Closing Techniques for Sales

Negotiation tactics we used to decrease our SaaS spend by 30% in the last year: It’s amazing to me how much room there is in SaaS pricing. The price is not the price is not the price. You can always negotiate, and there are often loopholes that can save you a ton of money. Here are some of them: - Cancel the renewal before the negotiation. We send cancellation notices to our biggest opportunity negotiations months in advance, and tell them that we will only renew upon having a new deal. Often, account reps can provide special discounts for “at risk” clients. - Get your usage data. We always dig through our data before a negotiation. If our usage is lower than expected, we use that as leverage. For example, our hiring has gone down by about 60% post-ZIRP, but we still paid the same annual price for our applicant tracking system. We showed them the data and made it clear the software wasn’t worth what we were paying. - Be nice. Honestly, sometimes I get frustrated because I know I’m getting the runaround. Every time I do, it backfires. When I’m on my A-game, I’m nice - I tell them I love their software, it is useful, but we just don’t have as much of a need right now. It’s not you, it’s me. I do tell the truth, though, so they know I’m genuine with my praise and critiques. - Compare their costs to other options. There are 3 different types of comparisons: 1) direct competitors. Just call them and get a quote. 2) indirect competitors. Oftentimes another company offers a “basic” version of the software you’re using, so you can use that as leverage: “we don’t need an applicant tracking system because we already pay for Notion”. 3) budget competitors. Compare the pricing of x subscription with y subscription. We regularly compare unrelated products and say: you are the 2nd highest cost product we use, even though you aren’t the 2nd most valuable to us. - Ask 3x. You almost always have to negotiate at least three times to get the best deal. It doesn’t work with every company, but most account reps have latitude and at some point you’re not worth their time. Take advantage and just make sure you press multiple times in a row instead of taking the first offer. I’m surprised at how often we get our way in these negotiations. Sometimes I step in as the founder, but now my team has watched this playbook and gets the same results on their own. You don’t need to be a founder or a business unit leader to do this: act like an owner and make sure your company isn’t wasting money!

6 words of the best advice for salespeople who lose deals in the final hour ⬇️ Don't "Await" the Verdict. Influence It. A few years ago I noticed a strange pattern: Whenever I was waiting on a ‘verdict’ from a buyer, I lost. “We have a budget meeting on Tuesday where my boss is going to make a decision. I’ll let you know what we decide.” Some get excited to hear things like that. I dread it. Deals like that sound good. But they almost always go south. This isn't just true when closing deals. I noticed the same thing when raising funding. I noticed it again when recruiting. I usually lost when candidates said things like this: “Thanks Chris. I’m making my final decision on where to work next by Friday. Can I call you then and let you know what I decide?” Trust me when I say this: If you’re passively awaiting a verdict, bad sign. You’re going to lose whenever this is the dynamic: “Final decision meeting is on Monday. I’ll let you know then.” Now. You might be thinking: “Damn Chris, you’re right! I lost 8 out of 10 deals where I was ‘awaiting a verdict!’” If that’s you, your next thought is probably: “So what do I do so I don’t lose?” Follow this rule: Don’t await the verdict. Influence it. Whenever I'm in a pipeline review with my AE team, any time I hear a situation where they’re awaiting a verdict, I ask this: “How can we move from awaiting to influencing the verdict?” Two examples: Example 1: Buyer: “I’ve got a final budget meeting with my CFO Friday. I should have an answer then.” Instead of waiting until Friday where your weekend will promptly be ruined, say this: “As you can imagine, I’ve helped a few dozen others sell this internally to their CFO. Mind if we find 30 min before the meeting to put a 1-page business case together? I can share some angles that worked in the past.” Perfect. Now you’re not awaiting your doom. You’re taking the bull by the horns. Example 2: “I’m reviewing all of my notes between vendors and I’ll make my final decision Tuesday.” This one’s harder. You had a champion in your corner in the first example. But this? You’re dealing with a coy buyer. Say this: “I can understand that, and I have to ask: If you learned nothing new between now and Tuesday, what would you decide and why?” A tad aggressive? Maybe. But now you’re getting something you can work with. Instead of saying “Ok… Talk Tuesday…!” you instead have a chance to influence their thinking. See the difference? If you’re awaiting a verdict, you are an ‘effect.' If you’re influencing a verdict, you are a 'cause.' You’re making things happen instead of letting things happen. Big difference. As I reflect on the last decade selling SaaS, recruiting, and raising capital, I’ve found this to be true: You will lose 8/10 deals where you’re awaiting a verdict.

