Do More with Less: How Assisted Buying Makes Your Negotiations a Breeze

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Are you finding it challenging to get the right software for your organization at the best price?

If you're short on time and bandwidth for vendor negotiation, ill-informed negotiations might result in missed opportunities for better contract clauses, pricing, and scalability options.

In such a situation, you can opt for assisted buying services.

By hiring expert SaaS buyers and contract negotiators, you can delegate the procurement process and enhance your team's capabilities.

With the expertise of industry professionals, getting the right price, building partnerships, and handling complex contracts become easier.

For simplified vendor negotiations, check out this article for key insights to consider before choosing SaaS buying services.

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What is assisted buying?

Assisted buying is a strategic process in which SaaS buying/vendor negotiation experts provide guidance and support during procurement. They act as an extended team for your procurement teams, ensuring a smooth and successful process.

These specialized services can make purchasing decisions easier. The goal is to help you make informed choices, optimize purchasing outcomes, and save time and resources.

Assisted buyers help with software selection, negotiation, vendor assessment, and smooth implementation. They thoroughly analyze the vendors and the market and provide expert insights to facilitate effortless negotiation and secure better deals.

They will streamline decision-making and understand your software needs, budget, and desired features. Then, they take action:

• They thoroughly analyze your requirements and preferences to understand your specific needs better.
• Using their expertise and access to market data, they research and identify several project management software options that align with your criteria.
• Armed with market insights and negotiation skills, the assisted buyers negotiate with the software vendors on your behalf to secure the best possible pricing and terms.
• They present a shortlist of software options and recommendations, highlighting each solution's pros and cons based on your needs and budget.
• After deciding, the assisted buyers can offer ongoing support during implementation.

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Why do organizations prefer assisted buying for SaaS in 2024?

In 2024, organizations increasingly turned to assisted buying, drawn by its simplicity and effectiveness. Let's uncover the major reasons behind this paradigm shift.

1. To save time and increase the productivity of the in-house procurement team

Many companies turn to assisted buying to save time and improve their procurement processes. This approach lets them tap into external expertise to handle the complexities of SaaS procurement, freeing up internal teams for other tasks.

Instead of spending weeks on research and negotiations with multiple vendors, companies can shorten the process with procurement experts with existing relationships and market knowledge.

2. To procure the right product at the right price

With the help of assisted buying services, companies can obtain the right product at the right price. They offer access to extensive price benchmarking data, enabling organizations to compare prices across vendors and make well-informed decisions.

This prevents overpayment for SaaS solutions and ensures maximum value for their investment. For instance, a company seeking project management software can use assisted buyers to compare pricing and features from various vendors.

3. To provide backup to their lean procurement team

Organizations opt for assisted buying to support their small procurement teams. With many companies having lean procurement departments, handling the complex process of SaaS procurement can be tough and time-consuming.

Outsourcing procurement tasks can strengthen your organization's abilities and seize opportunities without resource constraints. For instance, startups can efficiently navigate the process using assisted buying services, avoiding needing extra hires.

4. Access to expertise and price benchmarking data

Access to expertise is a key benefit of assisted buying in SaaS procurement. Their specialized knowledge and experience in the market offer valuable insights and recommendations. This is useful in negotiating contracts and securing favorable terms for organizations.

For example, a company looking for CRM software can benefit from assisted buyers as they will share the market price for the software, including the latest price benchmarks to ensure that the company is paying the right price for the product as their peers.

5. To optimize costs and enhance vendor relationships

With the support of assisted buyers, organizations can effectively optimize costs and foster better vendor relationships. Through their experience and market knowledge, they identify cost-saving opportunities, negotiate favorable terms, and ensure that companies receive maximum value from vendor agreements.

For example, if you're looking to buy new software but are unsure about the best deal or fair pricing, assisted buyers can help.

They will analyze the market to understand price benchmarks and use their negotiation skills to secure better prices, and work closely with vendors to ensure smooth communication. This saves money and fosters a positive partnership with vendors for future collaborations.

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How can assisted buyers help your procurement team in negotiation?

When you opt for assisted buying, your procurement process becomes streamlined. Also, you receive expert assistance and valuable market insights to secure the best deals at optimal costs.

With assisted buyers, you can rest assured that they will:

1. Do the heavy lifting of vendor research

Assisted buyers handle the tough task of researching vendors during negotiation. They save your team time and ensure you have all the necessary information.

When searching for new software, they carefully study the market, considering factors such as vendor reputation, product features, pricing, customer reviews, and industry trends.

They check vendor websites, industry reports, customer feedback, and online forums to gather all the needed info. This ensures your team can negotiate confidently based on comprehensive information.

With hundreds of software options available, sifting through them and finding the right solution can be daunting. This is where assisted buyers can help you by taking over the heavy lifting and letting your core team focus on strategic operations.

2. Analyze your team’s usage data and prepare a renewal negotiation plan

Assisted buyers analyze your team's data to determine the best strategies for securing the best deal during contract renewals. Examining your app usage patterns, they identify opportunities to optimize costs and propose money-saving solutions.

Here's an example of how an assisted buyer prepares a renewal negotiation plan:

Let's say your company has used project management software for the past year and wants to renew the contract. The assisted buyer would gather data on your team's software usage. They will look at metrics such as:

• Number of active users: How many on your team regularly use the software?
• Frequency of usage: How often is the software accessed or used by your team members?
• Feature utilization: Which software features are being utilized the most, and which ones are not being used at all?
• Support and maintenance requests: How many support tickets or maintenance requests have your team submitted during the contract period?

