Introduce competition in your negotiation to leverage better pricing or terms. Highlight that other competitors offer similar solutions at lower costs. Share specifics, such as what offers have been presented to you and make it clear that the budget constraints require discussions around competitive pricing.

If the contract includes an uplift, clearly communicate that you were not expecting this increase and advocate for it to be removed. Tie your argument to budget requirements and point out that existing partnerships typically do not impose uplifts, especially when they're not documented in previous agreements.

Negotiate to remove any auto-renewal clauses in your contract. Emphasize that your finance team requires this to maintain flexibility and prevent unplanned expenditures. It's essential to make clear that such clauses hinder future evaluations of the vendor's services.

If there's a need to add features or services for compliance or security, use this as leverage to negotiate for reductions or waivers on pricing since other suppliers may include these features at no additional cost.

If you are planning to increase usage significantly, leverage this growth by emphasizing that the volume increase should lead to lower per-user costs. Make sure to anchor this conversation in the expected value that comes with the additional investment.