What do software negotiation consultants actually do?
Software negotiation consultants establish the count you should sign for, benchmark the quote against closed agreements at your spend tier, cost one credible alternative, write the clause set, and then negotiate the rounds with the vendor, either in the room on your behalf or by writing the talking points for your team.
How much do software negotiation consultants cost?
A fixed fee agreed up front, or a success fee of 25 percent of what we save you, so you keep 75 percent and pay nothing if we save nothing. We never bill by the hour. Your team can negotiate first and bring us the deal two to four weeks before the deadline.
Which vendors do your negotiation consultants cover?
We cover 11 vendor practices plus GenAI: Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, IBM, Broadcom VMware, AWS, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, Workday and Cisco, along with OpenAI and Anthropic contracts. Each practice has its own negotiation service page, benchmark page and playbook.
When should we hire a software negotiation consultant?
Before the vendor's first proposal if you can, and two to four weeks before the deadline if you cannot. The count, the benchmark and the alternative built early are what every later round stands on; a late engagement compresses them into one cycle and still moves the number.
How is the saving measured?
Against the quote you bring us or the expiring contract, never against list, as a lower price or as credits where you pay the vendor less. If you reduce the bill of materials the baseline is recalculated, so the fee is only earned on a real saving.
Will the vendor know you are advising us?
Only if you choose to tell them. Many clients keep the chair and all vendor communications, with us preparing every exchange behind the scenes; others ask us to front the negotiation. Both run on the same brief, clause set and written assessments.
Are your negotiation consultants independent of the vendors?
Yes, completely: zero vendor affiliations, no reseller agreements and no referral fees in any of the 11 vendor practices. We are paid only by the client, so no recommendation depends on what you buy.
What results do software negotiation consultants achieve?
A Fortune 200 retailer took its Microsoft EA from $27.0M to $21.9M a year, a Brazilian bank cut 25 percent from its EA, a global pharma renewed ServiceNow at 0 percent uplift against a 9 percent ask, and a global bank halved a Broadcom VMware renewal. Across the file, Microsoft EAs moved 18 to 27 percent.
