Zendesk Negotiation Playbook
This playbook turns vendor negotiations from price haggling into a structured, evidence-led strategy. Expect ready-to-use levers with Ask → Target → Fallback, redline-ready clauses, and quick calculators that quantify impact in real time—plus a vendor-specific intel layer (posture, risks, benchmarks) so your moves are grounded in facts. It solves the "where do we push, with what proof, and what do we trade?" problem by bundling the best angles into deal recipes and backing each with sources. In short: a fast path from context to concrete asks, so teams negotiate confidently, consistently, and with measurable outcomes.
Build and bundle negotiation levers into ready-to-send deal recipes.
Negotiation Levers
Core negotiation "levers": each with why it matters, ask/target/fallback, clause refs, KPIs, and calculators.
Cap renewal uplifts at CPI (CPI-U) or ≤5% (whichever is lower). Restore downgrade rights at renewal with 30 days’ notice.
CPI cap with ≥60-day renewal notice; no list re-base.
Cap at 7% with downgrade rights on non-core SKUs.
Annualized true-up with 5% grace band; no retro price re-base.
Annual true-up aligned to anniversary; quarterly reporting only.
Semiannual true-up with 2% band.
Monthly AI cap with opt-out on material price table changes; budget alerts; quarterly optimization review.
Hard monthly cap with rollover; right to disable features mid-term.
Soft cap with quarterly credits if exceeded.
10–20% multi-product discount on WFM+QA when adopted together.
≥15% bundle discount + 12-month price hold.
Step-down discount tied to adoption milestones.
Pin data to selected region (US, EEA, AU, JP) with migration timeline & change controls.
Region lock + change notice; downtime windows pre-agreed.
DCL enablement with 90-day migration.
30‑day notice before adding Sub‑processors + good‑faith objection & pro‑rata termination if unresolved.
Email alerting + registry link + remedy path.
Notice only; no objection right.
Execute BAA; enable HIPAA configurations; exclude non‑covered/EAP features from scope.
BAA + HIPAA runbook + quarterly attestation.
Pilot in non‑PHI queues while configs mature.
99.9% monthly uptime with tiered credits; publish status & RCA within 5 business days.
Credits escalate below 99.9/99.8/99.5.
Quarterly pooling for minor misses.
P1 response ≤1h, restore ≤4h targets; named TAM; QBRs with exec sponsor.
24×7 P1 coverage; quarterly drills.
Business-hours response + extended credits.
Premium sandbox with data replication; config deploy and sync tools; 2 sandboxes included.
Prod‑like sandbox; deploy automations/triggers via governed pipeline.
Standard sandbox + time‑boxed premium trial.
Bulk export rights for tickets, knowledge, users; vendor assistance; deletion per policy with timeline visibility.
30‑day export window post‑term; staged deletion per product.
Export during final month only.
90‑day auto‑renew notice; TFC with declining buy‑out schedule.
60–90 day notice + 25% of remaining fees cap.
Notice only; tighter buy‑out on pilots.