Deal Desk

Deal Desk — Structured Deal Review & Approval

Run every non-standard deal through a repeatable review process. Catch margin leaks, enforce discount guardrails, and close faster with pre-approved terms.

When to Use

Custom pricing requests above standard discount thresholds

Multi-year contracts needing approval

Bundle or package deals outside published pricing

Enterprise deals with non-standard terms (payment, SLA, liability)

Partner/reseller margin negotiations

Deal Review Framework

1. Deal Qualification Check

Before pricing, confirm the deal is worth pursuing:

| Question | Red Flag If... | |----------|---------------| | Annual contract value (ACV) | Below $10K for enterprise motion | | Decision timeline | "No urgency" or 6+ months out | | Budget confirmed? | "We'll find budget later" | | Champion identified? | No internal advocate | | Technical fit validated? | Requirements don't match product |

Kill criteria: 2+ red flags = send back to sales for re-qualification.

2. Pricing Guardrails

#### Standard Discount Authority | Discount Level | Approver | Conditions | |---------------|----------|------------| | 0-10% | AE (self-approve) | Standard annual contract | | 11-20% | Sales Manager | Multi-year or 3+ seat expansion | | 21-30% | VP Sales + Finance | Strategic account, logo value documented | | 31-40% | CRO/CEO | Exceptional — requires written business case | | 40%+ | Board/CEO only | Almost never. Document why. |

#### Discount Offsets (Give to Get) Never discount without getting something back:

Case study rights → worth 5-10% discount

Multi-year commitment → 5% per additional year

Upfront annual payment → 5-10% (cash flow value)

Reference calls → worth 3-5%

Expanded scope → reduce per-unit but increase total ACV

Shorter payment terms → Net-15 vs Net-60 = real cash value

3. Deal Structure Templates

#### Template A: Standard Annual

Payment: Annual upfront

Term: 12 months, auto-renew

Discount: Per guardrails above

SLA: Standard published SLA

#### Template B: Multi-Year

Payment: Annual upfront each year (not all upfront unless 10%+ discount warranted)

Term: 24-36 months

Price lock: Year 1 rate locked, 3-5% annual increase cap

Early termination: Remaining term billed at 50%

#### Template C: Enterprise Custom

Payment: Quarterly or monthly (premium: +10-15% vs annual)

Term: Negotiable

SLA: Custom with defined penalties

Liability cap: 12 months of fees (standard), negotiate up only with legal review

Data processing: DPA required, included in standard terms

#### Template D: Partner/Reseller

Margin: 20-30% off list (tiered by volume)

Deal registration: 90-day protection window

Co-sell vs resell: Define clearly — affects margin and support responsibility

Minimum commitment: Required for highest tier

4. Approval Workflow

AE submits deal → Deal Desk reviews (same day) →
  IF standard terms + approved discount: Auto-approve
  IF non-standard: Route to approver chain →
    Finance review (margin check) →
    Legal review (if custom terms) →
    Final approval →
AE receives approved terms + redlines

SLA: Deal Desk responds within 4 business hours. Escalation if no response in 8.

5. Margin Analysis

For every deal, calculate:

Gross margin % = (ACV - COGS) / ACV × 100

Effective discount = (List price - Deal price) / List price × 100

Payback period = CAC / (Monthly revenue × Gross margin %)

LTV:CAC ratio = (ACV × Expected years × Margin) / Total CAC

Minimum thresholds:

Gross margin: >65% (SaaS), >40% (services)

LTV:CAC: >3:1

Payback: <18 months

6. Red Flags That Kill Deals

1. "We need 50% off to start" — They'll never pay full price. Walk away or repackage. 2. Unlimited liability demand — Legal trap. Cap at 12 months fees, firm. 3. "Our legal will redline everything" — Budget 4-6 weeks for legal cycle. Price it in. 4. Payment terms beyond Net-60 — Cash flow killer. Offer early payment discount instead. 5. Scope creep during negotiation — New requirements = new SOW, not same price. 6. No executive sponsor — Deal will stall. Get sponsor or pause. 7. Competitor benchmark bluff — "Company X offered us 40% less." Verify. Usually inflated.

7. Post-Close Handoff

Deal Desk creates handoff doc:

Agreed pricing and terms

Custom commitments (SLAs, deliverables, timelines)

Discount justification (for renewal team context)

Upsell/expansion opportunities identified during negotiation

Key contacts and decision-maker map

Industry Deal Patterns

| Industry | Typical ACV | Common Ask | Watch For | |----------|------------|------------|-----------| | Fintech | $50K-$500K | SOC 2 + BAA | Compliance creep | | Healthcare | $30K-$200K | HIPAA BAA mandatory | Slow procurement | | Legal | $40K-$300K | Custom data retention | Scope inflation | | Construction | $20K-$100K | Per-project pricing | Seasonal churn | | Ecommerce | $25K-$150K | Revenue-share model | GMV volatility | | SaaS | $30K-$250K | API/integration SLAs | Platform risk | | Real Estate | $15K-$80K | Per-property pricing | Market sensitivity | | Recruitment | $20K-$120K | Per-placement pricing | Volume variability | | Manufacturing | $50K-$400K | On-prem/hybrid option | IT approval cycles | | Professional Services | $25K-$200K | White-label rights | Margin compression |

Resources

AI Revenue Leak Calculator — quantify what deals are costing you: https://afrexai-cto.github.io/ai-revenue-calculator/

Industry Context Packs ($47 each) — deep frameworks for your vertical: https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/

Agent Setup Wizard — deploy deal desk automation: https://afrexai-cto.github.io/agent-setup/

Bundle Deals

Pick 3 packs: $97 (save $44)

All 10 packs: $197 (save $273)

Everything Bundle: $247