Software developers are really smart (I know, as I work with lots of them on their software development agreements, etc.), but there is one blind spot that I see way too often: they trust their customers too much, and then they take things into their own hands when they don’t
Short answer: a short, plain-English FAQ is the most underused tool in SaaS selling. It explains the intangible thing you sell, answers procurement and legal before they ask, and lowers the anxiety that stalls deals. FAQs are not used enough by SaaS companies as part of selling and SaaS contract
Short answer: No. SaaS contract negotiations are not just about price and functionality. You also have to win the buyer’s emotional side, trust, transparency, and likability, not only the logical side. The dollars and functionality of the SaaS offering are important in any SaaS contract negotiation, but there is a
Short answer: Yes. In SaaS negotiations you should keep price and contract terms linked, because once price is settled the customer has no incentive to stop asking for more terms and you end up giving concessions for nothing. Enterprise customers often want to make up their own terms about how
Short answer: saying “no” well is a core software-negotiation skill. The move is William Ury’s “Yes, No, Yes”: name the interest behind your no, deliver the no clearly, then propose a path to yes. This is fundamental in any software negotiation, and something you have to master. William Ury from
There are many different places to go for negotiations training in general, but where is a great place for learning about the art of software negotiations with customers, partners, and others? I highly recommend the Program on Negotiation at Harvard. I have attended some of their seminars, read some of
Short answer: the skills an FBI hostage negotiator uses, showing interest, building rapport, then influencing, work in software customer deals too. People buy from people they like, and pushing harder only buys you more resistance. I read an interesting negotiations book and pulled a few takeaways for software and SaaS
A Software Lawyer’s Take on Forrester’s Software Licensee Bill of Rights. Short answer: Forrester’s “Software Licensee Bill of Rights” is a buyer wish list, and several items collide with a vendor’s legitimate right to set its own pricing and licensing model. Know your stance on each one, because these arguments
Short answer: when a customer insists you sign their form agreement (their “paper”), do not just say yes to close faster. Negotiate it, remember their changes affect your price and your timeline, and aim for paper that limits your risk, stays administratively workable, and still matches your model so you
Why EDUCATION is so important to software or SaaS negotiations. Short answer: the most important move in a software or SaaS negotiation is to educate the buyer about your model. They are buying something intangible, so if you do not explain how it works and how it is priced, they
Short answer: respect costs nothing and closes deals. The person across the table is taking a career risk by choosing you, so treating them like a person rather than a checkbox is one of the cheapest advantages in any software negotiation. Here is something that costs nothing but really helps
If you negotiate software or SaaS deals, two books will do more for you than any “closing tactic” ever will: Getting to Yes and Difficult Conversations. Both come out of the Harvard Program on Negotiation, and both work on real deals, not just in theory. One of the most important
Short answer: SaaS customers walk into the deal expecting clear answers on data ownership and exit, security, uptime, price predictability, and liability. If your paper and your sales team address those before the customer asks, you build trust and close faster. The Altimeter Group published a report called the Customer
Short answer: a software or SaaS deal is not done until there is a signed written agreement. Business people often think an oral or email “yes” closes it. Protect yourself by stating clearly, in writing, that nothing binds until both sides sign. There is too often a difference in perspective
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