Sales Ops Best Practices

BEST PRACTICES IN
SALES OPERATIONS
Samuel A Saavedra
Dec 2019
20 Years of Best Practices
◦ Hello! My name is Samuel Saavedra. I am expert on helping Sales Operations teams develop repeatable and
scalable processes. Here are some Best Practices in the areas of:
◦ Deal Desk Operations
◦ Pricing Strategy
◦ Contract Negotiation
◦ Contract Management
◦ Key Account Management
◦ I have worked in or around all of these areas for 20+ years and it is my pleasure to share my hard-won
knowledge.
◦ A one (1) minute biography is here > https://youtu.be/Wgn2URMLtpo
◦ My LinkedProfile is here > https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelasaavedra/
DEAL DESK OPERATIONS
Best Practices
What is a Deal Desk?
◦ A Deal Desk is typically a department in Sales Operations or Marketing that strives to aggregate the
following Deal Cycle functions:
◦ Complex / Non-standard Deal Review
◦ Proposal / RFP Pricing Response
◦ Price / Margin Escalations that can lead to a War Room
◦ Price / Margin review for Big Deals and Big Bets
◦ Contract Review & Negotiations
◦ Billing Review & Approval
◦ Legal & Compliance Review & Approval
WHY IMPLEMENT A DEAL DESK?
Why create or utilize a Deal Desk?
◦ A Deal Desk offers several advantages compared to separate functions such as Pricing, Bid
Management, Contract Management, Billing and Legal & Compliance Review:
◦ Deal Visibility throughout the approval pipeline – Apptus, Anaplan, SFDC & Zilliant offer this
◦ Transparent Processes
◦ Centralized Deal Logic, Oversight and Stage Gate Approval Processes
◦ Immediate and automated Deal Routing to the next Approver
◦ A Scalable & Repeatable Process
◦ A set of processes that can handle all High-Touch, complex, and non-standard deals
◦ A set of processes that sets the stage for War Room escalations concerning solution delivery, timing, and price
◦ A set of oversight and review processes crucial for the Big Deal Review and Big Bets / Strategic Deal Review process
◦ A set of (hopefully) documented practices that can help with internal Audit controls
Deal Desk – Processes and Use Case Scenarios
◦ Source PwC Technology Institute study on Pricing & Profitability, 2014

WHERE ARE DEAL DESKS FOUND ?
• Usually in Sales Operations
• Sometimes in Marketing
The Deal Desk – A crucial part of Sales Operations
◦ Source, Apptus.com
Deal Desks – A key step in Quote-to-Cash Functionality
◦ Source, CRMevangelist.com
WHAT DOES A DEAL DESK DO?
How a Deal Desk supports Sales Operations
◦ Source, SalesGlobe, 2016 SmartBrief.com “How deal desks are shaking sales organizations.”
Deal Desk Objectives & Responsibilities ( 1 of 2)

Deal Desk Objectives & Responsibilities ( 2 of 2)

Deal Desk – Best Practices of Leading Companies (1/2)

Deal Desk – Best Practices of Leading Companies (2/x)

PRICING STRATEGY
Best Practices
Thoughts on Pricing Strategy ( 1 of 3)
Definition (“Price” <badword>) – Price is the numerical value that the Market (not you) will place
on your goods and services based on Their (not yours) Perception of your Value.
• Unless you are in a commodity manufacturing

environment, don’t do Cost-Plus Pricing. It is LAZY.
• Know what the market is charging for similar products
and services.
• Outliers have to provide enormous Value Perception
• Do you have the money to educate the masses on your
products and services? No? Price sensibly.
• Are you introducing the iPhone to the world? No?
Price sensibly.
• Being a Pioneer or ‘Disruptor’ is expensive. Have OPEX
for 1 to 2 years of operation.
• Develop a Vertical (by Industry) or Segmented (within

industry) Pricing Approach.
• This means value-added / feature / function Bundles
• As a rule, always present your Price for a solution set as a
Bundled Price. Don’t get picked apart
• Learn how to do ‘Chinese Menus’ if your business involves
product / service combinations.
• Modify your contracts to allow Quarterly price changes.
• Don’t get locked in to a bad situation.
• Learn how to do Value-Based Pricing.
• Activities like onboarding & training have a value you
can quantify.
• Test your pricing and margins by Vertical or by

