Closing Deals

Overview

Closing is not a moment — it's the result of everything that came before it. If you did discovery well, wrote a sharp proposal, and handled objections honestly, closing feels natural, almost obvious. This playbook covers what to do at the finish line: how to move a warm prospect to a signed contract, how to recover deals that stall, and how to set up the relationship so the first day as a client is as smooth as possible.

Step 1: Recognize the Buying Signals

Before you close, you need to know they're ready. Pushing a close on someone who isn't there yet damages trust. Watch for these signals:

Strong buying signals (they're likely ready):

• They ask about timelines, start dates, or onboarding details
• They ask about contract or payment terms (logistics = intent)
• They say things like "when can we get started?" or "this looks great"
• They've stopped asking objection-type questions and are asking implementation questions
• They've looped in another person (a finance person, a manager) — they're building internal consensus

Weak or absent signals (they're not ready yet):