Inform the supplier that you are evaluating competitors and bring up a specific competitor's offer for similar functionalities at a lower price. This tactic serves as leverage against the current proposal, making it clear that finance has constraints tied to budget and that further evaluation of alternatives is a real possibility. This can create urgency for the supplier to negotiate better terms.

Assess the proposed price against market standards based on the average contract values and savings you should expect while negotiating for the software. Highlight the lack of previous savings and insist that this contract should reflect a minimal increase or mark down from the current pricing if the value is not traditionally justified. This is essential to control costs, especially given that the average savings percentage is currently nil.

Negotiate to eliminate or waive any overage fees in the current or future contracts. If the previous agreement did not specify overage clauses, you can use this as leverage, pushing for favorable terms to ensure predictability in budgeting and resource allocation. Reference any past product functionalities that have changed or underutilization that justifies this request.

During negotiations, insist on removing auto-renewal terms from the contract. Emphasize that this is a requirement of your finance department to allow full control over future contracts and expenditures. This tactic helps maintain leverage in negotiations and prevents obligations that you might later regret.

Propose to participate as a reference or in a case study as long as the pricing and terms of engagement are beneficial. This can be a value proposition for the supplier as they may leverage your endorsement for marketing purposes. Make clear that such commitments should only be made if they respect the pricing framework and overall value proposition of the contract.