I often hear sales reps say “I just don’t like following up because I don’t want to sound pushy.” 🙄 Working your pipeline isn’t “pushy.” It’s literally the job. 💪🏼 Following up is not annoying. Not following up is irresponsible. If you’re in sales and you’re scared to ping someone again, you’re not thinking about the customer, you’re thinking about yourself. Here’s how to fix that mindset: 1️⃣ Lead with empathy. This isn’t personal. They’re busy. You’re busy. You’re just two humans trying to get something done. 2️⃣ Ditch the weak opener. Never say “just following up.” Instead, try: 👉 “Wanted to close the loop on this while it’s still fresh.” 👉 “Had a quick thought after our last convo that might help.” 👉 “A few others in your space just made a move and it made me think of you.” 3️⃣ Bring value or don’t reach out. A fresh insight. A customer story. A relevant stat. A product update. Make it worth their time. Following up isn’t about pestering. It’s about helping people make a decision even if that decision is no. Let’s normalize working your deals like a pro. Not ghosting them like an amateur.

I recently closed a six-figure deal with an enterprise client. While most deals this size take 6-8 months, I closed this one in under 60 days. Here's exactly how I did it: When selling to an enterprise company, it's easy to get trapped in long deal cycles. To avoid this from always happening, here are the 4 steps I take to expedite my enterprise closing process: 1. Subject Matter Expertise Plays    Most sellers pitch products. We pitch proven expertise in their space. This shifted the entire conversation from "vendor" to "expert." • Pitched as an industry expert, not influencer • Showed proven processes from our team  • Focused on vertical expertise vs following Expertise beats influence every time. 2. Multi-Threading     Instead of focusing on one champion, I built relationships across the organization. Each stakeholder had different things that made this a win for them. • Built relationships with seven key stakeholders • Sent a recap email to each buying department so everyone knew what was going on • Had notes for each department's goals and why they wanted to win Throughout the deal, I always asked who would feel left out if they weren't involved. Every time I found a new person, I made it a point to meet them. That means more allies for the deal to sell internally. 3. Weekly Momentum Building    Most deals need more momentum. That's why I keep the energy high. • Sent weekly videos to keep my POC informed • Highlighted each stakeholder's priorities • Highlighted work we were doing along the way Momentum beats perfection. 4. Procurement Fast Track This is where deals typically go to die. Not today my friends. This is where the party starts. As soon as I get introduced to procurement, I ask for a quick 15-minute call so I can quickly text edits as my lawyer goes back and forth. • Asked for concerns up front • Built solutions into proposal • Asked what do you people typically redline when they approach you Being proactive beats being reactive every time. Because doing the little things well will always yield great results. P.S. Have a favorite step?

Here’s the proposal template that helped me close over $100 million in enterprise sales: It’s also helped my clients close more than 50% of their deals when they use it. And until now, I’ve never shared it publicly. Most sellers are great at pitching features. But the ones who consistently win big deals? They know how to tell a great story. The truth is, executives don’t buy products - they buy confidence. They buy vision. They buy a story they want to be part of. If you want to sell like a top 1% seller, you need a proposal that doesn’t just inform… it moves people. Here’s how I do it 👇 The Story Mountain Framework for Sales Proposals: 1. Exposition – Introduce the characters and setting. Start with them: → “You’re trying to expand into new markets… to grow revenue… to unify your tech stack…” Set the vision. Make them the hero. 2. Rising Action – Lay out the challenges and obstacles. → “But growth stalled. Competitors moved faster. Customer churn increased.” Quote discovery calls. Surface real pain. Build emotional tension. 3. Climax – Introduce your solution. → “Then you found a better way…” Now show how your solution helps them overcome the exact obstacles you outlined. 4. Falling Action – Ease the tension. → “Here’s our implementation plan. Here’s the ROI. Here’s how others in your industry succeeded.” Give them confidence that this won’t just work—it will work for them. 5. Resolution – End with clarity. → “Here’s our mutual action plan. Let’s get started.” Lock in buy-in, next steps, and forward momentum. This structure has helped me close some of the biggest deals of my career—including an $8-figure enterprise deal at Salesforce where I used this exact approach. I broke it all down in this week’s training—and for the first time ever, I show you the actual proposal I used AND tell you how to access my Killer Proposal Template for free. 👀 Watch the full training here: https://lnkd.in/gPY_cvv5 No more boring product pitches. No more ghosting after the readout. Just proposals that close.

