The Art of Vendor Escalation & Management
When to Escalate w/ Vendors?
When engaging with a market data vendor during a renewal, escalation can be a highly effective negotiation strategy. Most individuals’ tasks with managing these market data vendor renewals have no authority to approve spend.
Alternatively, having the perception of authority in a negotiation can also be quite dangerous so it is important that you make your role clear that you are negotiating on behalf of the decision maker and that the authority to approve spend sits elsewhere. At any time during the negotiation, if your vendor representative mentions that they must confer with someone else on a negotiation point, it often makes sense to mention that you too must confer with someone.
When you find that you must position an escalation, reinforce that you know both you and the representative are working to reach agreement and your desire to work through the issues. While your goal is to go as far as you can in a negotiation without escalating the matter, knowing when, who and how to escalate can help you create Win-Win deals.
Vendor Management & Supplier Performance
When working with market data vendors it’s helpful to build a good rapport with your point of contact and have an open line of communication. Establishing a human connection with your point of contact could be quite valuable if you ever need a quick turnaround or have a special request.
Setting expectations with the vendor and defining your needs are essential to both new vendors and existing relationships. It’s imperative that the vendor is capable of providing the service you have licensed for, but it doesn’t end after the contract is signed. Utilize your vendors’ experiences with other companies, knowledge of the industry, and input whenever possible. Access to this insight is part of what you are paying the vendor for. They may be able to provide resources that aren’t part of your team, so let them know what you need and see how they can help.
Provide the vendor with feedback on what’s working and what isn’t and see if they can build supplementary solutions as your business needs grow and change. Work with them to introduce new ideas, strategies, and resources. Doing so will go along to ensuring that the solution that you’ve licensed from the vendor is continually evolving based on your wants and needs.
About S4 Market Data
S4 Market Data has over 30+ years of market data administration and vendor management experience. Based in Miami, they help financial institutions with data management, costs, and compliance. For more information, visit www.s4marketdata.com.
