12 ways to become better partners with vendors

This video post is part of Sullivision on NRN.com, a resource center for restaurants looking for service, leadership and sales-building techniques from industry expert and NRN columnist Jim Sullivan.

Since nearly 50 percent of a restaurant’s expenditures go to its vendors for food, beverage, and supplies purchases, a requisite amount of time should be invested in managing those relationships positively.

This excerpt (at left) from the hour-long DVD 60 Second Lessons in Leadership outlines twelve specific ways to improve your vendor relationship and maximize your sales and profits. In it, I detail:

• How to balance price against quality;
• How — and why — to draft a Statement of Expectations;
• The importance of sharing praise as well as complaints;
• What fairness means today;
• How to leverage the expertise of your vendors resources to improve the development of your team;
• And seven more ways to maximize the relationship and outcome for both sides.

Jim Sullivan is chief executive and founder of Sullivision.com, which designs leadership, service and sales-building products, programs and services for the Top 200 restaurant and retail brands worldwide. Clients include McDonald’s, American Express and Walt Disney Company. More information on Sullivision and its products and services can be found at Sullivision.com.

Follow Jim Sullivan on Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn: @Sullivision