A rep called me frustrated. "I ask all the right questions, but they clam up after 10 minutes. Discovery feels like pulling teeth." I listened to her last call. She was doing everything "right" according to most sales training. Except for one thing. She was treating discovery like an interrogation instead of a conversation. Here's what I told her: Stop trying to get everything in 30 minutes. You're not a police detective gathering evidence. Instead, go deep on what matters most → their pain. Three questions that changed her entire approach: "What's driving this to be a priority right now?" "What happens if you don't solve this in the next 6 months?" "How is this impacting you personally?" Notice something? No questions about budget. No stakeholder mapping. No buying process. Just pain. Deep, emotional, get-them-talking pain. Here's what happened on next call: Prospect spent 20 minutes explaining their challenges. Shared things she never heard before. Got emotional about the daily frustration. Old Rep would've panicked: "I didn't get the buying process info!" New Rep said: "Based on everything you've shared, this sounds complex. Let's schedule another call to walk through how companies typically solve this." Prospect immediately agreed. Why? Because she proved she understood their world. The follow up call? Prospect brought their boss. Shared budget range. Outlined their evaluation timeline. All because the first call was about them, not about her information gathering checklist. Look, I get it. Sales methodology says you need certain data points. But prospects don't care about your methodology. They care about feeling understood. When you nail the pain, everything else flows naturally. The reps's close rate went from 18% to 29% just by changing her discovery approach. Same questions. Same product. Different mindset. Sales VPs: teach your reps to be consultants, not interrogators. The reps who master this thinking close bigger deals because they uncover the real emotional drivers behind every purchase decision. Ever noticed how your best discovery calls feel more like therapy sessions than sales calls? Strange, isn’t it? 😎 — How 700+ clients closed $950 million using THIS 6 step demo script: https://lnkd.in/eVb32BUx

Many sellers inadvertently lower their status with their "rapport building". Want your prospect to actually respect you? Try this approach: The easiest way to earn your prospect's respect and get them to "like" you: 1. Show you respect their time 2. Show you know their business 3. Show you're prepared for the call To accomplish all 3, our team follows the 𝟵𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 in sales meetings: In the first 1.5 mins of the call, say something that SHOWS we prepped for the meeting and know their business. Examples: 1. For our newsletter sponsorships, we might comment on a new product feature they just released: "𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰-𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 - 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘰𝘸'𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘰?" ^This is likely something they'd want to promote in a newsletter -- 2. For our Club Pass sales training program, we'll might comment on something we read on a job posting for an AE: "𝘋𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘋 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘈𝘌 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘸'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?" ^Selling into new verticals often leads to VPs wanting to upskill their teams. -- Done right, you differentiate yourself from every other crummy sales call they've taken this quarter AND get a chance to feel out how much they care about the thing you called out. If I get a lackluster response about the new feature release...I know that's probably not something they're going to want to promote in the newsletter, and I know not to waste time asking more about it! Don't waste everyone's time attempting to schmooze about the cold weather in Toldeo in an obvious attempt to butter 'em up...instead, find ways to demonstrate credibility and your calls will kick off so much smoother.

Watched a $100K deal get saved in 4 minutes with a pre-written email. After losing $5M in pipeline to last-minute BS, I built these 5 "break glass" templates. They've saved 7 deals (and counting): 1. **The CFO Ambush Email** WHEN: CFO appears from nowhere questioning ROI THE EMAIL: "Perfect timing, [CFO Name]. I owe you an apology—we should've connected sooner. Here's the 7-minute financial model showing $4.2M in Year 1 returns. Three of your peers (happy to intro) validated these numbers. When can we walk through your specific concerns?" WHY IT WORKS: Apologizes without groveling. Promises brevity. Brings peer proof. 2. **The Competitor Bomb Email** WHEN "We're also evaluating [Competitor]" THE EMAIL: "Good—you should evaluate them. We compete with them in 67% of deals. They're great at X. We're better at Y and Z. Here's a 2-minute video of why Coca-Cola switched from them to us last quarter. Want me to intro you to their head of sales?" WHY IT WORKS: Shows confidence. Acknowledges their strengths. Provides switch proof. 3. **The Budget Vanished Email** WHEN: "Budget got pulled/frozen" THE EMAIL: "Understood. Two options: (1) We restructure this to start smaller in Q4 and expand in Q1, or (2) I connect you with two customers who found budget by reallocating from [specific area]. Which conversation would be more valuable?" WHY IT WORKS: Doesn't accept the objection. Provides immediate alternatives. 4. **The Legal Roadblock Email** WHEN: "Legal has concerns about terms" THE EMAIL: "[Legal's name], appreciate you protecting the company. I've attached our redlined MSA from [similar company in their industry] showing the 5 clauses they cared about. Your concerns are likely similar. Can we shortcut this with a 20-minute call?" WHY IT WORKS: Respects their role. Shows you've done this before. Speeds up resolution. 5. **The Ghost Protocol Email** WHEN: Radio silence after verbal commit THE EMAIL: "Hey [Name]—I'm about to assume this deal is dead and reallocate your Q4 resources to [competitor's name]. If I'm wrong, I need 5 minutes with you today. If I'm right, I appreciate the honest feedback on what changed. Either way, let me know by EOD?" WHY IT WORKS: Creates urgency. Shows you're moving on. Forces a response. —— Last month alone, these emails saved a GAZILLION in pipeline. Not because they're magic words. Because they're pre-written, pre-tested, and ready to deploy. While you're crafting the "perfect response," deals die. Speed saves deals. Templates create speed. Write them now. Thank me later.

