You might get a funny look if you told someone that much of what makes a successful purchasing manager is the same as what makes a successful salesman. Negotiation, persuasion, collaboration and analytical skills are among the most important skills shared by both the salesman and the purchasing manager. For purchasing, those skills come into play in the need to garner the support from people who control resources both inside your company and at your suppliers.

Let's look at the internal resources first. Purchasing is becoming an increasingly important function in most businesses—and the need for purchasing to foster support for supplier policies across the enterprise is growing by the day. A visible purchasing manager—and more importantly a visible department—is the key first step to collaboration with other functions in the business.

A clear understanding of key objectives of other departments in the business—and the strategies in place to achieve them—should be part of any message that you project to these internal functions. Messages to other functions in the business need to clearly detail the Who, What, When and most importantly the Why of what you are trying to achieve, and how it benefits or affects other departments and the business as a whole.

The messages across the business should be regular, consistent and should include one on one, smaller meetings and occasionally larger presentations that allow the listeners to ask questions and give feedback.

While there are many ways to navigate the waters of your own organization to foster support for your objectives, it is the outside resources—specifically your suppliers—that require the more powerful skills of persuasion.

Look back in your experience as purchasing manager and think of some of the better salespeople that you met and what they had in common. Was it a nice personality? Sincerity? Did they seem to have you and your company's best interests in mind? Did they have a good understanding of your business and thorough understanding of the market? You too should learn these skills so that you can do a better job of convincing your suppliers to go along with both you and your ideas.

Purchasing and manufacturing seek to achieve the same goals for the corporation—to supply products to meet customer demand as efficiently as possible. The difference between these two functions is that manufacturing does this with internal resources and self-managed constraints and purchasing does this with other people's assets through the power of influence.

The best purchasing managers realize that their credibility in the supply base and their understanding of the market, particularly when working in low-cost regions like Asia, are their two most important tools. Before going to talk with a supplier you must ask yourself a few questions:

1.Is what I am asking for from the supplier fair?

2.Is what I am asking for in the longer-term interest of the relationship?

3.Is what I am asking for clear and achievable?

4.How much room do I have to negotiate with internal resources to bridge the gap?

Unrealistic requests from other departments in the business (thrown over the wall), which are passed on directly to the supplier, weaken your credibility and the relationship with the supplier. You should manage expectations during your internal communication meetings prior to talking with the suppliers and carefully manage what is requested of the supply base.

Author Information Keenan has held leadership positions for both U. S. and European multinationals, including Honeywell, Black & Decker, Philips Electronics, and Newell Rubbermaid. He is now based in Melbourne, Australia and attending law school. Reach him at tom.keenan@mac.com.