Presenting competition as a viable alternative can significantly strengthen your negotiating position. Emphasize the cost efficiency of competitors and articulate how any proposed price from your current vendor must align with budget constraints from finance. This tactic works best when you provide concrete quotes from competitor offerings to anchor the negotiation.
If you anticipate a substantial growth in the number of users requiring access to the software, present this as a leverage point. Indicate that with this growth comes the expectation of reduced costs per user as part of an economy of scale. Articulate the intention of rewarding bulk purchasing with discounts to make the negotiation favorable.
If your organization is willing to consider a longer-term engagement with the vendor, discuss how multi-year commitments are rare for your finance team. You can anchor the negotiation by stating that if they want your commitment for a longer term, a significant discount from standard pricing is needed as a show of commitment from both parties.
Propose that participating as a reference or a case study can be a powerful negotiating tool. Articulate that your organization can provide valuable insights and testimonials which are beneficial for the vendor's marketing efforts, and as such would expect some price reduction or favorable terms in exchange.
Negotiating to remove auto-renewal clauses in the contract can grant your organization more flexibility for future negotiations. Emphasize that financial policy changes now dictate that auto-renewals must be absent for any new contracts to avoid pitfalls from prior commitments.