| name | quote-desk |
| description | The pricing-math owner — CPQ quotes, discounts, ramps, tiers, approval routing. Trigger: 'what should I quote', 'can I give X% off', 'what needs approval'. Other skills defer here for any number. |
| origin | ESCC |
Quote Desk
The canonical pricing-math owner for ESCC. Every discount calculation, packaging
decision, ramp structure, and approval-routing step lives here. Skills that need a
number — proposal-builder, business-case, negotiation-prep — defer to this skill
rather than deriving pricing independently.
Governing rules:
rules/approval-matrix.md — the source of truth for all approval-tier thresholds
(rep/manager/VP/CRO+Finance). This skill reads and applies that matrix; it does not
duplicate the thresholds inline as its own source of truth.
rules/targets.md — quota and ramp targets inform deal sizing and coverage math.
rules/common/selling-principles.md — pricing and packaging facts come only from
approved product-knowledge entries; no fabricated list prices or capacity limits.
rules/common/forecasting-definitions.md Currency-correctness clause (v1.8.0) —
every quote states its currency; a multi-currency ramp or comparison normalizes
through the workspace locale config (rate + as-of stated), never by mixing units.
When to Activate
Activate this skill when:
- A rep needs to build or sanity-check a CPQ quote — list price, discount, net ACV,
payment schedule, or contract term.
- A discount is being requested or negotiated and you need to know (a) whether it is
self-serve or requires approval, and (b) who the approver is.
- Structuring a ramp deal (Year 1 / Year 2 / Year 3 step-up), a multi-year
commitment, or a free-period arrangement and you need the revenue-recognition
and approval implications.
- Packaging or SKU selection is unclear — which tier fits the buyer's seat count,
use-cases, or segment (segment overrides:
rules/segments/enterprise.md,
rules/segments/mid-market.md, rules/segments/smb.md).
proposal-builder, business-case, or negotiation-prep ask for a concrete
price or discount figure — they must route here first, not derive their own number.- A non-standard term (custom legal, unusual payment schedule, MFN clause) needs to be
flagged for the correct escalation tier.
Do not activate for pure proposal prose (that is proposal-builder), ROI
narrative (that is business-case), or negotiation tactics without a pricing question
(that is negotiation-prep). This skill is the number layer; the other skills own
the narrative around it.
The quote model
A quote has five components, each computed in order:
| Component | What it represents |
|---|
| List price | The published / catalog price for the selected SKU at stated volume. From product-knowledge (approved SKU/pricing entries only). |
| Discount | % off list, by discount type (volume, competitive, strategic, etc.). Constrained by tier rules below. |
| Net ACV | list_price * (1 - discount_rate) annualised. The number that drives approval routing. |
| Ramp schedule | Year-over-year step-up if applicable. Must reflect contracted commitment, not aspirational upsell. |
| Payment terms | Annual-upfront / quarterly / monthly. Non-standard schedules escalate per the matrix. |
State each component explicitly in the quote output. Do not collapse them into a single
"here is the number" — the approver and the buyer both need the breakdown.
The discount-tier model (sourced from rules/approval-matrix.md)
Read the current thresholds from rules/approval-matrix.md at run-time. The shape is:
- Tier 0 (rep self-serve): discount at or below the rep-autonomy ceiling — logged,
no additional approver required.
- Tier 1 (Sales Manager): mid-range discount or the ACV crosses the lower ACV band.
- Tier 1+ (Sales Manager + RevOps): same discount band but ACV crosses the upper
band — RevOps join because the deal size has P&L visibility.
- Tier 2 (VP Sales): high-discount band, any ACV.
- Tier 3 (CRO + Finance): above the VP ceiling, or any non-standard term — revenue
recognition routes to Finance.
When a ramp deal or multi-year commitment is involved, escalate one tier beyond what
the plain discount% would suggest, per the matrix non-standard-terms rule.
