~1,800
quotes reviewed and approved a year
Deals from $5K to $30M in total contract value (TCV), DocuSign signing authority up to $250K in ACR on fully-approved deals.
See the resumeAbout me
“Those that work with me, win with me — because success is always sweeter when shared.”
It's on my LinkedIn because it's how I actually run the job. My north star as a Deal Desk analyst: work myself out of a job by making the deal process fluid enough that Sales isn't waiting on a review for requests that carry no real risk. That's an idealistic bar, not a literal goal — but aiming at it is what produces the playbooks, templates, and tools on this site instead of one-off approvals.
When a deal review comes to me, I'm building a win-win: something that solves the customer's real driver and stays cost-effective for the business. When the answer to Sales is no, I explain the reason, link the relevant source, and offer a next step, rather than replying with only a policy reference. Set that expectation early and it stops feeling like Deal Desk is the obstacle — it starts feeling like we're solving the deal together.
I'm a Senior Deal Desk / Deal Strategy analyst based in Canton, GA, just outside Atlanta. Three years reviewing, structuring, and signing off on SaaS contracts at New Relic and Equifax — roughly 1,800 quotes a year, with deals from $5K to $30M in total contract value (TCV) — taught me that the job isn't really pricing. It's translating between what a customer needs, what Sales can promise, and what the business can defend, fast enough that nobody's waiting on me.
Outside the day job, I built the tools on this page myself: the Deal Strategy Assistant that reads a Salesforce pipeline every morning, and this site. I like building things that remove a step for someone — that's the same instinct whether it's a contract playbook or a Claude plugin.
As much as we value standardization, no two deals are the same. I've transacted directly and through AWS and Azure Marketplaces, MSPs, resellers, and channel partners. I've worked across consumption, subscription, tiered, and pay-as-you-go pricing, as well as grants and one-time fees.
Deal DeskDeal StrategyRevenue OperationsSales Operations
Deal Desk analyst who builds tools that remove redundant steps and catch process gaps.
From duplicate approvals to deals that reach Deal Desk too late, I build tools that reduce unnecessary steps and surface the right conversations before they become bottlenecks.
Structuring SaaS deals since 2021: pricing, terms, approvals, and quote-to-cash.
Tools: Salesforce · Salesforce CPQ · Zuora · DocuSign · Ironclad · Chamellio · ServiceNow · Slack · Microsoft Teams · Zoom · Fellow · Google Gemini · Claude plugins
Start here
Five places to look, in the order most hiring managers ask for them.
- ResumeDeal Desk work at New Relic and Equifax, June 2022 to June 2025 and August 2021 to June 2022. Contact info at the bottom.View resume
- Interview questionsSeven answers to questions Deal Desk interviewers ask.Read the answers
- DemosTwo full walkthroughs (a complex renewal and the assistant), shorter clips, and an interactive daily brief.Watch the demos
- How I use AIThe Deal Strategy Assistant, and how I think about AI as a Deal Desk tool.Read the product page
- ContactPhone calls are welcome, and so is email.Get in touch
By the numbers
$127M
revenue leakage caught
Reconciled 150 contracts a week against a new billing system during a Zuora migration at Equifax.
How it was done5 of 40
deals surfaced in the demo brief
In the demo, the Deal Strategy Assistant checks every open opportunity against its flags and drafts the first message to the AE.
How it worksDemo videos
Short walkthroughs of the assistant running on a demo Salesforce org and Slack workspace.
Demo video 1 · 2:35
Run the daily brief
Claude runs the brief against the Salesforce pipeline and surfaces one deal that needs strategy help today: a new logo whose parent company already has a closed-won contract. The brief also lists what it has not confirmed.
Demo video 2 · 1:29
Slack draft, saved unsent
The message to the account executive arrives as an unsent Slack draft. The analyst reads it, edits it, and decides whether to send.
More clips and the full walkthrough are on Demos.
How I work
Value, value, value.
Before I structure a deal, I look at what matters to both sides. For the business: deal size, timing, commitment, concessions, and who is involved. For the customer: price protection, unit pricing, payment flexibility, fast deployment, or clarity on future charges. Discount is not always the main driver.
Give/get — don't do something for nothing.
Every concession is tied to something concrete in return: a longer commitment, more committed spend, earlier cash, or another meaningful customer commitment. I explain the exchange plainly, so the product's value and the quality of the revenue stay protected.
Proactive timing.
I ask small but consequential questions early: documentation, billing, procurement, and signature requirements. Raised while there is time to resolve them, they stay small. Found at signature, they become last-minute deal breakers.
Communicate the what and the why.
“Here's what we can do, and here's why we can do it.” Even when the first answer is no, explaining the available path and its reasoning gives Sales clarity and confidence.
Cite the source.
I link the clause, policy, or record and explain how it applies, so Sales can check my answer and read the surrounding context themselves. Examples: service commitments, list-price changes at renewal, or payment-term eligibility.
Bring a proposed solution.
I work with Sales to find the real problem and bring an actionable recommendation with its trade-offs, rather than acting as a blocker or approving every request. Those that work with me, win with me.
The six pillars in practice
Illustrative negotiation examplesThe customers, numbers, and policies below are fictional. Scenarios A and C come from Harborline, the demo renewal I worked in my own Salesforce account (the walkthrough). They show how the same philosophy shapes each decision. They are not employer policies or completed customer outcomes.
Scenario A · Discount and price protection
A customer asks for $283.33 a seat. Their contract caps my increase at 7%.
