How We Identified 18% Commercial Exposure in a Salesforce Renewal
The Challenge
A mid market PE-backed SaaS organisation was approaching a £600k TCV Salesforce renewal covering Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and wider platform licensing across multiple business units.
The renewal had already been through extensive discussions with Salesforce and was presented internally as commercially competitive. However, the business lacked an independent view of whether the agreement remained aligned to the wider market and whether future cost exposure had been embedded into the contract structure.
The proposed agreement included:
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Multi-year licence commitments based on forecast growth
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Expansion of additional Salesforce functionality
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AI capability introduced as part of the broader renewal discussion
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Standard annual uplifts and limited future pricing protections
Despite appearing competitive at headline discount level, there were concerns around over-licensing, long-term flexibility and future cost escalation.
Our Asssessment
Swan Procurement performed an independent commercial assessment of the proposed Salesforce renewal agreement. This included:
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Line-by-line benchmark analysis against comparable enterprise Salesforce agreements
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Review of licence utilisation and user alignment
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Assessment of discount positioning across product areas
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Review of future expansion pricing protections
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Analysis of growth assumptions, renewal mechanics and contractual flexibility
The assessment identified approximately £108k (18%) commercial exposure within the proposed agreement. Key findings included:
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More than 25% of licences showed low or limited utilisation
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Material discount inconsistencies across comparable product areas
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Future pricing protections for additional users and functionality were absent
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User growth assumptions materially exceeded forecast operational demand
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AI and platform functionality had been introduced without clear long-term pricing controls
The assessment also identified several structural terms that would likely have reduced leverage at future renewals.
The Outcome
Following the assessment and negotiation support:
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Approximately 16% reduction in total projected contract value versus the original proposal
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More than 25% reduction in unused or underutilised licences
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Improved discount positioning secured across key Salesforce product areas
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Future pricing protections negotiated for additional users and platform expansion
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Removal of several contractual mechanisms driving future cost escalation
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Greater flexibility introduced around future user growth and licence adjustments
The organisation ultimately achieved a materially improved commercial position while avoiding unnecessary long-term cost commitments becoming locked into the renewal structure.