Leverage competitive quotes when negotiating with Abacum. If you have competing bids that are lower than Abacum's pricing, use this as a strong negotiating point. Explain that finance requires you to consider alternatives due to significant price differences, creating urgency for Abacum to adjust their offer. Highlight how much less the competition values similar functionality and ask Abacum to match or beat that price.
Request the removal of auto-renewal clauses in your contract. Emphasize that this is a new requirement from your finance or legal teams, ensuring you have control over future pricing adjustments and partnership renewals. This tactic can help alleviate concerns regarding ongoing costs without your explicit agreement, which can lead to better negotiation outcomes.
Utilize the tactic of negotiating a one-time discount for the first purchase. If Abacum proposes a price without context as a one-time discount, bring attention to the lack of documentation regarding this. Insist that any discount apply towards future renewals as well. This requests the foundation of a long-term pricing strategy moving forward while leveraging any one-time cost as a negotiation point.
Push back against any presented uplift in the proposed contract renewal. State that a 0% growth in costs is a standard expectation due to budget constraints and that you did not consent to any increase without prior notice. This can create leverage for lower prices or revised terms without increasing costs.
If you're looking to expand your usage significantly, emphasize your impending growth to negotiate lower rates per user. Highlight the expected economies of scale due to increasing usage, and ask for a pricing structure that reflects this growth rather than a linear model.