Workflow
A. Build a quote from scratch
- Pull approved SKU / list-price facts from
product-knowledge. Never state a
list price that is not in an approved entry. If the entry is missing, surface the gap
and pause — do not invent a number.
- Establish the deal parameters: seat count (or consumption unit), term length,
start date, and any agreed ramp or free-period.
- Compute list ACV: seats (or units) x unit price x term fraction = annual list ACV.
- Apply the requested discount: compute net ACV = list ACV x (1 - discount%).
Flag: does this discount fall in Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 1+, Tier 2, or Tier 3?
- Check non-standard triggers: ramp, multi-year, custom payment, free period,
non-standard legal. Each adds one escalation tier.
- State the required approver(s) from the matrix. Do not offer the term to the
customer before confirming the approval step is recorded.
- Produce the quote output (see Examples below): each component listed explicitly,
approval tier named, next action stated.
- Route to
crm-operator for any CRM logging. A quote summary is logged against
the deal record; governance-capture records approval_requested when an approval
is needed. No CRM write happens outside crm-operator.
B. Evaluate an incoming discount request
- Take the discount% and net ACV as stated (verify the math — recalculate from
first principles if you have list price and seats).
- Look up the tier from
rules/approval-matrix.md.
- Check for non-standard escalators (ramp, custom legal, etc.).
- Return the verdict: self-serve / needs approval (with named approver) / needs
escalation (with reason). Include the re-routing instruction if escalation is needed.
C. Structure a ramp deal
- Define Year 1 net ACV — the contracted (not aspirational) seat/unit commitment
at the agreed Year 1 discount.
- Define Year 2 and Year 3 step-ups — either a fixed seat-count growth or a
percentage uplift, tied to a commercial trigger (e.g. seat expansion, usage threshold).
Ramp schedules must be contractually binding, not a "we expect to grow" note.
- Compute TCV (total contract value) = sum of all year ACVs.
- Identify the approval tier using the highest single-year net ACV, then escalate
one further tier because the deal is a ramp (non-standard term).
- Flag revenue-recognition implications to Finance if any year's billing deviates
from standard annual-upfront. Route to CRO + Finance if so.
D. Select the right packaging / tier
- Map buyer's stated use-case and seat count to the SKU options in
product-knowledge.
- Apply segment overlay from
rules/segments/enterprise.md,
rules/segments/mid-market.md, or rules/segments/smb.md — segment rules may specify
minimum tiers, bundled modules, or preferred packaging.
- Prefer the tier the buyer can actually consume on Day 1 — over-tiering for upsell
potential is a friction risk and a trust risk. Note the natural expansion path without
baking it into the contract.
- Return the recommended SKU + rationale, with the list ACV, ready for step A above.
Examples
Standard quote, Tier 1 approval required:
Deal: Example Co Corp, 50 seats, Professional tier, 12-month term.
List price (from product-knowledge, SKU PRO-50): $1,200/seat/year
List ACV: 50 x $1,200 = $60,000
Requested discount: 18%
Net ACV: $60,000 x 0.82 = $49,200
Approval tier (rules/approval-matrix.md):
Discount 18% (10-20 band), Net ACV $49,200 (< $50k band) -> Sales Manager approval.
Non-standard escalators: none (standard annual-upfront, no ramp).
Required approver: Sales Manager.
Next action: Rep submits approval request via deal-desk before sharing pricing with Example Co.
CRM log: routed to crm-operator — deal record updated, governance-capture records
approval_requested.
Ramp deal, escalated to VP Sales:
Deal: Sample Co, 80 seats Y1 / 120 seats Y2 / 160 seats Y3, Enterprise tier.
List price (SKU ENT-80+): $1,800/seat/year
Year 1 net ACV: 80 x $1,800 x (1 - 20%) = $115,200
Year 2 net ACV: 120 x $1,800 x (1 - 15%) = $183,600
Year 3 net ACV: 160 x $1,800 x (1 - 10%) = $259,200
TCV: $558,000
Discount 20%, highest-year ACV $259,200.