Harborline pays $318.75 per seat per month today and wants a lower price at renewal. The first answer is no, and the contract is the reason.
Show the exchange
What and why. Their contract says I can't raise the seat price more than 7% at renewal, so the ceiling is $318.75 × 1.07 = $341.06. There's no minimum spend attached to that cap. That's flexibility the customer already has, and I turn it into my leverage.
What we can do. Commit 225 seats at $341.06 for three years, with better pricing as they grow into more seats. If the customer gives Sales a clear schedule for that growth, I'd consider a waterfall instead.
Why it can help. They get room to grow at known prices. We get a longer commitment at a healthy price.
Where I changed my mind. Then I priced the ask on a sheet: about $800,000 a year less than they pay today. At that size I stopped modeling the increase, kept the same pushback with Sales, and planned to take the size of the drop to leadership early.
Scenario B · Billing options and sources
Monthly billing by invoice at Net 30
The answer links the policy wording, then offers two ways to get what the customer needs.
Show the exchange and the source
Response to Sales. Monthly billing is available for this deal type, but not with Net 30 invoicing (see the excerpt below). Two options: monthly billing by credit card, due on receipt of each invoice; or quarterly invoicing at Net 30, which is four invoices a year, each due 30 days after receipt.
§3.2 Monthly billing. Monthly billing is paid by credit card, due on receipt of each invoice. Invoiced payment terms, such as Net 30, are available with quarterly, semi-annual, or annual billing.
Source: Example Billing Policy §3.2 (fictional)
Sales can read the whole document, not just my summary of it.
Scenario C · A tangible give/get
Eleven asks from one customer. I ask what matters most, then trade.
Harborline wants cheaper credits, quarterly billing, and a tighter renewal cap. I ask Sales for the customer's top three priorities, so each give is tied to something we want back.
Show the give/get
| Their ask | What I'd give | What I want back |
|---|---|---|
| Credits cut to 70,000 a month at $0.80 | $0.91 a credit, which is today's $0.85 plus the 7% cap | The three-year term |
| Quarterly billing at net 60 | Payment flexibility, if that's what they value most | A three-year deal at healthy pricing |
| A 3% cap in years four and five | The tighter cap. It's an easy give I'd lead with | The three-year pricing I want |
Two asks get no give: unused credits rolling over, and a refund on termination after month 12. Their current order says credits expire, and a refund hands back a year of service they already used. I'd rather give on billing than on price. Quarterly at net 60 is a big change from annual upfront at net 30, so I'd ask why. If they say cash flow, I check whether they have paid us on time.
Scenario D · Proactive documentation
Tax-exemption paperwork, raised two months early
A small question in the early conversations keeps a routine document from becoming a last-week deadline risk.
Show the timeline
Processing an exemption request can take internal teams time once the customer's documents arrive (3–5 business days is an assumption for this example). Nobody tends to ask about it until signature.
Whether a customer qualifies depends on its entity type, location, and documentation, and Finance/Tax makes that call. Location, nonprofit status, or being a government body does not settle it on its own.
If I raise the question two months before the target close, the documentation runs in parallel with the commercial negotiation. By signature, a small detail is already handled.
What it's like to work with me
These are messages colleagues wrote to me at New Relic, from recognition posts, Slack, and Salesforce Chatter. I removed names, customers, prices, and anything internal, and cleaned up capitalization. Nothing else is changed.
Deals that needed an owner
Late-stage deals with many teams involved and a fixed deadline.
“Brennan was instrumental in helping us get a very complex and complicated deal through the final stages. He held all teams involved accountable, we couldn't have met our tight deadline without him. Thank you, Brennan.”
Recognition post, Dec 2022 “Your willingness to go above and beyond to meet my needs and address our concerns has not gone unnoticed and has greatly contributed to the success of my endeavors with the [customer] account. Your support and guidance allowed me to properly submit required documents and close the deal to meet renewal deadlines.”
Recognition post, Aug 2023 “Your confirmation allows me to execute with confidence. Thank you.”
Salesforce Chatter, on a renewal opportunity
Quotes, reviewed fast and with care
Daily quote review and approval, where the details decide whether a deal goes out clean.
“I don't know why I ever doubted you, thank you!”
Salesforce Chatter, after I explained a number a colleague had flagged on an order form “I really appreciate your positive notes for quotes! I have only been at [the company] since March so getting that positivity is always nice!”
Salesforce Chatter, from a newer colleague “You've been very helpful in the past with my requests.”
Slack, Growth Operations Manager “[A member of my team] was telling me how helpful you are and how you always go above and beyond. I just wanted to say THANK YOU! We always appreciate supportive internal partners!”
Slack, Manager, Customer Success
Makes the people around him better
Enablement, mentoring, and work outside the day job.
“Hey Brennan, just wanted to let you know that your videos on [the quoting tool] are amazing! … If it's okay with you, I'll include your video library as part of the enablement.”
Slack “As always, you are a star, and I could not have done this without all of your previous guidance!”
Salesforce Chatter, on a quote I approved “Thanks for all of the help on it mate, it's made a massive difference having you involved.”
Slack, on a team playbook “Brennan has been an absolute star in the finance L&D committee. He has largely been responsible for driving the survey and outputs. He was also a supreme wordsmith in helping enhance the mentorship program email that I had drafted. He made the email so much better.”
Recognition post, Aug 2023
Hiring for Deal Desk, Deal Strategy, Revenue Operations, or Sales Operations?
Phone calls are welcome. Reach me at 678-572-7435 or [email protected].