Geographic Region
• Measure results every quarter (Price Elasticity)
• Watch out for ‘revenue leakage’ and control your sales
force!
• Use the contract to raise your prices in the event of non-
compliance / warranty breakage, etc.
• Have a clear Pricing Review and Approval Process
involving Approval Notes, Approvers and Escalation
Paths.
CONTRACT
NEGOTIATIONS
Best Practices
Contract Negotiations – Best Practices ( 1 of 2)
• Use modern English and plain language. There is no need
for ‘heretofore’ and ‘wherefore’ or complex
constructions.
• Use a Repeatable Contract Structure of Body (Main Terms
& Parties) plus Attachments (SOWs, Product Descriptions)
• Don’t be stupid and try to apply US (USC) or Common Law
to overseas engagements.
• They will sign it knowing their jurisdiction may
protect them.
• Make sure you are contracting with the Party who Will
Pay, not a holding company or subsidiary who can avoid
you.
• Establish contractual obligations with the Party who will
Do the Work / Consume your Services.
Contract Negotiations – Best Practices ( 2 of 2)
• Don’t permit Benchmarking prior to 50% of the contract’s

term.
• Assume you will incur write-down of 25% and do
price quotes accordingly.
• Always combine contractual rewards & inducements with
penalties for underutilization, etc.
• Where there is a carrot, there must be a stick.
• Learn to create and deploy “Paper Tigers.”
• E.g, you reserve the right to raise prices if x,y, z
happens
• Be vigilant during the redline process – Save all iterations
to <black> and create auditable pdfs.
• Watch out for hidden SLA penalty language or dangers
• E.g, “The foregoing notwithstanding..”
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
Best Practices
Contract Management – Best Practices ( 1 of 2)
• Make sure that key stakeholders such as Billing, Pricing,
Legal and Sales all have EZ Access to PDF copies of the
contract.
• The contract is a confidential document (sales team) and
can only be shared under NDA and hopefully as part of a
viable business opportunity.
• Make sure that Finance and Sales understand how Billing
interpreted the contract and that all Billable, Chargeable,
and Ratable elements were accounted for.
• Create a monthly report of all Active contracts with:
• Contract compliance status * A/R posture
• Revenue To Date * Service Management Records
• Contract Renewal Date * Account-level P&L
Contract Management – Best Practices ( 2 of 2)
• Every Quarter, do a Pareto Analysis of your Contracts
(Accounts)
• 80% of your revenue is most likely being generated by
20% of your accounts.
• If a Single Account contributes more than 50% of your
revenue, you’re in trouble.
• No account should expose you to more than 10% of
loss if they Terminate for Cause or Convenience.
• Ask Legal Counsel (in-house or 3rd party) to review your
positions on Liability, Warranty, Fit for Purpose and other
Commercial concepts on a yearly basis.
• Don’t get stuck with outdated and unsupported legal
concepts or contractual clauses.
KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Best Practices
Account Management – Best Practices ( 1 of 2)
• Segment your accounts by
• Strategic Accounts (80% of your revenue)
• Key Accounts (remaining 20%)
• Self-Service Accounts / P.O. Customers
• Identify your Company Champions and Account Buyers
at these accounts.
• Establish a Weekly / Monthly Communications Cadence
• Emails, Phone Calls, and
• In-Person Visits
• You do NOT have to take your client to lunch, golf, or a
sporting event to maintain the relationship.
• They did sign a contract and your client contacts
need to work too.
• Just set a regular monthly 30 minute meeting like a
normal person for account review.
Account Management – Best Practices ( 2 of 2)
• Monitor all Service / Helpdesk Interactions
• Determine if there is a service / quality pain point
your customer is experiencing.
• Have clear emergency contact / escalation paths.
• Monitor contract compliance on a quarterly basis.
• Establish a Voice of the Customer email group, 800# or
other mechanism to get honest feedback.
• Deploy a Net Promoters Score (NPS) mechanism or other
Scorecard mechanism.
• Communicate often and anticipate business downturns.
• Always host a lavish and well-catered QBR (Quarterly
Business Review) with your Strategic Accounts.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Thank you!
Samuel A Saavedra
Phone / WhatsApp: +14044502066
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn profile.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelasaavedra/
1 Minute Business Bio. https://youtu.be/Wgn2URMLtpo
Call me today and say hello!

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BEST PRACTICES IN

◦ Source PwC Technology Institute study on Pricing & Profitability, 2014

◦ Source PwC Technology Institute study on Pricing & Profitability, 2014

◦ Source PwC Technology Institute study on Pricing & Profitability, 2014

◦ Source PwC Technology Institute study on Pricing & Profitability, 2014

◦ Source PwC Technology Institute study on Pricing & Profitability, 2014

• Unless you are in a commodity manufacturing

• Develop a Vertical (by Industry) or Segmented (within

• Test your pricing and margins by Vertical or by

• Don’t permit Benchmarking prior to 50% of the contract’s

Phone / WhatsApp: +14044502066

1 Minute Business Bio. https://youtu.be/Wgn2URMLtpo

Call me today and say hello!

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