Senior Manager of Deal Desk

Summary

Leads or manages a Deal Desk team responsible for assisting sales in navigating complex internal and/or external requirements to structure mutually beneficial agreements with prospects and customers. May be responsible for maximizing revenue by collaborating with sales team to structure proposals. Assists sales and customer success teams with deal structure and pricing guidance to optimize profitability and meet strategic corporate goals. Builds quotes and proposals which adhere to established corporate strategies as well as legal, billing, and revenue recognition policies. Typically needs to possess a solid understanding of product offerings. Assists in the development of global pricing and policy standards across company. Evaluates current processes and offers recommendations for areas of improvement. Develops and distributes data-driven reports on pricing, structuring, and policy trends. Typically collaborates across the organization and use a high level of financial acumen and analytics skills to analyze external and internal data to influence pricing and discount practices across the organization. Incumbents at Director and Senior Director level may have high visibility in the organization and this level(s) is a strategic role typically reporting to a VP/SVP Sales Operations. This is a management level family; individual contributors should not be matched to these roles.

Responsibilities

• Deal Strategy and Deal Structure

• Handles large and complex deals and escalations for strategic commercial discussions with Sales, and Commercial Strategy in the development of direct, partner and government deals by thoughtfully balancing the “art of the possible” with the desired business objective

• Coaches team members in building a competitive, value-based commercial deal structure that maximizes the value of the opportunity

• Guides internal teams in utilizing standard deal structures when possible, but also able to navigate revenue recognition and legal concerns when crafting nonstandard deals; works with Accounting and Legal when needed

•  Internal Alignment and Expectation Management

• Manages escalations by partnering with Sales leadership to obtain buy-in including briefing senior management and managing internal stakeholder expectations

• Inspires and influences internal stakeholders, approvers, and senior management to remove obstacles in order to achieve desired business outcomes with short turnaround times

• Facilitates alignment through effective communication within internal stakeholders and promptly resolves any conflict to encourage productive and positive interactions

• Manage sales support tickets, handle escalated concerns and follow up to ensure a positive resolution

• Drive best practices to increase sales efficiency and effectiveness via deal reviews, early checkpoint and enforcement of standard business practices and policies

•  Leadership and Mentorship

• Trains, mentors, and coaches internal teams on best practices in pricing analysis, commercial terms and internal objection handling

• Advocate and escalation point for the Deal Desk and help build and improve the brand of the team

• Supports team by ensuring alignment across Commercial Strategy, Legal, Accounting, and other stakeholders for complex pricing adjustments and nonstandard commercial terms

• Inspires and influences internal stakeholders and approvers to remove obstacles in order to achieve desired business outcomes with short turnaround times

• Recruits, coaches, manages, evaluates, and develops a team of direct reports that lead deal formation

• Set the standards, demonstrate the standards and hold the team accountable for excellence

• Partners with Sales/SalesOps leadership, Value Management, Commercial Strategy, and Legal to prioritize key deals and ensure deal closure

What You'll Need

Education:

• Undergraduate Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in a related field.

Skills:

• Strong listening, written, and verbal communication skills with ability to synthesize and effectively articulate concepts to cross-functional stakeholders at all levels

• Clear business focus and proven track record in deal structuring

• Ability to remain courteous and professional even during high-stress end-of-quarter deal negotiations

• Strong organizational and time management skills with ability to work autonomously, set priorities, meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, changing environment while exercising sound business judgment and with minimal supervision

• Can quickly identify gaps, problem solve, and then find creative and sustainable solutions

• Dedicated to excellent customer service while managing multiple priorities with short turnaround times

• Ability to be open and honest in communications with all stakeholders

Experience:

• 8+ years deal management, pricing strategy, and/or value-oriented negotiation roles including people management

• Experience in structuring deals within a value-based sales process and building a commercial model to support the business case

• Experience in reviewing redlines, drafting non standard commercial terms, and redlining customer paper as related to Master Agreements and Sales Orders

• Advanced skills in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, and/or Google Sheets

• Experience supporting remote and local Enterprise SaaS sales teams

• Experience with both direct B2B sales models and tiered channel partnership models

• Experience working with remote cross-functional teams such as Legal, Finance, Product

• Working knowledge of ASC 606 Revenue Accounting guidelines

• Salesforce CRM, Salesforce CPQ, and CLM experience preferred

Travel Requirement:

Less than 10% travel

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements:

Reliable internet access for any period of time working remotely, not in a Workiva office

How You’ll Be Rewarded:

• Salary range in the US: 

• A discretionary bonus typically paid annually
• Restricted Stock Units granted at time of hire
• 401(k) match and comprehensive employee benefits package

The salary range represents the low and high end of the salary range for this job in the US. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience and other relevant factors.