sales
Closing
Asking for the business and converting a prospect into a customer.
Definition
Closing is the moment of asking for the business and getting commitment. In old-school sales it was the 'always be closing' aggressive ask; in modern B2B service sales it's the natural next step after discovery and proposal - a clear ask followed by a clear next step. Most lost deals aren't lost at closing - they're lost in earlier stages (weak discovery, mis-priced proposal, slow follow-up). A clean close at the end of a clean process feels effortless; a hard close at the end of a sloppy process is what gives sales a bad name.
In your business
- →Earn the close in discovery - if discovery is clean, close becomes natural
- →Ask for the close with a specific next step ('shall we start Monday?') - not a vague 'what do you think?'
- →If they say no, ask why - the feedback improves the next close