Salesforce — Deal Risk Assessment

2026-03-16 · Salesforce Opal 2026 · Proposal Stage
Deal Snapshot
Account / Deal
Salesforce — Salesforce Opal 2026
Owner
Caleb Ping (AE) · Conor Leary (overlay)
Stage / Target Close
Proposal  2026-03-20 (at risk — budget approval pending)
Size / Strategic Importance
$102,167 (likely initial ~$70-80K) · High (enterprise logo, AI/experimentation alignment)
Key Champions
Brandon Brackett (Experimentation lead, primary sponsor) · Verpee (budget request driver)
Executive Sponsor (Emerging)
Joe Ursinello (President, Emerging Technology — reports to Benioff)
Pilot Status
Complete — executive readout delivered, positive reception
Fallback Timeline
Q2 incremental ask if MarTech org denies funding
Current Status (as of 2026-03-16)
Budget request submitted to digital MarTech org leader (Barry's boss) via Verpee. No response — leader traveling to Hyderabad. Brandon sharing internal Opal opportunity deck across org today. Order form being drafted. Likely initial purchase at bottom tier (~$70-80K). Joe Ursinello (reports to Benioff) fully supportive as emerging technology president. Trailhead MAU pricing shared, awaiting response.
Total Risks
11
Critical / High
6
MEDDPICC Gaps
3
Risk Register
ID Category Risk Evidence Score Mitigation Owner
R1 Budget No budget in Brandon's org — entirely dependent on adjacent MarTech org leader approval
Known
  • 3/16: "My org has no budget currently." Verpee reached out to digital MarTech org leader (Barry's boss).
  • No response from MarTech leader — traveling to Hyderabad.
  • Budget not guaranteed: "not everyone got 100% of budget requests."
 Critical Verpee driving request; Brandon building momentum with internal deck and Slack posts; Joe Ursinello alignment as backup executive path Brandon / Verpee — follow up when MarTech leader returns
R2 Timeline MarTech org leader unavailable — traveling internationally, response unlikely this week
Known
  • 3/16: Leader traveling to Hyderabad (30-hour flight). Response may not come this week.
  • Close target is 2026-03-20 — only 4 days away.
 Critical Have order form ready for immediate execution on approval; shift internal expectation to Q2 close as primary Conor / Caleb — draft order form by 3/17
R3 Timeline Close target 2026-03-20 is unrealistic — budget approval has not occurred
Known
  • Budget request pending with no timeline for response.
  • Even with approval, funding allocation and signatures still required.
  • Brandon says "we can move fast" once funded — but no proof of velocity.
 High Update internal forecast to Q2; keep March as stretch goal; remove our-side friction by having order form ready Conor / Caleb — forecast update by 3/17
R4 Budget Reduced initial scope — likely $70-80K vs. $102K deal value
Known
  • 3/16: "Likely initial purchase at bottom tier (~$70-80K, ~100K credits)."
  • Strategy: use portion for custom Opal agent development, prove value, then expand.
 High Accept bottom tier as land strategy; plan expansion via custom agents and Trailhead MAU add-on; frame $70-80K as phase 1 Conor — prepare tiered pricing with expansion narrative
R5 Budget Tight budgets org-wide at Salesforce — not all teams got full allocation
Known
  • 3/16: Brandon noted "not everyone got 100% of budget requests."
  • Trailhead team also budget-constrained.
 High Position Opal as aligned with V2MOM AI investment priorities; leverage Joe Ursinello's support for budget justification Brandon — frame Opal within V2MOM AI investment narrative
R6 Champion No economic buyer access — decision sits with unknown MarTech org leader
Known
  • Budget decision maker is "Barry's boss" — name unknown, no direct relationship.
  • Verpee is sole conduit to this person.
  • No insight into this leader's priorities or decision criteria.
 Critical Ask Brandon for leader's name and intel; explore Joe Ursinello as top-down influence path; maintain Verpee engagement Conor / Brandon — surface EB identity and priorities
R7 Technical Slack integration requires internal Salesforce approval — could delay adoption
Known
  • 1/16: Slack app installation requires internal approval + OAuth to Opti ID.
  • Cory noted Salesforce doesn't use email much — Slack is critical path for adoption.
  • Documentation shared in January, no approval confirmation yet.
 Medium Email as interim delivery; Brandon/Forrest to drive internal Slack approval; not blocking purchase but affects post-sale adoption Brandon / Nol — drive Slack approval internally
R8 Technical James Stout not in Salesforce Slack Connect — limits solutions support
Known
  • 1/16: James needs to be added by Brandon or Forrest.
  • Open item since January — unresolved for 2 months.
 Low Brandon or Forrest to add James; not blocking purchase, only post-sale enablement speed James Stout — follow up with Brandon
R9 Technical Agent utilization reporting not available — needed for executive buy-in
Known
  • 1/9: Nol requested per-agent adoption tracking and utilization metrics.
  • Only credit consumption reporting currently available.
  • Product feedback submitted — no timeline for delivery.
 Medium Frame value around outcomes (experiments launched, time saved) not usage metrics; credit consumption as interim proxy Conor — continue product team advocacy
R10 Budget Trailhead MAU opportunity stalled — pricing shared but no budget response
Known
  • 3/16: Brandon shared pricing with Trailhead team; waiting on budget confirmation.
  • Trailhead team also budget-constrained.
 Low Separate from core deal; treat as expansion upside, not dependency; Brandon following up by end of week Brandon — follow up on Trailhead budget by EOW
R11 Champion Champion dependency on single person — if Brandon loses momentum, deal stalls
Assumed
  • Brandon is sole internal champion driving procurement.
  • Verpee is secondary but focused on budget, not deal advocacy.
  • No other stakeholder actively pushing for purchase.
 Medium Cultivate Verpee as secondary champion; activate Joe Ursinello as executive layer; Nol as technical advocate for continued usage Conor — build multi-threaded champion structure
MEDDPICC Gap Analysis
Metrics Strong
120 experiments in FY2026 (2x goal), 140+ target for FY2027. ROI: "shrink resourcing in half" paired with Opal. Quantified and executive-ready.
Economic Buyer Critical Gap
Unknown person — "Barry's boss" in digital MarTech org. No direct access, no relationship, no insight into priorities. Verpee is sole conduit.
Decision Criteria Strong
Well-defined: core team velocity, decentralization support, Slack integration, agent utilization reporting. Pilot validated all except reporting.
Decision Process Weak
Budget request submitted but approval path is opaque. No visibility into MarTech org's review process, timeline, or criteria. Q2 fallback is vague.
Paper Process Moderate
Brandon says "straightforward once funded" but this is champion's perspective. No procurement contact identified. No legal review timeline or approval thresholds known.
Identified Pain Strong
Multi-layered: lost experimentation developer, cannot scale via headcount, PMMs lack skills, decentralization pilot failed without tooling. Pain acknowledged at multiple levels.
Champion Strong
Brandon Brackett highly engaged — built internal deck, posting in Slack, actively securing funding. Verpee also championing budget request. Two-person structure.
Competition Strong
No competition identified. AgentForce exists internally but is seen as different. Opal has no competitive threat in this deal.
Critical Path to Close
1
MarTech org leader returns and responds to Verpee's budget request
Hard gate — no workaround exists. Leader traveling to Hyderabad, response may not come this week.
2
Budget approved (not denied or deferred)
If denied: deal shifts to Q2 incremental ask with uncertain timeline. If approved: funding flows to Brandon's org or comes directly from MarTech.
3
Funding org determined + order form finalized
Same procurement process regardless of funding source. Order form being drafted now to remove friction.
4
Signatures obtained → CLOSED-WON
Brandon says they can move fast once funded. Low-risk step if steps 1-3 complete.