When a Doctor Says They’ll Use Your Product… and Then Ghosts You We’ve all been there. You walk out of a sales call thinking you just crushed it. The doctor said, “Yeah, we’ll start using it.” Maybe even threw in a “This looks great!” for good measure. You’re already mentally logging the win. And then… nothing. No orders. No follow-up. Just radio silence. You try to reach out, but they’re suddenly busier than a trauma surgeon on a holiday weekend. You start to wonder—Did they actually mean it? Or was that just a polite way to get me out of their office? Here’s the reality: They did say they’d use it. That wasn’t a hallucination (despite the lack of hard evidence). And your job is to make sure that happens. So what’s the move? 1. Honor your commitment to honor their commitment. They said yes, so act accordingly. Don’t treat this like a weak maybe—treat it like a done deal that just needs execution. 2. Make follow-up a favor, not a favor request. Instead of, “Hey Doc, just checking in…” try, “Doc, I’m here to make sure this rolls out smoothly for you. Let’s lock in the details.” Frame it as supporting their decision, not begging for scraps. 3. Create urgency without being pushy. Remind them why they said yes in the first place. Maybe it improves outcomes, saves them time, or prevents their competition from eating their lunch. Whatever it was, reinforce it. 4. Use internal allies. Sometimes the doc is all talk, but the real decision-makers (or blockers) are staff, procurement, or admin. Find your champions inside the clinic or hospital and work with them. 5. If all else fails, call it out—professionally. If they keep dodging, try something direct: “Doc, last time we spoke, you were excited to get started. Have things changed?” Sometimes a little nudge forces a real answer. Bottom line? They gave you the green light. Don’t act like it’s still a red light. You’re not being pushy—you’re being a professional who ensures things get done. If you back off completely, you weren’t closing a deal—you were just collecting compliments. And last I checked, compliments don’t pay commissions.

Sales success often comes down to super nitty gritty "why didn't I think of that..." plays that spark movement rather than the obvious "Did you establish next steps?" boulders. Here are two I used in social selling recently: 1. Inbound connection request - "Sam! XYZ speaks so highly of you and recommended we connect." Most reps would accept, and potentially skip replying to the note. 🤦 Instead, I replied, "Thanks so much for saying hi!" and offered to loop her in on our newsletters/webinars (turning LI connections into stickier contacts). Then I thought, "Who?" on the XYZ person as I didn't know them by name. Saw we were 2nd degree connected, so sent a note, "Hi! ABC shared your kind words with me and said hello on LinkedIn! Were you two talking sales shop or something totally unrelated?" Two quick actions that can spark conversations and often lead to a, "Hey, actually can we talk about how #samsales can help..." 2. An old client tagged me in a comment, "We loved working with Sam!" I replied and tagged in the person who initially hired us at the old client, who is also the person making a decision on hiring us again now (the deal closed, this was a few months back :)) at a different co. "Ah thanks Emily! Hats off to Sarah Green who brought us in to Old Company back then!" Small move to nurture Sarah, remind her how her colleagues also loved working with us, and send a gentle reminder that we exist + pls sign our deal. 😉 Bonus? Share your own small moves in real time with your teams on Slack so they learn from you and to also let you build a brand as someone with loads of creative ideas. Double bonus? Share these in larger Slack channels to build better visibility for yourself in remote environments. #samsales #linkedintips #saas