NoSaveNoPay vs Reseller / VAR
The short version: your reseller's revenue is a percentage of what you spend. Ours is a percentage of what you save.
Honest head-to-head: fees, incentives, vendor independence, outcome accountability. No marketing. The decision factors we'd want if we were choosing.
Fast procurement, consolidated billing, sometimes access to SKU-level flexibility that manufacturers won't grant directly.
A reseller's compensation is a margin percentage on the contract value. Their software-negotiation 'support' is free because it generates the transaction they make money on. The larger the deal you sign, the larger their commission — which is the exact opposite of the incentive you want on your side of the table.
Head-to-Head: Every Criterion That Matters
Identical criteria across every comparison we publish. No cherry-picking.
| Criterion | NoSaveNoPay | Reseller / VAR / channel partner negotiation support |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue model | 25% of savings delivered to the buyer. | 2–18% margin on the vendor's contract value paid to the buyer. |
| Incentive direction | Lower spend = higher fee. | Higher spend = higher fee. |
| Vendor independence | No partner agreements, no rebates, no preferred-vendor relationships. | Formal reseller agreements with MDF funds, quota targets, and backdoor rebates from the vendor. |
| Contract-language advocacy | We re-write audit clauses, price holds, swap rights on your behalf. | Minimal redlines — most VARs use vendor-drafted paper as-is to preserve the relationship. |
| Audit defence independence | Full advocacy for the buyer. | Often contractually prevented from working against the vendor they resell. |
| Price-benchmark transparency | We share our full cross-client benchmark data. | Benchmark data is commercially sensitive; rarely shared. |
| Post-sale involvement | Track renewal triggers; re-engage for next negotiation cycle. | Deal closed, commission booked; next conversation is at renewal — at the vendor's price. |
| Regulatory scrutiny | None — we are independent advisors. | Growing — several EU jurisdictions require reseller rebate disclosure. |
When to choose what
Resellers serve a real procurement-logistics purpose. They should not be your negotiation counsel. Use us to negotiate, use the reseller to execute the paperwork — never the same firm for both.
How our gainshare actually works
We sign a one-page engagement letter that says three things: (1) we negotiate your nominated contract on your behalf; (2) 25% of verified savings vs. your baseline contract is payable to us; (3) if verified savings are zero, so is our fee. No retainer. No time-and-materials. No hourly billing. Read the detail on our pricing page or see a live walk-through on how it works.
Next steps — two paths, both zero-risk:
- If you have a renewal in the next 120 days: Request a free estimate. 30-minute call, we tell you whether we think there's savings worth chasing, no commitment either way.
- If you're earlier in the cycle: read our vendor-specific playbooks — Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, AWS, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday — or browse the blog and case studies.