Presenting competitive alternatives can pressure GuardRails to lower their pricing or enhance their terms. Make it clear that you're exploring other software options because of significant price differences. Show that you have a budget constraint that ties closely to competitor offerings to strengthen your negotiation position.

Emphasize that with an increase in users or licenses, you expect favorable economies of scale. This can help in negotiating better rates per user or usage since scaling often leads to reduced costs per unit in SaaS contracts.

Negotiate to have any proposed uplift removed by anchoring your expectations based on prior agreements. Explain to GuardRails that your budget planning does not accommodate for price increases unless accompanied by significant increases in service or product delivery. Stress the precedent of flat renewals among comparable vendors to back your claim.

If you are uncertain about ongoing service quality or ROI from GuardRails, transitioning to a month-to-month contract can be a negotiating tactic. Make it clear that your finance team is only willing to approve a renewed contract if it’s on a month-to-month basis for the time being until confidence in the service grows.

Discuss the possibility of waiving overage fees, especially if you've seen growth in usage that aligns with the projected contract expansion. Point out that guardrails from previous partnerships have not enforced such fees when usage significantly increased.