Parallel Tracks (not blocking close)

Mitigation Priorities — Top 3 Action Plans
1
Secure Economic Buyer Visibility
Budget Champion Critical
Linked risks: R1, R6
Why: The deal depends entirely on an unknown decision-maker whom we have zero direct access to. Verpee is the sole conduit, and we have no insight into this leader's priorities, budget constraints, or decision timeline.

Actions:
• Immediate: Draft and send order form to Brandon — remove all friction on our side.
• This week: Ask Brandon for the MarTech org leader's name and any intel on their priorities.
• Escalation: If no response by 3/24, explore whether Joe Ursinello can apply top-down influence on MarTech org budget allocation.
• Fallback: If denied, immediately pivot to Q2 incremental ask. Pre-build the Q2 business case now.
Owner: Conor / Caleb Due: Order form by 3/17; escalation decision by 3/24
2
Reset Close Target Expectations
Timeline Budget
Linked risks: R2, R3, R4
Why: Close target of 3/20 is 4 days away with no budget approval. Maintaining this date internally creates false urgency and misaligned forecasting. Initial scope likely $70-80K, not $102K.

Actions:
• Immediate: Update internal forecast — Q2 close as primary, March close as stretch only.
• Signal to Brandon: Order form ready, Optimizely can execute same-week if budget lands. We are not the bottleneck.
• Protect expansion narrative: Frame $70-80K as phase 1 land in a land-and-expand strategy. Custom agents + Trailhead MAU = expansion vectors.
Owner: Conor / Caleb Due: Forecast update by 3/17
3
Build Executive Air Cover via Joe Ursinello
Champion Budget
Linked risks: R5, R11
Why: If the MarTech org budget path fails, there is no backup executive sponsor with budget authority. Joe Ursinello is supportive but not yet activated as a deal accelerator.

Actions:
• Short-term: Co-develop expansion vision document with Brandon that Joe Ursinello can champion internally. Brandon is already being asked by Joe for "what expansion looks like."
• Medium-term: Facilitate CEO-level introduction (Alex / Joe) at New York Roadshow or HumanX. Creates top-of-house alignment that survives any single budget path failure.
• Product partnership: Connect Optimizely product team with Brandon to scope custom agent development. Deepens relationship and creates switching costs.
Owner: Conor / Brandon Due: Expansion vision by 3/24; event invites by 3/20
Executive Support Required

Escalation Triggers

If budget denied by MarTech org (by ~3/24)
If budget approved (any week)
Near-term event opportunities
Salesforce Opal 2026 — Risk Assessment generated 2026-03-16 · Conor Leary (Opal overlay)