Navigating the negotiation waters

Negotiation is an art and it’s not for everyone. There we said it! We dive into the evaluation of multiple tools and execution, giving little or no importance to spend. Owing to the speed of the process, most of them tend to ghost a platform if it doesn’t suit their budget or have the features they need. This process can more often than not cause a dent in the partnership with a fellow SaaS company. And that’s exactly why negotiation should be done more tastefully.

Here are a few pointers that’ll help you better :

Do’s

1. Be transparent: When speaking about a prospective partner, we don’t tell them we’re also looking at their competitor. We seem to hold back on that information thinking it’s bad. But here’s why you should say it out loud.

• Better discounts
• No extraordinary hopes are set on you by the representative, which means more meaningful content and less spam.
  

2. Decision-Making Criteria: It’s important, to be frank with your partner on your expectations, budget, and your deadline. Instead of window-shopping, specifics can lead to more meaningful conversations, eliminating confusion.
3. Sales is hard, Be kind: In-house reps or reps at your vendors’- they’re all the same. Sales can get tough and if you’re not clear with your needs and expectations. It can lead to confusion and bitterness between the two of you. And if you’re evaluating a tool during the end of the month, let’s say it’s even more difficult for the reps as quotas and targets come into play.  When navigating a discussion be more kind and emphasize what’s important to you. This will let you know if the discussion they bring to the table is worth it.

Dont’s

1. Price wars: Don’t let your competitors engage in a price war amongst one another. Look at the value you get with your packaged deal!
2. Ghosting your vendor: If you’re not going ahead with a certain vendor, don’t ghost. Even if it’s a rejection, people want to know rather than having an open-ended one-way conversation. If not you, they might use your feedback to improve their product or process so that they secure the next deal.

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Your Negotiation Guide

1. Ask for Quotes: Sometimes a certain quote might be expensive but it might be the one with the best value.
2. Benchmark your Pricing: Compare the process, product, and future renewals with one company against other. Then analyze if the quote is worth it. Yes, it is a tedious process, and that’s why Spendflo is here! Our robust price benchmarking database will help you make an informed decision every time.
3. Set the Budget: Post benchmarking, shortlist the vendors you’ll be evaluating more seriously. For example, if you were looking at 6 vendors, when shortlisting choose the best 2. The best 2 are the people who provide you with the most value and also fit inside your budget range and expectations.
4. Set deadlines and reach out to your vendors: Give yourself and your vendors a deadline. This will help you accelerate your evaluation process. If someone has quoted beyond your budget, ask them to match it. To help you with decision-making, ask for customer testimonials, battlecards, and referrals. This will enable you to take a more confident decision.

But if you’re worried to handle all this by yourself along with the commitments of your day-to-day job, hand over the entirety of your negotiation process to Spendflo.

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Want to see how Spendflo helps you negotiate?

For example, let's say you’re looking for a SaaS tool and you’ve narrowed it down to two of your best picks. But both exceed $3000 from your set budget. Here’s how we help:

ABC company’s first quote was $30,000, through parallel negotiations we can get you the same tool at $25,000 and save you $5,000 in the process.

And

Acme Corp has given you the first quote of $28,000, we can get it down to $24,000- $25,000 and save you $6,000 in the process.

Now you can evaluate and pick the vendor you like without thinking about negotiations and budgets!

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Want to know more?

Get in touch with us at Spendflo!