Pricing Model:
15Five is used as a people management tool where users can access tools to manage performance, review engagement, and continue to grow their employees. The pricing structure is dependent on the number of licenses and what level of service the organization decides to move forward. 15Five offers three paid pricing plans; Engage, Perform, and Total Platform. The most common tier of usage is the Total Platform as this includes access to all features. Pricing comparison below: Engage: Provides Engagement surveys and actionable insights for employees. List price is $4/user/month. Likely to not receive significant discounting due to the lower tier of usage. Perform: Includes Engage features along with performance management that provides feedback for manager effectives. List price is $10/user/month. Likely to not receive significant discounting due to lower tier of usage. Total Platform: Includes Engage + Perform plus the HR Outcomes Dashboard, select Transform courses, etc. List price of $16/user/month. Likely to receive discounting due to highest tier of usage.

General Strategy

1. Pricing Pressure & Discount Strategies - 15Five often implements steep uplifts and pushes to revert to list pricing at renewal. - Significant discounts are possible, especially when leveraging budget constraints, long-standing partnerships, or competitive alternatives. - Multi-year agreements and user volume commitments can unlock further discounts.

• Push back on price increases by citing budgetary constraints and internal finance requirements.
• Reference prior pricing and long-term partnership to maintain or improve discounts (e.g., securing $119.92/user/year vs. $161 list price).
• For new purchases, ask about partnership discounts (e.g., 5% standard, 25% with Gusto).
• When upgrading tiers, negotiate to keep per-user pricing close to previous tier rates.
• Consider multi-year deals for additional discounting and price protection.

2. Renewal & Contract Flexibility - 15Five is rigid with renewal processes and may resist reductions close to renewal dates. - Opting out of auto-renewal and starting negotiations early increases leverage. - Flexibility is maximized by avoiding auto-renew and escalating internally if needed.

• Ensure you opt out of auto-renew to retain negotiation flexibility.
• Begin renewal discussions well in advance; push back if told reductions aren’t allowed within 30 days of renewal.
• Organize calls with leadership or escalate internally (Finance/C-Suite) to move negotiations forward.
• Secure semi-annual payments or favorable billing terms (e.g., Net 30) as part of your negotiation.

3. Usage Evaluation & User Count Management - Regularly assess actual and projected user counts to avoid overpaying. - Reducing user count or highlighting underutilized features can be effective levers. - Growth projections can be used to negotiate better per-user rates.

• Evaluate current and expected usage before renewal to adjust user counts as needed.
• If reducing users, push to maintain previous per-user pricing by emphasizing budget constraints.
• Highlight underutilized features or challenges with the platform to justify spend reductions.
• Use anticipated growth to negotiate flexibility and better rates for expanding teams.

4. Competitive & Internal Leverage - Bringing up alternative suppliers and competitive quotes can pressure 15Five to offer better terms. - Internal escalation and highlighting dissatisfaction with features or value can strengthen your position.

• Gather and present competitive quotes to demonstrate willingness to switch.
• Discuss any product challenges or lack of feature utilization to argue for lower pricing.
• Use internal escalation (Finance or Exec team) to apply additional pressure if negotiations stall.

5. Payment Terms & Billing - Payment structure can be negotiated for additional value or flexibility. - Semi-annual payments and favorable billing cycles (e.g., Net 30) can be secured with persistence.

• Request semi-annual or flexible payment terms to align with your organization’s cash flow.
• Use payment terms as a negotiation point alongside pricing and contract length.

Custom Strategies

Strategy #1: For current customers considering Total Platform  upgrade

• Step One: Understand usage and send notice of non-auto renewal at minimum 30 days ahead of renewal via email.
  • Internally, decide how many licenses are used and how many will be needed in the future.
  • Ask 15Five to share the usage data they have and review the data to ensure it aligns with internal data.
  • Notice of non auto - renew: “We would like to send an official notice of non auto renewal per our contract while we work through options for the upcoming renewal. Please confirm this is sufficient notice to avoid the auto renewal of this agreement.”
• Step Two: Gather Pricing.
  • Ask for renew as-is pricing on the current plan and ask for a comparison with Total Platform pricing as some folks are lobbying for it due to the features included.
  • After receiving the above, ask for Total Platform  pricing with the same quantities.
• Step Three: Request reduced volume proposals
  • After receiving the pricing, ask for the Total Platform with reduced quantities. This will “scare” the reps as they will not want to lose additional business. You may let them know the current pricing is unacceptable and the team needs to re-evaluate their options.
• Step Four: Push on pricing.
  • 15Five is open to reducing the Total Platform license cost when volume and/or term length are leveraged.
    • Multiyear agreement: avoids annual uplift and typically can push for higher discounts with small growth commitments.

Strategy #2: For current customers with plans to increase headcount

• Follow steps one and two from Strategy #1 (inserting your current tier if not Enterprise)
• Step Three: Leverage “Growth” and willingness to commit to higher license count.
  • Let the reps know that the team is considering a user increase, but will only able to get this approved by finance if they meet the allotted budget.  
• Step Four: Add Uncertainty.
  • Underestimate the user requirements in order to gain additional leverage. Be conservative as growth throughout the term will be free usage if you maintain the annual true-up schedule.
  • Ask for a proposal with 70%-80% of total needs. This way, we can get a clear baseline price and then push for more discounting once needs increase again.
• Step Five: Customer Escalation & Timing.
  • Have an executive on the team send a note to the 15Five rep that reiterates the budget asked for and willingness to commit to the increase, if the price is right.
  • This is where the team may leverage timing and offer a target signature date in return for 15Five bringing forth their best and final offer.

Strategy #3: For current customers with plans to reduce headcount

• Follow steps one and two from Strategy #1
• Step Three: Right-size as much as possible.
  • Choose a conservative, yet realistic number of users.
  • Threaten a further reduction or tier downgrade if the pricing isn’t satisfactory after the reduction.
  • Relay that the downsizing is a direct result of budgetary constraints and anchor low on the budget.
• Step: Multi-Year.
  • 15Five removes the annual uplift for 2+ year contracts.
  • See where 15Five moves the needle on pricing for a multi-year and request that pricing to be honored on a 12 month term if you are not comfortable committing long term.