Cutting through the Markup

Client: Global Financial Services Firm

Event: Annual Forum (1,000+ attendees)

Challenge: Unclear pricing, multiple brokers, and an opaque negotiation process

Our client firm had received a polished proposal from a well-known bureau for a bestselling author to headline their annual forum. The fee was listed at $175,000, with no reference to how much of that was going to the talent and how much would go to the bureau. This was above their budget but they had booked through this group before and the CEO really wanted the speaker.

The new head of events asked us to give the proposal a look.

We reviewed the proposal and recognized the speaker immediately. We’d advised on multiple bookings for them over the past year and knew their standard fee was closer to $110,000. We also knew that the bureau in question didn’t have exclusive representation. In short: the client was being overcharged and under-informed.

We stepped in quietly, identified the actual path to the speaker (through their literary agent), and handled the re-approach. Within a week, we had a clean proposal on the table for $115,000—with transparent terms, clear deliverables, and no hidden markup.

But the real win wasn’t just the savings—it was what happened after.

The client’s procurement team asked us to audit their past five major bookings. The result? Tens of thousands in unnecessary fees, hidden backend commissions, and unclear scopes. They changed their entire booking process going forward—and made Von Krane their default advisor for all external talent engagements.

Outcome:

• $60,000+ in savings on a single speaker

• Full transparency into who actually represented the talent

• Improved institutional process for future talent bookings

• Long-term relationship with the client