Introduce competition as a negotiating tactic by bringing up competitors that offer similar functionalities at lower prices. Having firms competing for your business strengthens your position. Use this to press ESET for additional discounts, citing that another provider has quoted you at a lower price.

Negotiate to remove auto-renewal clauses in your contract. Emphasize that your finance team requires a flexible strategy with no automatic rollovers, ensuring that you have total visibility and control over your renewal process. This helps in maintaining a strong negotiating position for future terms.

Bring attention to any proposed uplifts in pricing upon renewal and argue for their removal based on budget constraints, historical spending, or change in usage needs. Solidify your ask for a flat renewal fee by presenting the argument that most providers of similar industry standards provide cost neutral terms as organizations expand.

If you expect to increase user numbers or scope substantially, leverage this growth as a reason to negotiate lower per-user pricing. Make it clear to ESET that growing your usage should come with a better pricing structure due to economies of scale.

Use your willingness to act as a reference or participate in a marketing case study as leverage to negotiate better terms. Emphasize the promotional benefits for ESET through your endorsement, which can warrant improved pricing or terms.