SaaS Negotiations: Appeal to Your Customer and Secure a Deal

It’s true that cost and functionality are important elements of Software as a Service, or SaaS, contract customer negotiation. However, there are a lot of other factors that your buyers are going to consider, as well.

One Book That Will Change Your Perspective on SaaS

A great metaphor for this kind of situation can be found in the pages of  Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip and Dan Heath. One of the most significant passages in the book requires the reader to visualize a rider on an elephant. How do you get the elephant to go where you want it to go? Sorry to tell you, but if the elephant wants to go left and the rider wants to go right, the elephant is going to win. In this situation, the rider represents logic and the elephant represents emotion. In order for the rider to get where they need to go, they need to work in tune with their emotions.

What Do Elephants Have To Do With Customer Negotiation?

If a customer is making a decision regarding the purchase of your SaaS service, you have to speak to their rider, or their logical side, and their elephant, or their emotional side.

How to Influence the “Rider”

• Cost
• Functionality
• ROI
• Differentiation

How to Influence the “Elephant”

• Negotiating to a Win/Win (i.e. care about their issues and not just your issues).
• Having an easy to understand Model and Pricing structure.
• Communicating reasons why your customer should trust you with their data.
• Having a transparent and simple Security, Privacy, Disaster Recovery, and Data Breach Policy.
• Posting support terms and your SLA on the web.
• Providing a simple, transparent and streamlined SaaS agreement.
• Building a Trust Site.
• Being likable.

Appeal to Both Sides of Your Customer

If you think that it only takes a good ROI and a demo to close a deal, then you are missing the boat. There is a lot more going on in the psyche of the person, or group, making the decision to purchase your SaaS service. Make sure you are talking to their rider and their elephant, as you need both to secure the best chance of closing a deal.

Resources:

Building a Trust Site.

Review of the book Switch

Disclaimer: This post is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not legal advice. You should hire an attorney if you need legal advice, which should be provided only after review of all relevant facts and applicable law.

How do you try and appeal to both sides of your consumer? Let us know in the comments section below!