A strong Deal Desk partnership is critical for your pricing model to succeed in the every hustle of closing deals. According to Forrester:
“At the most basic level, the deal desk is responsible for reviewing and approving pricing and deal structure, ensuring compliance with price structure, profitability and solution components.”
This important function is all about structuring deals, setting prices, and negotiating contracts effectively.
"The role of the deal desk is evolving quickly. There's so much potential to shift from being a purely transactional function to becoming a strategic partner to sales, driving deals and decisions." — Tohir, Senior Director of Deal Desk
But why and when does a company really need a Deal Desk (DD)?
Complex Sales Processes Management
The necessity of a DD emerges distinctly in scenarios involving intricate sales configurations that require bespoke pricing, customized contractual terms, and extensive negotiations with a lot of internal and external approvals. The DD is the hub inside your company that ensures there is a smooth and timely back and forth of information so that the seller can close the deal on time. I think of them as Air Traffic Control for Deals i.e. Deal Traffic Control :)
“When I joined Elastic, it was a very sales-driven organization, which often resulted in things getting lost in translation, whether it was data or the translation of nonstandard contract terms for strategic customers." — Aunik Bhattacharjee, Senior Director, Deal Enablement, Attentive
Process Standardization & Compliance
As organizations scale, the volume and complexity of transactions typically increase, introducing a higher propensity for errors and inconsistencies. Additionally, IPO or exit requirements make it necessary that standard processes are followed and documented – in absence of which certain deals could (and have for some companies) just be struck off consideration in company valuation – something that no one wants. A Deal Desk in this case makes the GTM teams stick to rigorous process standardizations, applying uniform criteria set in partnership with the CFO org.
"It really takes a village. The key stakeholders typically involve sales, finance, and the pricing team, ensuring compliance and consistency in our sales policies and pricing contract terms." — Vatsalya, Senior Director of Global Deal Desk
Performance Analytics and Continuous Improvement
Beyond merely facilitating transactions, the Deal Desk of big companies generate deal performance analytics to assess outcomes and identify improvement opportunities. By analyzing key performance indicators such as win rates, deal cycle times, and revenue impacts, Deal Desk teams provide insights that help revenue organizations run an efficient, yet productive machine.
'One of the primary competencies that I think about for a deal desk is taking the number of deals that you do and standardizing a larger percentage of them as you scale your business.' — Aunik Bhattacharjee
The following table paints a picture of what deal operations look like with and without a deal desk across different deal stages.
| Stage |
Without Deal Desk |
With Deal Desk |
| Proposal Development |
Decentralized proposals are inconsistent, affecting client perceptions and elongating sales cycles. |
Centralized proposal generation through CRM integration ensures uniformity and efficient proposal generation. |
| Negotiation of Terms |
Inconsistent discounts and non‑optimized pricing erode margins or lose deals. Approvals can take a long time and ASP (avg selling prices) can be all over the place. |
DD adheres to set policy around discounting or contract term negotiation including approval flows, allowing for high win‑rates at high speed. |
| Contract Drafting |
Each sales rep may include or omit crucial clauses due to lack of legal training, leading to contracts that are non‑compliant with industry regulations or lacking in necessary protections. |
Contracts are generated through automated templates that are pre‑vetted by legal departments to include all necessary clauses and conditions, ensuring legal robustness. |
| Operational Visibility |
Limited visibility into deal progression stages can cause bottlenecks and miscommunication, as stakeholders lack a unified view of deal statuses. |
Comprehensive dashboards provide real‑time visibility into all deal stages, facilitating proactive management and coordination among teams. |
| Post-Deal Analysis |
Post‑deal reviews are often subjective and lack structured data collection, making it difficult to identify lessons learned and apply them to improve future sales processes. |
DD helps conduct structured post‑deal analysis using quantitative and qualitative data from each deal, facilitating data‑driven decisions. |
Discounting and Contract Terms
Structuring a deal is essential for business success, ensuring profitability and enhancing customer satisfaction.
"Every deal is customized. Some clients focus heavily on CapEx and fixed fees, while others prefer a purely usage-based model." — Tom, Senior Director of Deal Desk.
Two critical components in deal design are discounting types and contract terms.
