Introduce competition by presenting quotes from comparable services or relevant competitors. This tactic has been effective in previous negotiations, particularly when citing the sharper price point of an alternative supplier. Emphasize the comparison to reinforce urgency in the negotiation process.
Given the necessity for finance to approve purchases free from automatic renewals, emphasize that this stipulation will aid your negotiations. Many customers have found success in negotiating pricing reductions when pushing to eliminate auto-renewal clauses.
Make it clear that the budget for this year has not anticipated an uplift in price. Highlight this in discussions to encourage the seller to consider competitive benchmarking from other suppliers that may offer similar features without increases.
If your usage is set to grow significantly, this can be leveraged as a negotiating point for better pricing. Emphasize that the volume increase should warrant lower per-user costs based on economies of scale.
Present the necessity for certain features as a security requirement but highlight similar offerings available at no premium cost from competitors. This gives leverage to negotiate for additional features without price increases.