Clari’s Deal Desk team shares 7 tips to maximize revenue and streamline performance
End of quarter has a way of surfacing everything: your systems, your processes, your gaps in alignment. Whatever is not working will show up, and whatever is working will be pushed to its limit.
For Deal Desk and Revenue Operations teams, the final stretch isn't when you build the engine, it's when you test how well it runs under pressure. During high-volume closes, one thing is clear: smooth quarter ends require structure, early insight, and strong coordination.
Here's how modern revenue teams can prepare for clean, confident closes using AI-powered strategies.
1. Integrate Deal Desk into revenue forecasting
This is where revenue optimization starts. Deal Desk is a strategic revenue partner, not just an end-of-process checkpoint. Waiting for reps to come to you means you're already behind on revenue targets.
At Clari, Deal Desk is plugged into every forecast level, from CRO calls to frontline sales leaders. This gives us early visibility into which deals will impact revenue, what needs support, and where complexity will emerge.
With early visibility, we can:
- Shape deals with the right levers in real time
- Spot revenue risks before they become fires
- Get approvals lined up early to protect revenue
- Reduce back-and-forth that slows deal velocity
- Accelerate paperwork to avoid last-minute revenue loss
Takeaway: If you want one lever to reduce EOQ chaos and protect revenue, this is it: embed Deal Desk in your forecasting process.
2. Run high-tempo daily revenue standups
In the final two weeks, cadence changes everything for revenue protection. Daily 30-minute standups become essential, bringing together Sales, Deal Desk, RevOps, Legal, Customer Success, and Professional Services.
We open our revenue intelligence platform and run through:
- What's in motion and progressing toward revenue
- What's blocked and threatening revenue targets
- What's closed and contributing to revenue
- What needs leadership attention to protect revenue
Takeaway: These meetings focus on action: removing blockers, assigning ownership, and accelerating deals toward revenue recognition.
3. Use all your tools, better
When revenue stakes are high, systems must work seamlessly. If teams chase deal updates in Slack, emails, or spreadsheets, revenue opportunities are lost.
Clari’s AI is informed by Revenue ContextTM; it knows the history, behavior, and signals that actually explain how revenue is created or lost.
Without this level of insight, AI just gives vague suggestions, misfires on next steps, and fails to drive real outcomes.
With Revenue Context + AI, our team has real-time visibility into:
- Deal progression toward revenue targets
- Approval status affecting revenue timing
- Legal documentation impacting revenue recognition
- Purchase order progress
- AI-generated confidence scoring
- Revenue forecasting accuracy
Takeaway: When AI-powered systems stay current, teams act quickly. When they're outdated, people work around them, introducing revenue risk.
Clari’s AI is informed by Revenue Context; it knows the history, behavior, and signals that actually explain how revenue is created or lost.
4. Enable self-service deal execution
During quarter-end, sellers focus on closing revenue. They shouldn't be slowed by unclear processes or clunky tools. Provide:
- Fast, AI-powered quoting tools
- Integrated e-signature platforms for revenue acceleration
- AI agents to answer policy questions instantly
- Clear revenue recognition and booking requirements
- Flexible deal calculators that protect margins
Takeaway: Let sellers handle the high velocity, turnkey deals independently while Deal Desk focuses on strategic, high-revenue opportunities.
5. Deploy AI agents for operational efficiency
Let's be honest: no one reads process docs during EOQ. That's why we've deployed AI agents to handle:
- Common policy questions affecting revenue
- Basic deal construction and pricing optimization
- Operational policy retrieval
- Deal structure compliance checking
- Pricing trends and competitive intelligence
- Revenue booking rule validation
Takeaway: When AI handles repetitive tasks, humans focus on strategic revenue decisions. During quarter end, time equals revenue; automation should reduce manual overhead wherever possible.
6. Order Management is your best friend
Order Management is your final revenue checkpoint, but they need involvement long before handoff. Early integration prevents late-stage revenue delays.
Strong Order Management teams:
- Spot contract issues that could delay revenue recognition
- Push for clean data across CPQ and CRM systems
- Automate revenue booking workflows
- Understand how non-standard deals impact revenue recognition and company metrics
- Stay calm when revenue deadlines compress
Takeaway: Early Order Management involvement solves problems before they create revenue friction.
7. Always review and refine
Once the quarter is closed, it’s time to learn from it. Post-mortems are where improvements happen.
Each quarter, we review:
- Discount trends affecting revenue margins
- Approval cycle times impacting revenue velocity
- Deal stall points threatening revenue targets
- Contract error rates delaying revenue recognition
- AI performance in revenue operations
- Revenue forecasting accuracy
- Payment terms affecting cash flow
Takeaway: Continuously reviewing performance helps to identify patterns that caused revenue slowdowns, allowing for more AI-powered solutions to be implemented next quarter.
Final Thoughts: AI-Powered Excellence
End-of-quarter doesn't have to feel overwhelming. The best closes aren't built on heroics; they’re well-organized, predictable, and effective through AI-powered operations.
Everyone knows their role, AI tools support the process, and revenue decisions happen quickly. It takes time to build that consistency, but with the right structure and AI integration, it's achievable.
Deal Desk and Order Management may not be the most visible functions, but they're crucial for revenue success. This work is the connective tissue between strategy and execution, ensuring deals don't just get done, they get done right and contribute to predictable revenue growth.
Here's to the revenue teams who make it look easy, even when it's anything but.
Ready to close the next quarter strong? Get in touch!