If they find only some team members used the software after analyzing the data, they will create a renewal negotiation plan based on these insights. This plan could include recommendations such as:

• Downgrading to a lower-tier plan that better aligns with your team's usage patterns.
• Negotiating for a discounted rate based on the underutilization of certain features.
• Requesting additional training or support services to address any issues or concerns raised during the contract period.

3. Provide insights and tactics to your procurement team

Assisted buyers are negotiation experts who offer priceless help to your procurement team. With their know-how, they guide your team through negotiations seamlessly. Their tips and strategies really make a difference in getting better deals.

For example, they identify cost-saving opportunities or propose alternative solutions that better suit your needs. They recommend a better-priced vendor or negotiate for additional perks like extended support.

In cases where your procurement team takes the lead in vendor negotiations, assisted buyers will provide valuable insights and negotiation tips to support your efforts effectively. Their help ensures your team is ready to handle tricky procurement negotiations and get the best results.

4. Take over the entire negotiation process and save your team’s time

Assisted buyers can be a significant time-saver for your team, especially during negotiations. Instead of your team spending hours coordinating and negotiating with the vendor, the assisted buyer takes charge.

They handle all communication with the vendor, manage negotiations, and ensure smooth progress. This frees up your team to focus on other essential tasks without getting caught up in negotiation details.

To understand how this happens, check out this testimonial from Diego Coria of Nowports, who secured a 34% savings with CloudEagle's effective negotiation.

5. Purchase SaaS without exceeding your budget

Assisted buyers analyze different SaaS prices and negotiate deals that fit their budgets. They are well-versed in negotiation strategies and can secure discounted rates for you, ensuring optimal value for your investments.

By working closely with vendors and leveraging their negotiation skills, they ensure you get the necessary software solutions without breaking the bank. With assisted buyers on your side, you can rest assured that your SaaS purchases are financially sound and optimized for maximum value.

6. Ensuring you pay the same as your peers

Assisted buyers ensure you get fair deals by comparing prices to industry standards. This dedication to fairness builds trust with vendors, strengthens relationships, and enhances long-term procurement practices, guaranteeing the best value for your investment.

For instance, they compare prices with what other companies pay for similar software when purchasing software tools. If they discover you're overcharged, they negotiate to lower the price fairly.

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CloudEagle - Your assisted buying partner in vendor negotiations

CloudEagle is a SaaS management and procurement platform that offers SaaS buying services. You can seek assistance from our negotiation experts and let them handle your procurement process while your team can focus on their core tasks.

The tool is useful for:

1. Analyzing platform usage insights

CloudEagle helps you manage all your apps in one place. With CloudEagle’s wide integration library, you can easily link all your apps to see your SaaS stack. You will see which ones you use, how much you spend, and how many licenses you have. This info is key for negotiating with vendors and avoiding unnecessary costs.

2. Accessing the latest price benchmarking data

The tool provides SaaS buyers access to up-to-date price benchmarks from a vast database of over $2 billion in transactions and reliable sources, ensuring fair pricing compared to others. Our experts negotiate with vendors to secure the best deal, preventing overpayment for applications in the future.

3. Getting an experienced extended team

When you work with us for SaaS buying, we don't take over the entire procurement process. Our experts team up with your internal staff, giving helpful advice and suggestions. We analyze your needs, recommend apps and vendors, plan proposals, and negotiate deals while considering your input.

Check out this testimonial from Sophie Wang, Head of Finance at Wefunder, describing how CloudEagle helped them save time and resources with contract negotiations and SaaS procurement.

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4. Access to years of negotiation expertise

Our SaaS buyers bring years of negotiation experience to the table. They analyze your requirements, conduct thorough market and competitor analyses, leverage the latest pricing benchmarks, and provide precise insights for successful negotiations.

Check out this case study: Sophie Wang, Finance Manager at Wefunder, shares her success story of how CloudEagle helped them save on SaaS spend through negotiations.

5. Utilizing advanced procurement workflows

We didn’t just offer assisted buying services; our platform can streamline your SaaS procurement process with automated workflows. CloudEagle automatically assigns tasks to the right people, saving your procurement team time.

You can notify stakeholders through Slack, email, or in-app notifications and collaborate in a private Slack channel for decision-making. You also get "Slack for Procurement," a dynamic Slackbot to help your employees raise purchase requests directly from Slack.

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Conclusion

Assisted buying makes vendor negotiation a breeze by teaming you up with experts. Although we recognize the competence of in-house procurement teams, most organizations face a shortage of negotiation expertise.

Assisted buyers fill this gap by offering insider insights and tailored advice. Rather than investing time and resources into building and training a new team, consider outsourcing your SaaS procurement process to us. It will let your team concentrate on their primary responsibilities while we manage the complexities.

As technology progresses and services improve, the advantages of assisted buying will only grow, reshaping our approach to negotiations in today's market.

Here is Armory’s customer success story, in which they discuss how outsourcing their procurement process to CloudEagle increased their savings.

Schedule a demo with CloudEagle to learn more about using assisted buying services to get the best deals at the right market cost.

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