If you’re in B2B sales and tired of endless email threads, scattered docs, and prospects “losing the link,” you’ve probably looked at deal room tools. But most of them are either overkill or so bare-bones they’re more work than help. This article is for sales teams who want to set up a deal room in Heybase that actually moves deals forward—without making buyers jump through hoops or giving you another admin headache.
Let’s get practical. Here’s how to build a deal room in Heybase that your buyers and your sales team will actually use—and what to skip.
Step 1: Start with a Clear Goal for Your Deal Room
Before you click a single button, get real about what you need your deal room to do. Is it just a place to send docs, or do you want to walk buyers through a process? Are you trying to corral feedback from multiple stakeholders? Or just stop everything from getting lost in email?
Don’t overthink it. Most B2B sales motions boil down to: - Sharing key info (proposals, decks, demos) - Handling questions and objections - Getting approvals and signatures
Write down your must-haves. If you’re just getting started, focus on reducing friction for your buyer.
Pro Tip: If your deal involves more than 3 people or more than 3 types of documents, a deal room saves time. If not, you might be fine with a good old-fashioned shared folder.
Step 2: Set Up Your First Room in Heybase
Once you know what you want, log into Heybase and set up your first room. Don’t worry about perfection—just get the structure in place.
Here’s a basic flow: 1. Create a New Deal Room: Usually a big “+” or “New Room” button. Name it for the client and deal (e.g., “Acme Corp – Q3 Procurement”). 2. Add Your Team: Invite anyone who needs to contribute, but don’t flood the room with every sales manager “just in case.” 3. Set Permissions: Heybase lets you control who can see or edit what. Keep it simple: the fewer clicks for your buyer, the better.
What works: Naming conventions. If you have lots of deals, stick to a format so you can find rooms later. What doesn’t: Over-customizing permissions. Unless you’re in a regulated industry, default settings are fine.
Step 3: Organize Everything Buyers Need—But Nothing Extra
Your buyers don’t want to hunt through folders or scroll past company hype. Give them exactly what they need to make a decision.
Must-have sections: - Welcome/Overview: Short intro, the goal of the deal, key contacts. - Proposal/Quote: The main doc—make it easy to find. - Product Info: Decks, one-pagers, demo links. Don’t bury the good stuff. - Legal & Security: Contracts, NDAs, and any compliance docs they’ll ask for. - Timeline/Next Steps: Plain English, not a Gantt chart.
Optional (don’t overdo it): - Customer stories/testimonials (only if they’re relevant) - Pricing calculators or ROI tools
Skip it: - Company history PDFs - Irrelevant case studies - Anything you’re adding “just in case”
Pro Tip: Use Heybase’s templates if you’re repeating the same structure for every deal. Tweak as you go—don’t try to build the perfect template on day one.
Step 4: Make Collaboration Easy (and Respect Your Buyer’s Time)
Heybase offers features like comments, file requests, and Q&A threads. Use these, but don’t force buyers to “engage” just for the sake of activity.
What works: - FAQs/Q&A: Pre-load answers to common buyer questions. Saves everyone time. - Comments: Great for clarifying a doc or pointing out a missing file. - Tasks/Checklists: Use only for big steps (“Sign MSA”), not for micromanaging.
What doesn’t: - Forcing buyers to create an account just to view files. (Heybase lets you share links—use that!) - Overusing notifications. Nobody wants a new ping every time you upload a logo.
Pro Tip: If a buyer isn’t using the deal room, ask if they’d prefer email. Tech should help, not create hoops.
Step 5: Keep Everything Up to Date (and Kill Old Versions)
Stale docs are the #1 deal room killer. If your buyer sees an outdated contract or last quarter’s pricing, you lose trust fast.
How to avoid version mess: - Replace files instead of uploading “Final_v3_ReallyFinal.pdf” - Date-stamp important docs in the filename or description - Set reminders to review room content weekly (Heybase doesn’t do this automatically—yet)
What works: Less is more. Archive old files. Buyers don’t care about your internal back-and-forth. What doesn’t: Using the deal room as a dumping ground for every email attachment.
Step 6: Track Engagement—But Don’t Obsess
Heybase gives you some basic analytics: who’s viewed what, who downloaded which file, and so on. This can be useful for spotting stalled deals or getting a nudge when a stakeholder finally logs in.
Use analytics for: - Seeing if your champion is actually sharing with others - Catching “ghosting” early - Timing your follow-up
Don’t use analytics for: - Micromanaging (“I see you haven’t opened the proposal yet!”) - Assuming interest just because someone clicked around
Pro Tip: Treat analytics as a conversation starter, not a surveillance tool.
Step 7: Make Closing Easy (Signatures, Approvals, Next Steps)
When it’s time to sign, don’t send your buyer elsewhere. Heybase integrates with e-signature tools (like DocuSign or native Heybase signing if it’s included in your plan). Set up the signature flow inside the deal room.
- Add signers and set the order
- Confirm everyone knows where to go—no guessing
- Provide a last-step checklist (“Sign, get invoice, schedule kickoff”)
What works: Integrating signatures right in the room. No one wants to juggle five platforms at closing. What doesn’t: Making buyers print, sign, and scan. It’s 2024—don’t be that company.
Step 8: Close Out and Archive (Don’t Leave Rooms Hanging)
Once the deal’s done (won or lost), close out the room. Archive it so you don’t have a sea of zombie deals cluttering your dashboard.
- Remove external access
- Archive or delete old docs (check retention policies if you’re in a regulated space)
- Note what worked (and what didn’t) for your template
Pro Tip: Debrief with your team on each deal room. Tweak your process before the next round.
What to Ignore: The Shiny Features Trap
Heybase, like most SaaS tools, will keep adding new bells and whistles. Some are genuinely useful, but don’t lose sight of what actually moves deals forward:
- Custom branding: Nice, but not worth hours fiddling. Buyers care more about clarity and speed.
- AI summaries: Fun to demo, but double-check for accuracy. Don’t let AI write your follow-ups.
- Integrations overload: Connect your CRM, sure, but don’t break your process trying to automate everything from day one.
Bottom line: Start simple. Add features only when they solve a real pain for your team or your buyers.
Keep It Simple—and Iterate
A good deal room isn’t about showing off your tech stack. It’s about making the buying process painfully clear and easy. Start with the basics in Heybase, see what your buyers actually use, and tweak from there. The best deal rooms are the ones people don’t have to think about—they just work.
Don’t get fancy until you’ve nailed the fundamentals. Set it up, try it, and keep improving—one deal at a time.