How do you manage and negotiate relationships with technology vendors to ensure you get the best value and support?

To negotiate relationships with technology vendors, the short answer is: come to the table prepared.

1. Know the (rough) amount of licenses that you're looking to acquire. You don't have as much negotiating power if you're looking for 1 or 2 licenses compared to 10+.

2. Know what you're looking for with a technology solution: What are your non-negotiables? What are you willing to negotiate or trade off on?

3. Understand what the competitors have to offer. Perhaps they have a capability that you're interested in, but don't need to have, and can use it to leverage a better deal. Also, don't be afraid to evaluate multiple vendors at the same time & let the vendors know that you're weighing multiple options.

4. Don't be afraid to ask for something that may seem "outside the box", like a free trial or additional services/support for free. You don't know if it's available unless you ask and the worst they can say is, "No."

5. Finally, know your technology vendor's business cycle. If you negotiate toward the end of a quarter or a fiscal year, you tend to get better prices.

Once you've negotiated your pricing to get the best value, managing the relationship to get the best support is about you - or a member of your team - taking time to build a relationship with that vendor.

If you have a dedicated rep or support team, have periodic touch bases where you ask questions or provide feedback on the product. Let them know what works well and what doesn't. Make sure that you have an agenda/purpose for the meetings so they don't become a waste of time, but that regular touchpoint is where you can be educated on new features that can assist with strategic goals, potentially join beta test groups to help the product become better and become better educated on the product that you've purchased.

Ultimately, the better that you and your team understand your tech stack, the better you can avoid unnecessary redundancy and build a leaner, better supported RevOps system for your company.