Before you know it, it’s that time again. Time to renegotiate your telecom contract or begin the process of looking for new telecom vendors if you’ve been unhappy with the level of service. It can be a stressful time as you are focused on getting the very best deal.
But, it is also a great opportunity to save money and improve service, if you have the right strategy. With decades of successful negotiations under our belts, we know how to manage telecom contract negotiations to get the best deal for your company. And we want to share our secrets with you as you prepare to sit down at the negotiation table.Â
STEP 1
The first step is to determine if the service structure you have in place is correct. You want to make sure you right-size your colocation environment, bandwidth, or voice services to what you actually need to be buying. You don’t want to be paying for services you don’t need, the number of locations, users, or size of spending can also have a big impact on the negotiation. Larger organizations certainly have an advantage when it comes to economies of scale. Even if the scope of a single project is small, it is to your advantage to bring to the attention of the potential providers the overall scope of the entire organization.
STEP 2
Next, obtain competitive quotes to know the current landscape of service terms and costs. This process should start with an engineer or technical contact who will determine the correct services that need to be procured. Once the request gets handed off to finance, it’s important to search out multiple bids from across the services landscape, not just the companies you’ve worked with previously. When positioned properly, there doesn’t need to be a lot of back and forth during negotiations. Make it competitive, select a small set of acceptable options, and ask for the best and final. If the companies are aware that it is a competitive process, you will get a fair offer quickly.
STEP 3
Finally, once you get all bids in, you’ll want to understand the contractual terms that can be negotiated in your favor such as waived install fees, non-auto-renew clauses, free months of services, extended payment terms, and any others that come up. This will allow you to negotiate the perfect package for the right price for your company. Remember, at the end of the day, a good deal is a favorable total cost. This won’t necessarily be the lowest total cost, especially if security, quality of service, technology, and reliability are important concerns for your organization. Simply put, you want the best technological fit at the best price available, with the most agreeable terms.
We Make Negotiations Easy
Working with our team can save you the headache of telecom contract negotiations altogether. We have the ability to source all available options for a client, even those that are not well known. This exposes the providers to a far more competitive landscape. A competitive solution drives costs down, and responsiveness up. Providers who work with us understand that they must present aggressive pricing and agreeable terms upfront, or run the risk of losing the opportunity to win your business. Learn more about how we can help you by scheduling a free consultation.