Deal Desk
Deal Desk is A centralized function that manages non-standard deal approvals, pricing exceptions, contract terms, and complex deal structuring to accelerate sales cycles while protecting margins.
Deal desk sits at the intersection of sales, finance, and legal. When a rep needs to offer non-standard pricing, custom payment terms, or an unusual contract structure, deal desk is the approval layer that balances revenue acceleration with margin protection.
What Deal Desk Manages
- Pricing exceptions: Discounts beyond standard thresholds, custom bundles, volume pricing
- Contract terms: Non-standard payment schedules, SLA modifications, liability caps
- Deal structuring: Multi-year ramps, consumption-based models, hybrid pricing
- Approval workflows: Routing deals through the right stakeholders based on deal size and exception type
- Margin analysis: Ensuring deals meet minimum profitability thresholds
Effective deal desks reduce sales cycle length by 15-25% for complex deals because reps know exactly where to go and what's approvable, instead of chasing approvals through email chains.
Deal desk typically falls under RevOps or Finance. For salary data, see Deal Desk salary benchmarks.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a company need a deal desk?
Typically when you have 20+ reps and regular non-standard deal requests. Before that, approval workflows can be handled by sales leadership directly.
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