Transparency

Methodology — how we calculate the numbers

Every figure we publish derives from an internal engagement register maintained since 2015. This page documents the formulas, data boundaries, and review process behind the $2.4B+, 38%, 72%, and 500+ numbers.

Last reviewed17 April 2026
Governed byThe Negotiation Experts

Every figure we publish — $2.4B+ negotiated, 38% average savings, 72% average audit reduction, 500+ engagements — derives from an internal engagement register maintained since the firm's founding in 2015. This page documents how those numbers are calculated, what they cover, and what they deliberately exclude. Procurement buyers and external reviewers are welcome to audit the methodology.

The 38% average savings figure

The 38% figure is the simple mean of per-engagement savings across 500+ enterprise IT contract negotiations completed between 2018 and 2025. Each engagement contributes one data point. We do not weight by deal size, vendor, or industry — the number represents a typical engagement, not a dollar-weighted aggregate.

Formula

per-engagement savings % = (vendor initial proposal − final signed contract) ÷ vendor initial proposal

Both sides of the numerator are measured in total contract value over the signed term. Where the vendor's initial proposal includes escalators or year-on-year increases, each year's committed figure is used, not an annualised average.

What counts as an "engagement"?

An engagement is a formal, paid advisory mandate with a named enterprise client that resulted in a signed contract with the target vendor. We exclude:

  • Unpaid scoping calls and pre-engagement assessments.
  • Engagements that ended before a signed contract (withdrawn RFPs, cancelled renewals).
  • Engagements where the client did not share the final signed amount (we refuse the data point rather than estimate).
  • Small-business engagements under $5M ARR — our dataset is enterprise-weighted and a mixed dataset would be misleading.

The $2.4B+ figure

This is the cumulative total contract value (TCV) of the final signed contracts across the same 500+ engagements. The number is conservative: for multi-year agreements we use only the committed spend through the signed term, not optional extensions. For open-ended agreements (e.g. some cloud consumption commitments) we use the first three years of commitment.

The 72% average audit reduction figure

Audit defence is a separate engagement category. The 72% figure is the mean reduction between the vendor's initial audit finding (as stated in writing by the auditor) and the final settlement amount, across 130+ audit defence engagements between 2018 and 2025.

  • Oracle LMS, Microsoft SAM, SAP licence audits, IBM ILMT engagements, and Broadcom VMware compliance reviews are all included.
  • Audits that were withdrawn without a final finding are excluded (no baseline).
  • Audits settled at zero are included and contribute a 100% data point.

The 500+ engagements figure

As of 31 December 2025, the internal engagement register records 547 completed engagements. Each has a client name (withheld from publication), vendor, engagement type, start date, close date, and outcome numbers. The register is reviewed quarterly by the founding partner.

What we do not publish

We do not publish client names without explicit written consent. We do not publish vendor-specific savings averages — disclosure of vendor-specific discount data in a consultant-originated source would damage client leverage in future negotiations. We do not publish median or distribution statistics (p25/p75/p90) at this time; they are available to clients on request.

Independent review

The firm's engagement register has not yet been audited by a third-party accountant. An independent review is planned for Q3 2026, with findings to be published here. In the meantime, we stand by the numbers and will correct any figure here if a calculation error is identified.

Questions about the methodology? Contact us directly. We respond to methodology questions within 48 hours.