Background

A global B2B talent platform operating across multiple markets was facing growing pressure on pricing and margins, despite sustained demand and revenue growth. Commercial negotiations had become increasingly complex due to a fragmented commission structure, heterogeneous client profiles and inconsistent assumptions about costs, discounts and payment terms.

Sales teams were closing deals that appeared attractive at the surface level but were, in several cases, eroding contribution margins once all commissions, operational costs and financial penalties were accounted for. Leadership lacked a reliable mechanism to validate deal economics before approval, creating tension between growth objectives and margin protection.

The challenge was not sales volume. It was decision quality.

Challenge

The company needed to regain control over pricing and margin discipline without slowing down sales execution or introducing excessive approval bureaucracy.

Key issues included:

• Limited visibility into the real economic impact of each deal at the moment of negotiation

• Complex, multi-layered commission policies involving sales, SDRs, customer success and talent acquisition

• Inconsistent treatment of payment terms, cost penalties and minimum margin thresholds

• High dependency on manual spreadsheets and subjective judgment during deal approval

As deal volume increased, these issues compounded, making it increasingly difficult for leadership to trust revenue forecasts and margin projections.

Zenit Approach

Zenit was engaged to design an independent, decision-grade pricing and margin intelligence framework capable of supporting sales negotiations in real time.

The work began with a deep review of commercial and financial assumptions, including:

• Cost structure per role, seniority and geography

• Commission policies across sales, SDR, customer success and talent acquisition

• Payment terms, penalties and risk buffers

• Minimum and target margin thresholds aligned with the company’s growth strategy

Based on this foundation, we designed a structured pricing and margin calculator, enhanced with AI-supported validation logic, to simulate deal economics before approval.

The solution translated complex commercial rules into a clear, scenario-based decision tool, enabling teams to test pricing, discounts and contract terms while immediately visualizing their impact on margins, commissions and profitability.

Rather than acting as a static spreadsheet, the framework functioned as a pricing intelligence layer embedded into the sales decision process.

Solution Delivered

• A structured sales pricing and margin calculator aligned with real operational costs

• Automated validation of minimum and target margin thresholds

• Real-time simulation of pricing scenarios, payment terms and commission distribution

• Clear separation between revenue, direct costs, commissions, financial penalties and net margin

• Approval logic tied to margin bands, enabling faster and more consistent decision-making

• A unified economic view shared by sales, finance and leadership

The tool allowed leadership to replace subjective deal discussions with a shared, data-driven economic language.

Key Outcomes

• Significant improvement in pricing discipline without reducing sales velocity

• Immediate visibility into margin erosion risks before contracts were signed

• Stronger alignment between sales incentives and company profitability targets

• Reduction in commercially unattractive deals reaching late-stage approval

• Increased confidence in revenue quality and forecast reliability

• Creation of a scalable pricing governance model applicable across markets

Within months, the company shifted from reactive margin correction to proactive margin control.

Why This Matters

This project demonstrates that revenue growth alone is not a sufficient indicator of business health. In high-volume, service-driven SaaS and platform businesses, pricing logic and incentive design directly determine long-term sustainability.

By introducing a decision-grade pricing intelligence layer, the company transformed pricing from a negotiation artifact into a strategic control mechanism.

Engagement Scope

• Revenue analytics and pricing intelligence

• Commercial policy design and validation

• Margin governance and approval frameworks

• Sales and finance alignment for scalable growth

Looking Ahead

The pricing framework created during this engagement now serves as a foundation for broader revenue governance initiatives, including forecasting improvements, scenario planning and strategic growth analysis.

This case illustrates how data, when properly structured and embedded into execution, becomes a lever for better decisions, not just better reporting.