Deal Scoring
Deal scoring is the core of MarginArc. You provide deal information, and MarginArc analyzes it against OEM-specific intelligence, competitive data, and pricing patterns to give you actionable margin recommendations.
There are three ways to score a deal. Each one has different strengths depending on your workflow.
Method 1: PDF Upload
Best for: Scored quotes from distributors where you want the most detailed analysis.
How it works
- Click New Deal on your dashboard or drag a PDF anywhere onto the page.
- MarginArc extracts all pricing data from the quote -- line items, part numbers, quantities, unit costs, extended pricing, distributor information, and any special pricing notes.
- The extracted data is analyzed against our OEM research database and competitive intelligence.
- Your scored results appear within seconds.
What formats work
- Standard distributor PDFs from Ingram Micro, TD SYNNEX, D&H, ScanSource, Pax8, and most other major distributors
- OEM-generated quotes from Cisco, HPE, Dell, Fortinet, Palo Alto, Aruba, Juniper, and others
- Multi-page quotes -- upload the full document for best results
- Scanned PDFs -- we can read them, though digital PDFs provide cleaner extraction
What gets extracted
| Data Point | How It's Used |
|---|---|
| Line items & part numbers | Matched against OEM product databases for category intelligence |
| Unit pricing | Compared to known pricing tiers and discount levels |
| Extended pricing | Used to calculate total deal value and margin |
| Quantities | Factors into volume-based pricing analysis |
| Distributor name | Enables distributor-specific pricing intelligence |
| Special pricing notes | Identified and factored into recommendations |
| Deal registration references | Detected automatically when present on the quote |
Tips for best results
- Upload the complete quote, not just a summary page
- If you have quotes from multiple distributors for the same deal, upload each one separately and compare
- Make sure the PDF isn't password-protected
- Digital PDFs (not scans) give the cleanest extraction
Method 2: Email Forwarding
Best for: Reps who get quotes via email and want scoring without leaving their inbox.
How it works
- Forward the email containing the quote to quotes@score.marginarc.com.
- Add context in the body of the forwarded email. For example:
Customer: Acme Corp. We have deal reg with Cisco. Competing against CDW. I'm a Gold partner.
- MarginArc processes the email, extracts the quote (from attachments or the email body), and combines it with your context.
- You receive a reply email with a summary of the score and a link to the full results on your dashboard.
What to include in the forward
The more you add, the better your Deal IQ:
- Customer name and industry -- helps with category-specific intelligence
- Deal registration status -- significantly impacts margin recommendations
- Your partner tier -- affects pricing expectations
- Competitor information -- enables competitive analysis
- Incumbent vendor -- changes the strategy for displacement vs. renewal
- Any special circumstances -- "customer is comparing cloud vs. on-prem" or "this is a refresh of a 3-year-old deployment"
What the reply looks like
You'll get an email back within a few minutes containing:
- The arch gauge position (as a text summary)
- Your three margin positions with dollar amounts
- Top-priority action items
- A link to view the full interactive results on your dashboard
Setting up email scoring
Your account email is automatically authorized. To add team members or configure a shared mailbox, see Email Scoring Setup.
Method 3: Manual Entry
Best for: Quick what-if scenarios, early-stage deals without a formal quote, or when you want to explore pricing strategies.
How it works
- Click New Deal and choose Manual Entry.
- Fill in the fields you know. No field is strictly required, but more is better.
- Click Score Deal.
Fields and their impact
| Field | Impact on Analysis |
|---|---|
| OEM / Vendor | Required for OEM-specific intelligence. This is the most important field. |
| Product category | Determines which pricing benchmarks and patterns to use. |
| Deal size (total) | Affects volume-based pricing analysis. |
| Your cost | The distributor's price to you. Core to margin calculation. |
| Customer sell price | What you plan to charge. If blank, MarginArc suggests positions. |
| Deal registration | Yes/No. Dramatically changes margin expectations. |
| Partner tier | Your level with the OEM (e.g., Gold, Platinum, Premier). |
| Competitor | Who you're competing against. Enables competitive analysis. |
| Incumbent vendor | The vendor currently in place at the customer. |
| Customer name | Enables customer-specific history if you've scored deals for them before. |
| Customer vertical | Industry matters for pricing patterns (education vs. enterprise vs. healthcare). |
When manual entry shines
- You're on a call with a customer and want to quickly check margin expectations
- You're exploring different scenarios ("what if we had deal reg?" or "what if the competitor is SHI?")
