Best Questions To Ask When Contract Negotiating
Is your bank, community bank, or financial institution in the process of acquiring new technology to enhance your business? If so, consider working with experienced consultants to ensure you are obtaining the best terms, and don’t forget to ask these important questions!
1) What should you expect from the consultant/advisor you have hired for assistance with negotiating your maturing technology contracts?
When you retain an advisor to negotiate your technology contracts, you should expect that they have explicit knowledge of what Market pricing of all technology services is today. An advisor obtains this knowledge by repeatedly negotiating contracts with all the major vendors in the market today. This is essential if you are to get the best pricing possible on your new agreements. My firm has documented my success by the list of completed projects on our website. Click here to see it!
2) How will you know when the negotiations have brought you to the best pricing possible?
If you measure your current cost adequately in a way that shows you how relative your prices are to the industry as a whole, then you can be assured that you have reached that good deal when specific benchmarks indicate you have. We have a documented process that accumulates all of your technology cost and compares it to new proposed pricing, rolls it up in a concise manner that all participants can easily see the results. This model has been developed over more than twenty years of working in the community bank market. Our benchmarks have been used with all of those clients.
3) In today’s market, you should expect your consultant/advisor to understand the fast transformation to digital.
You need to take a broad view of where you are with the digital migration and what changes you need to make in the new contract, new products, fair pricing, and establishing your competitive advantage.
If you can accomplish these things, you should have a successful renegotiation of your technology contracts. The savings you obtain through this process can be significant. Depending on your asset size, vendor, and complexity, the total savings over the life of a five-year contract can grow into millions of dollars.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your upcoming renegotiation. Contact us for a free consultation!
