Contract renewals are on many negotiators’ priority lists at this time of year. These negotiations have a lot riding on them and can be stressful. To help ease the pressure, we brought together a roundtable of Scotwork procurement and sales negotiation experts to discuss the contract renewal questions submitted by our community.
These questions sparked the roundtable discussions in our webinar Mastering Contract Renewals. Our panel of negotiation experts included Sandy Sbarra and Kirbi Isaac, who have decades of combined procurement experience, as well as Julie Shen and Frank Marchesani, who have an equal amount of sales experience. This balanced gathering produced a robust discussion from both sides of the table, revealing insights and strategies for successful contract renewals.
It probably comes as no surprise that the number-one question asked concerns price — both increases and decreases. Not only how to give them, but also how to defend against them. Beyond this popular topic, a number of other interesting questions were asked. Is your contract renewal issue included here?
From Both Sides
- What are the best ways to negotiate a price increase (sellers) or decrease (buyers)?
- What are the best ways to defend against a price increase (buyers) or decrease (sellers)?
From Sellers
- How do you reconcile procurement demands when they will impact what the stakeholder wants?
- What are the best ways to get rid of unfavorable terms that have set unwanted precedence?
- How do you handle a renewal that goes to RFP, and it’s in a very structured submission format that doesn’t allow for much beyond price?
- What if a client didn’t totally fulfill their obligations of the last contract? Do you ignore that, so as not to cause tension, or are you punitive in the new contract to avoid the issue in the future?
From Buyers
- What’s the best way to ask for improvements to the agreement without opening up the entire deal for renegotiation?
- How do you not get taken advantage of when the supplier knows you can’t make a switch or go to a competitor at this time?
- Is it better to have an automatic renewal or a fixed term in effect when beginning the negotiation?
These questions sparked even more questions from the audience. In the end, our team had a great time exploring the issues. After all, we’re obsessed with negotiation! If you were unable to attend the webinar, you can watch it here.
If you’d like to learn how we can bring expert insights to your renewals or other deals, click here.
Thank you to everyone who shared questions and attended the webinar!
We Can Help You Master Your Contract Renewals.
How does your team manage price increases effectively? Do they know how to successfully handle an RFP or when to skip it? Do they need help managing precedents and terms to ensure valuable relationships? We can help! Draw on Scotwork’s nearly 50 years of real-world negotiating experience to get better deals, save time, and create value that preserves and strengthens relationships. Partner with one of our advisers to ensure you have the optimum view of your deal.