Deal Desk: An Overlooked Organizational Asset

 

Many times there is a bridge that is missing between the Sales and the Accounting departments which results in inconsistent forecasts, reconciliations, and internal friction. In addition to the accounting team, the finance function (often lumped in with accounting- a topic for another day) often relies on the sales teams numbers for forecasting and the Accounting department for actuals, only inflating this problem. 

This issue can be explained away as Sales signing bad deals or finance forecasting  too aggressive or accounting says “No” too much but frankly the problem is communication. Typically, a major part of the required communication is documentation and training. Tackling this can provide a simple benefit of getting everyone on the same ship. But improving communication and documentation isn’t a one time fix where you set it and forget it. Just like any type of communication in a relationship, it requires constant nurturing to address new situations. 

Without a deal desk, Sales leaders utilized sales operations to report on the sales numbers for projections and quota achievement but once a deal was signed it was thrown over the accounting.

Why is deal desk more important now than ever?

Prior to the days of remote work, we had easy access to one another which allowed information has been shared real time and more frequently. In todays world we rely heavily on technology to share information. Many business has standard operating procedures (SOPs) that require information capture and communication consistently. However for many businesses this process is either disjointed or not enforced. If a disjointed process exists typically information is living in someone’s head or within a group and not visible to others in an organization. This information tends to become a bottle next for revenue acceleration because  chances are other in the organization don't know why the process exists if they even are aware of its existence. How often do we hear, 'well we would be screwed if (name the individual) left us or was in a tragic accident. This lack of communication and awareness creates tension, resentment and false narratives in different parts of the organization and ultimately will impede the success of the business. 

Start with documentation and inform internal business partners of your project, as you will need their input before too long. A few easy documents to pull together are 1) an approval matrix (more here), 2) an available to sell list and 3) a simple presentation to introduce the process to the sales team including their key contacts within the deal desk team. 

The goal is to not disrupt what is already happening so be sure to reiterate that multiple times, however, if you don’t have a process or you have a broken one, it will be evident now more than ever so it may be worth the few extra meetings to get it fixed or established before the train is completely off the tracks. 

When should you implement a deal desk or order desk?

Chances are you already have a few people playing this role as a portion of their overall responsibilities . While those people will continue to be valuable it will become increasingly more difficult to get the full picture of your revenue operations. The team size, skill set, and responsibilities will vary based on factors such as number of customers, product/deal complexity (b2b vs b2c, PLS or Enterprise Sales), level of automation in the sales process, growth projections. 

If you are not sure a deal desk department is what your business needs, have any of the following questions been top of mind?

• So you think there is tension with Sales and Marketing but have you been in a meeting with the CRO and the CFO regarding a signing a big deal?

• Are you a revenue that feels like they are picking up the pieces of revenue contracts every time there is a BIG win for the company?

• Are you a sales leader of CFO tired of having the conversation about the “bad deals’ being signed? Are you a lawyer caught in the cross fire?

• Are you a CEO, a board member or an advisor constantly asking your sales look great on the quota achievement board but your revenue seems subpar when looking at the financials?

• Is your sales team always complaining about how long it takes to get a deal done because of internal stakeholders says "no"?

If so, you need to implement a deal desk.

If not, congratulations - you've got your ducks in a row!