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