Antonella De Lazzari · CEO and co-founder
Updated October 9, 2026
The short answer
You do not need a manual to start. Pick a recent sale and reconstruct the steps: what information was used, who decided and where work got stuck. Record existing rules and the exceptions that need review. Use that case to start defining the process with your team.
When keeping it in your head is enough
In a small team, many decisions come from talking to whoever knows the customer. That experience matters, but others need access to agreements and rules when that person is away.
If several sales are waiting for the same answer, start by recording that decision: what information it needs, who can resolve it and when approval is required.
Where it breaks
- There's the one who asks and the one who doesn't
- Two salespeople quote different prices to the same customer in the same week. The customer notices before you do, and negotiates from the lower number next time.
- You become your own company's bottleneck
- Ten people in the field waiting for you to answer a voice note so they can close. Your day goes into repeating what you already know by heart.
- Exceptions leave no trace
- A discount above the usual gets approved on a Saturday over WhatsApp. Three months later nobody remembers why, and that price became that customer's price.
- The criteria leave with the person
- The day the person who knew which supplier sends bad codes and which customer isn't charged freight resigns, twenty years of field knowledge walk out with them.
- The margin shows up late
- The deal closed in March and you see the real number in May, when there's nothing left to correct.
What changes once it's written
Writing the criteria down doesn't take them away from anyone or replace them with a formula. What changes is who can reach them.
- The salesperson stops depending on who they ask
- That customer's terms and the discount they can give are where they're selling, before the price goes out.
- The exception stays an exception
- It can still happen, but with the amount, the resulting margin, and the reason attached. You stop approving blind.
- You look at what falls outside the rule, not everything
- Whatever fits what you defined goes out without passing through you. Your attention is left for the rest.
Four questions to get started
These questions help organize pricing and approvals. Then review the rest of the workflow: how requests arrive, who follows up and what operations needs to deliver on the agreement.
- How much discount can each person authorize without asking you?
- It can be one number for everyone, or vary by salesperson, category, or volume. What matters is that the number exists.
- Which margin is untouchable?
- The floor per deal. Below that, the sale doesn't go out without your approval even if the discount is within the limit.
- What has each customer agreed to, and where does that live today?
- Terms, allowances, agreed prices. Usually split between the ERP, a spreadsheet, and someone's memory.
- Who approves an exception, and with what in front of them?
- Define who resolves exceptions and what they need to review: the customer, amount, margin and reason.
Signs you've already crossed the line
- You answer the same question several times a week
- If you give the same price or the same terms more than twice, that answer is already an unwritten rule.
- You find out about discounts after invoicing
- You learn the number once the deal is closed, not while it was being decided.
- There's a salesperson you can't replace
- Not because of their customer relationships, but because they're the only one who knows how a price gets built.
Good morning, Luciano. You have two approvals waiting and a meeting at 3:00 PM.
Frío Norte is the one that matters: it's their third order this year and they pay in 15 days. The margin stays above your floor — I'd approve it to close all 3 branches.
Antonella asks for a 12% discount — Cooling units for 3 branches
