smart buying skills by telling the vegetable seller that it is available at ten percent lesser prices at a nearby mall. Quick comes the reply, "OK sir, please go there and spend Rs. 30 in parking charges and buy onions at two rupees less. I immediately realise that the total cost of ownership is high. With a sheepish grin, I take the onions and exit. When I reach home, I get quality feedback from the end customer that I have paid higher for the quality of material received and specifications. The size of the onion is smaller and they are also not dry which means that I have effectively paid higher price for the quality that I have purchased. So, is she a smarter buyer. No way, I am going to prove everyone at home wrong that I am a smarter shopper.
After a few more successful negotiations at home with my son and daughter on topics of national interest like buying Minion Tees and downloading Pokemon Go, I proceed for some more shopping and buying with my family. We start with my daughter's shopping and I realise in no time, that in this type of shopping, there is no place for the value of money, specifications or negotiation. What matters is just brand, visual perception and cost. Yes, you guessed it correctly, after shortlisting and dumping number of clothes in West side, Max and Jealous, finally Vera Moda is chosen. Now this is beyond my Ken. In office, we select the vendor with the lowest cost, but here the Head of Procurement is forced to buy something which is the costliest ? Can you imagine why ? The reason is that she thinks that she too is a Smart Buyer. She is able to effectively choose the best brand which enhances her image. Isn't she a smart shopper?
When I expressed my unwillingness to spend more than one thousand rupees for the toy of my son the rich kid asks me "are you not carrying your credit card, Papa, the more you purchase the more points get accumulated" When we were small we used to accept the limits given to us, but these kids are smarter.
My wife also doesn't waste time in proving that she too is a smart buyer by buying all those items which are available on heavy discounts or have some kind of scheme attached to it. So we end up buying more than we need or budget. But, she is able to save money in the long tun.
So, all of us are smart buyers but shopping motives are different.
Whereas, you can take a retirement from your respective jobs of being an Engineer and a software developer, as a Buyer I can never retire. As we grow older we become wiser and experienced buyers. The negotiations also never stops. I visualise a scenario when I am old and negotiating with my grand children to share the secret information of the keys of the refrigerator so that all of us can have ice creams.
Once a Buyer always a buyer. Happy buying and negotiating.
