Five Ways to Negotiate Like a Pro 😎 with Your Messaging Provider 💪

We shouldn’t be telling you this 😅 but we are, because we want you 🫵 to always get the best deal for your company.

Here are five actionable strategies to get the best deal. Want to see the video that inspired this post? You can check it out Here.

1. Own Your Campaigns: Become a CSP

• What it is: A Campaign Service Provider (CSP) designation lets you directly manage your 10DLC brand and campaign registrations
• Why it matters: CSPs have the power to transfer campaigns between providers, giving you leverage
• Actionable Insight: Become a CSP to gain control and flexibility, don’t let your provider lock you in

2. Volume-Based Discounts: Include Carrier Fees

• The CPaaS Model: CPaaS pricing is SaaS-like with consistent monthly fees; except, you can buy down your rate with volume 💰📈
• The Key: Negotiate volume discounts that include carrier fees in the monthly minimum spend
• Why? Carrier fees are a fixed cost, providing a stable anchor for your negotiations
• Actionable Insight: Always check if carrier fees are included in your volume-based discount agreements

3. Leverage Competitive Offers

• Shop Around: Get quotes from other messaging providers
• Get it in Writing: Obtain detailed pricing for SMS, MMS, phone numbers, porting, etc
• Use as Leverage: Present these offers to your current provider to negotiate better terms
• Actionable Insight: Always have a counteroffer in hand to demonstrate your options

4. Support Packages: Demand Value

• Question Scalable Support: Why pay more for the same support as your business grows 🤷
• Compare SLAs: Investigate the support SLAs offered by other providers
• Negotiate: Use competitive offers to secure better SLAs or fixed-cost support packages
• Actionable Insight: Don’t accept escalating support costs, demand fixed pricing and clear SLAs

5. Showcase Your Use Case & Compare Delivery Rates

• Proactive KYC: If your provider isn’t proactive, you be proactive; clearly define your use case, customer base, and consent processes
• AB Test Delivery Rates: Compare delivery rates across providers
• Demand Fair Pricing: If another provider offers better delivery, switch! At a minimum, use this to negotiate lower SMS costs with your current provider
• Actionable Insight: Use case clarity leads to smoother approvals, higher delivery rates justify premium pricing

Actionable Insights:

1. CSP Status: Become a CSP to control your campaigns and have the flexibility to switch providers
2. Volume Discounts: Negotiate volume discounts that include carrier fees within the monthly minimum
3. Competitive Offers: Always get competing offers to use as leverage for better pricing and terms
4. Support Packages: Question scalable support costs and negotiate for fixed pricing and clear SLAs
5. Delivery Rates: Compare delivery rates across providers and demand pricing that reflects performance
6. Proactive KYC: If your provider isn’t proactive, you be proactive 🫵; they need to know and understand your business