Prerequisites: a RevOps workspace with a public channel, and HubSpot connected if you use it. Approvals need the approval flows playbook.
What good looks like
1
Publish the standard band, then only handle exceptions
The highest-leverage move is not a form. It is writing down what does not need approval.Document the discount band a rep can offer unilaterally, the standard payment terms, the standard term length, and the standard liability position. Index it as knowledge so the agent answers “can I offer 12 percent” without a ticket existing.Most deal desks find that half their volume was reps checking something already permitted.
Learn more in structuring knowledge for AI
2
Ask for the ask, not the deal
The rep should not retype what the CRM already knows. Four fields:
Add Amount as a workspace custom field populated from the CRM lookup rather than typed. Threshold routing needs it to be a real number field.
Learn more about custom fields
3
Let the agent fetch the deal
This is what makes the desk feel fast. With HubSpot connected, an agent rule can find the deal and put its amount, stage, close date, and owner on the ticket before an approver opens it.For a CRM other than HubSpot, build the lookup as a Foundry action and call it from a workflow’s update step instead. The Foundry examples page has this exact pattern.
When a deal desk request names a deal or a company, use @Search deals with HubSpot to find it. Post the deal amount, stage, expected close date, and owner as a comment on the ticket. If you cannot find a matching deal, ask the requester for the deal link rather than guessing.
Learn more about HubSpot agent tools
4
Threshold the approvals, and keep the first round cheap
One approval template with skip conditions, sized so most requests clear in one round:
Skip conditions skip a round when they match, so each one expresses when the round is not needed. Use Any can approve throughout. Consensus is the wrong policy on a desk optimized for speed.
Learn more about skip conditions
5
Run the independent reviews at the same time
Finance and Legal do not depend on each other. Put them in the same stage so they run in parallel, and a deal needing both takes one round-trip rather than two.
Learn more about parallel rounds
6
Set an SLA you would be embarrassed to miss
This is the adoption mechanism. Reasonable targets:
- Standard discount approvals: first response within one business hour
- Non-standard clauses: within four business hours
- Anything with a close date this week: highest priority, regardless of size
Learn more in SLAs and business hours
7
Keep precedent visible
A public channel is the cheapest precedent database you will ever build. When an exception is approved, the reasoning is in the thread, and the next rep with the same situation finds it.Where a decision sets a lasting rule, promote it into the knowledge base so the agent can quote it. That is how the standard band gets wider over time without the desk getting busier.
8
Report cycle time, not volume
Volume tells you how busy you are. Cycle time tells you whether reps will keep using the desk.Three charts, reviewed weekly:
- Time from submission to final approval, by exception type
- Approval volume per approver, which finds the bottleneck
- Requests by discount band, which tells you whether your standard band is set correctly
Learn more in reporting and briefs
Where teams get this wrong
No published standard band
No published standard band
Half the desk’s volume is reps checking something already allowed.
All must approve
All must approve
It doubles the cycle time and rarely changes the decision.
Making the rep retype deal data
Making the rep retype deal data
The CRM has it. Look it up.
A private channel
A private channel
Precedent is the point.
Approvers with no deadline
Approvers with no deadline
A deal desk without an SLA becomes a DM habit within a month.
Next
Tooling requests
The other half of the RevOps desk.
Approval flows
Rounds, policies, and timeouts.