- You're preparing for a deal review and want ballpark numbers before the formal quote arrives
Comparing the Three Methods
| Capability | PDF Upload | Email Forward | Manual Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | Seconds | Minutes | Seconds |
| Deal IQ (typical) | 60-85 | 55-80 | 30-60 |
| Line-item detail | Full extraction | Full extraction | Not available |
| Context from you | Optional (add after) | In the email body | In the form fields |
| Best for | Formal quotes | Inbox workflow | Quick estimates |
| Requires dashboard | Yes | No (email reply) | Yes |
| Supports rescoring | Yes | Yes (forward again) | Yes |
Pre-Scoring Questions
After you submit a deal, MarginArc reads your context and may ask 1-3 quick follow-up questions before finalizing your score. These are high-impact questions that can shift your margin recommendation by 2-10 points.
How it works
- You submit a deal (any method -- PDF, email, or manual entry).
- MarginArc reads everything you provided and identifies what's missing. If your context already answers everything, you skip straight to results with no questions.
- If there are gaps, you'll see 1-3 quick multiple-choice questions. Each one is answerable in under 5 seconds -- one tap.
- Answer what you can, or skip entirely. You'll always get a score.
What it asks about
Questions are selected from three priority tiers:
| Tier | Questions | Margin Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Competition (sole source?), Deal registration (which program?), Customer price expectation, Competitor intent | 3-10 points |
| Tier 2 | Your position (incumbent?), Procurement dynamics, Timeline/urgency | 2-5 points |
| Tier 3 | Solution ownership (who designed it?), Decision maker role | 1-3 points |
Deal Registration Detail
When you select your deal registration program, MarginArc asks what your specific protection is (e.g., "5% additional off" or "15 points on Meraki"). This lets the system compute your exact competitive cost advantage and show you the math: your cost vs. the competitor's cost, and exactly how much margin you can hold while staying below their floor price.
Competitor Intent
When you have deal registration and your competitor doesn't, MarginArc asks how aggressive you think they'll be. This changes the pricing strategy:
- Normal competition: The competitor will bid to make a profit. You can price well above their floor.
- Trying to buy the business: The competitor may bid at or near cost. You should price closer to their cost.
- Not sure: MarginArc models both scenarios in your margin range.
Underdog Deals
When the competitor has deal registration and you don't, MarginArc switches to underdog strategy. It computes the competitor's cost advantage, shows you why you can't win on price alone, and recommends value-based differentiation: services wrap, incumbent relationships, technical superiority, or filing your own deal registration.
Questions get smarter over time
MarginArc remembers what it learns about each customer. The first deal for a new customer might ask 2-3 questions. By the fifth deal, the system already knows the customer's procurement process, your relationship status, and typical competitors -- so it asks zero questions.
You can always skip
Questions are optional. If you skip them, MarginArc scores with whatever context you provided. The score will be less precise, but you're never blocked.
After Scoring
Regardless of which method you use, every scored deal shows up on your dashboard. From there you can:
- View the full results with the arch gauge, positions, and action items
- Rescore with additional context to improve Deal IQ
- Export the score summary as a PDF for deal reviews
- Track the deal outcome to improve future scoring accuracy
- Compare multiple deals side by side
Two-phase scoring with plays
For deals where a strategic play might apply (an incumbency setup on a 12-month subscription, a Cisco AP loss-leader, a follow-on deal at a customer with an active play), MarginArc inserts a play candidate menu between Phase A and Phase B. After your pre-scoring questions, the system checks the catalog of MarginArc Plays against your deal. If anything fits, you see a menu of fully-scored play candidates and pick the one you're actually running. The picked candidate's scoring becomes your official score.
If no play fits the deal, the menu is skipped and you go straight to standalone scoring. See MarginArc Plays for the full picking flow and How MarginArc decides when to show plays for the decision logic.
Next Steps
- Understanding Your Results: learn what every part of the score means
- The Arch Gauge: deep dive into the visual scoring dial
- Deal IQ: how to maximize the quality of your analysis
- Rescoring: updating a deal with new information
- MarginArc Plays: when scoring includes a play candidate menu