Discounting Levers
Discounting in order to close deals involves creating incentives to make a deal attractive and meet the company’s needs around getting money in the bank. Here are the common types of discounts:
- Volume-Based Discounts: Offer reduced prices for bulk purchases, encouraging larger orders and increasing revenue.
- Early Payment Discounts: Provide incentives for customers to pay invoices early, improving cash flow and financial stability.
- Bundling Discounts: Sell multiple products or services together at a lower price, increasing the perceived value and promoting new products.
Contract Terms
Contract terms are more than legal formalities; they define the service delivery and usage lifecycle, setting clear expectations and responsibilities for both parties. Key aspects include:
| Term |
Explanation |
| Roles and Responsibilities |
Clearly outline tasks and obligations to prevent misunderstandings and disputes. This includes defining who is responsible for what tasks, ensuring accountability and clarity. |
| Service Specifications |
Define what the service includes, ensuring customers know what they are paying for. This specification helps avoid ambiguities about service scope and deliverables. |
| Usage Guidelines |
Include user limitations, data management policies, and compliance with legal standards like GDPR and HIPAA to protect data and ensure proper use of the software. |
| Payment Terms |
Specify billing cycles, payment methods, and any penalties for late payments. Common terms include Net30 or Net60 and milestone-based payments for long-term projects, which align payments with project progress. |
| Termination Conditions |
Specify how and when the contract can be terminated, offering a clear exit strategy for both parties. This could include clauses for termination due to breach of contract, changes in business needs, or service dissatisfaction. |
| Indemnity Clauses |
Protect clients from losses caused by software issues, such as intellectual property infringements. These clauses ensure that the provider will cover any legal costs and damages arising from such issues. |
| Liability Limitations |
Cap financial responsibility in case of software failures or security breaches. This helps prevent devastating financial impacts on the provider. |
| Confidentiality Agreements |
Ensure shared information remains secret, maintaining integrity and competitive edge. This is crucial for protecting sensitive business data during integration and use. |
| Dispute Resolution Mechanisms |
Define how disagreements will be resolved, often through mediation or arbitration. This provides a structured approach to resolving conflicts without resorting to litigation. |
| Compliance with Laws and Regulations |
Ensure adherence to relevant legal standards to avoid penalties. This includes data protection laws and industry-specific regulations. |
| Force Majeure Clauses |
Protect parties from being held liable for uncontrollable events preventing contract fulfillment, such as natural disasters or pandemics. |
| Service Level Agreements (SLAs) |
Detail performance standards and compensation for unmet standards, ensuring that the service provided meets the agreed-upon quality and availability metrics. |
Negotiating and understanding these terms ensure that SaaS contracts support efficient operations, adhere to legal standards, and can adapt to business growth and changes.
Examples of Contract Term Negotiations That Deal Desk Supports
- Payment Terms Negotiation: A small business might negotiate with a SaaS provider to change payment terms from Net30 to Net60 to better align with their cash flow cycles. Alternatively, they might request milestone-based payments for a long-term project to ensure payments are tied to project progress.
- Service Specifications Negotiation: A healthcare provider implementing a new electronic health record (EHR) system may negotiate for additional features specific to their practice, such as customized reporting tools or integration with existing medical devices.
- Indemnity Clauses Negotiation: A financial services company might insist on robust indemnity clauses that protect them against potential losses from software errors that could lead to regulatory fines or reputational damage.
- Liability Limitations Negotiation: A large enterprise might negotiate higher liability caps due to the significant potential impact of software failures on their operations, ensuring adequate compensation for downtime or data breaches.
- Confidentiality Agreements Negotiation: A tech startup might emphasize strict confidentiality agreements to protect their innovative technology from being disclosed to competitors during integration and use.
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Negotiation: A company heavily reliant on a CRM system might negotiate stricter SLAs to ensure minimal downtime, with significant penalties for non-compliance to guarantee high service standards.
While a well-structured Deal Desk is crucial for deal success, scaling it often uncovers hidden pitfalls, siloed data, unclear handoffs, and slow collaboration loops. Left unaddressed, these gaps can stall execution and erode deal velocity. Next, we will talk about the top operational challenges you’ll face when turning your Deal Desk and all the other associated teams into a truly strategic, organization-wide engine.
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