Base tier: 20% discount -> VP Sales (Tier 2, rules/approval-matrix.md).
Non-standard escalator: ramp deal -> escalate one further tier -> CRO + Finance.
Required approvers: CRO + Finance.
Revenue-recognition flag: staggered billing years -> Finance must confirm recognition.
Next action: VP Sales sponsors the CRO + Finance approval request.
Discount request, Tier 0 (self-serve):
Inbound request: can I give 8% off to close Demo Co this quarter?
List ACV: $22,000. Requested discount 8%.
Net ACV: $20,240.
Tier check (rules/approval-matrix.md): 8% <= rep-autonomy ceiling -> Tier 0, self-serve.
Verdict: Rep may offer this discount. Log the discount reason to HubSpot via crm-operator.
No additional approver required.
Missing list price — blocked:
Request: quote for the Analytics Add-on at 15% off.
product-knowledge check: no approved SKU entry for "Analytics Add-on". List price unknown.
BLOCKED. Do not fabricate a list price.
Next action: Rep confirms the correct SKU with their SE or PM, then re-runs quote-desk.
Packaging selection — SMB segment:
Buyer: 8-person RevOps team, needs pipeline reporting, no advanced forecasting yet.
Segment: SMB (rules/segments/smb.md).
SKU options (product-knowledge): Starter (1-10 seats, core reporting) / Professional
(advanced forecasting, custom dashboards).
Segment overlay: SMB preferred entry-point is Starter where use-case fits.
Recommendation: Starter tier — fits Day 1 use-case; natural expansion trigger is when
they need custom dashboards (note in deal record, not in contract).
List ACV at 8 seats: [pull from product-knowledge SKU STR-8 entry].
Anti-patterns
- Deriving a price from memory or a plausible estimate. List prices and SKU limits
come only from approved
product-knowledge entries. A fabricated list price corrupts
the entire quote — if the entry is missing, block and surface the gap.
- Other skills computing discount math independently.
proposal-builder,
business-case, and negotiation-prep must pass through quote-desk for any number.
Cross-skill pricing drift creates contradiction and compliance risk.
- Offering a term before the approval is recorded. The approval sequence in
rules/approval-matrix.md is a pre-condition, not a formality after the fact. No
number goes to the buyer before the required approver is notified and on-record.
- Ramp optimism. Year 2 and Year 3 seat counts in a ramp must be contractually
committed or clearly labelled as non-binding forecasts. A growth expectation
presented as a committed step-up is a false representation.
- Treating a discount-approval acknowledgement as a CRM write. CRM writes go
through
crm-operator. A verbal or Slack acknowledgement is not a logged approval.
- Skipping the non-standard escalator. Ramps, free periods, custom legal, and
unusual payment schedules each escalate one tier beyond the plain discount% tier.
Forgetting this undersells the approval requirement and creates legal exposure.
- Hardcoding approval thresholds. The thresholds live in
rules/approval-matrix.md
and may be calibrated per workspace. Quote-desk reads the rule; it does not carry its
own duplicate copy that can drift.
Related
- Pricing source of truth:
product-knowledge (approved SKUs + list prices).
- Approval thresholds:
rules/approval-matrix.md (the sole source — read, do not copy).
- Deal sizing context:
rules/targets.md (quota and coverage targets for deal sizing).
- Proposal narrative wrapping this output:
proposal-builder.
- ROI / business-case narrative:
business-case.
- Negotiation framing:
negotiation-prep.
- CRM write for quote logging and approval record:
crm-operator.
- Stage gate that quote-desk serves: stage 4 "Proposal / Negotiation" in
rules/lifecycle-stages.md.
- Segment packaging overrides:
rules/segments/enterprise.md,
rules/segments/mid-market.md, rules/segments/smb.md.
