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

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

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Installation