closing-deals

name: closing-deals description: > Manages the full client lifecycle from founder-led sales through partnerships and client success, using structured qualification, provider management, and expansion frameworks. Use when preparing for a sales call, qualifying a deal, managing provider relationships, onboarding a new client, or tracking client health.

Skill: Enterprise Sales & Partnerships (with Customer Success)

When to Use

Invoke this skill when:

• Preparing for a sales call, discovery meeting, or demo with a prospective client
• Qualifying a new deal and deciding whether to invest time in pursuing it
• Reviewing or scoring the relationship with a product provider or vendor
• Designing or updating the Design Partner Program
• Onboarding a new client after a deal closes
• Assessing client health or identifying expansion opportunities
• Building or updating the sales pipeline, CRM stages, or conversion targets
• Creating sales enablement materials (one-pager, demo script, objection handling)
• Transitioning from BANT+SPIN to MEDDIC/MEDDPICC after hiring a first sales rep

Stage Awareness

This skill is designed for founder-led sales (now through ~$1M ARR, ~25 clients). The frameworks graduate as the company scales:

Graduation trigger for Customer Success: When the company reaches 10+ active paying clients, spin CS into its own skill file. Until then, CS frameworks remain embedded in Section 6 of this document.

Section 1: Sales Pipeline & CRM Setup

Pipeline Stages

Define these stages in your CRM (Attio, HubSpot, or spreadsheet). Every deal must sit in exactly one stage at all times.

Monthly Pipeline Review Template

MONTHLY PIPELINE REVIEW -- Date: [DATE]

Stage Summary: [N] Leads | [N] Qualified | [N] Discovery | [N] Proposal | [N] Negotiation
Total Weighted Pipeline: $[X]K | Quarterly Target: $[X]K | Coverage: [X]x (need 3x)
Avg Lead-to-Close: [N] days | Added: [N] | Closed: [N] won / [N] lost
Win reasons:  [Top 3] | Loss reasons: [Top 3]

Pipeline Source Tracking

Section 2: Deal Qualification Scorecard

Current Framework: BANT+SPIN

Use this lightweight framework while in founder-led sales mode (<25 clients). Score every deal after the first substantive conversation.

BANT assesses fit. SPIN guides the conversation.

BANT Scoring (assessed during/after first call)

BANT Qualification Template

DEAL QUALIFICATION: [COMPANY NAME]
Date: [DATE]
Qualified by: [NAME]
Deal Source: [Founder Network / Provider Referral / Inbound / Conference / Intro]

COMPANY PROFILE
  Company: [Name]
  Segment: [Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3 -- per your ICP]
  Geography: [Country/Region]
  Size: [Users / AUM / Revenue if known]
  Current providers: [Who they use today]

BANT SCORES
  Budget:    [1-5] -- [Notes: what they spend today, budget cycle timing]
  Authority: [1-5] -- [Notes: who we talked to, who decides, buying process]
  Need:      [1-5] -- [Notes: specific pain points, use case description]
  Timeline:  [1-5] -- [Notes: go-live target, forcing function if any]

  TOTAL: [X/20]

QUALIFICATION DECISION
  >= 16: HIGH PRIORITY   -- Fast-track to Discovery, assign founder time
  12-15: MEDIUM PRIORITY -- Continue nurturing, schedule Discovery within 2 weeks
  8-11:  LOW PRIORITY    -- Add to nurture sequence, revisit in 30 days
  < 8:   DISQUALIFY      -- Politely decline, offer to reconnect when timing is better

SPIN CONVERSATION NOTES (from discovery)
  Situation:  [Current state -- what infrastructure they use, team size, products offered]
  Problem:    [Explicit pain -- what is broken, slow, expensive, or missing]
  Implication:[What happens if they don't solve this -- lost revenue, compliance risk, churn]
  Need-Payoff:[What would solving this enable -- new products, faster time-to-market, cost savings]

PRODUCT FIT ASSESSMENT
  Products needed:    [Product A / Product B / Product C -- check all that apply]
  Estimated ARR:      $[X]K (based on expected volume x rate card)
  Integration effort: [Low: API only / Medium: Custom flows / High: White-label]
  Provider dependency:[Which providers are needed -- Provider A / Provider B / Provider C]

NEXT STEPS
  Action 1: [Specific next step with owner and date]
  Action 2: [Follow-up item]
  Follow-up date: [DATE]

SPIN Conversation Guide

Use SPIN question sequencing during discovery calls. Never pitch until you complete the Implication and Need-Payoff stages.

Graduation Path: MEDDIC/MEDDPICC

When the company hires its first dedicated sales rep, upgrade qualification from BANT+SPIN to MEDDIC. The MEDDIC dimensions map to more rigorous enterprise sales:

Add Paper Process and Competition for full MEDDPICC when deal sizes exceed $100K ARR or sales cycles exceed 3 months.

Section 3: Provider Partnership Scorecard

Your product breadth depends on your upstream providers/vendors. Each relationship is a strategic dependency that must be actively managed.

Provider Scorecard Template

Complete this scorecard quarterly for each provider. Flag any provider with Dependency Risk of 4-5 for immediate mitigation planning. Repeat the template below for each of your providers.

Provider Registry:

• [Provider A] -- [Product type] -- maps to: [Your Product 1]
• [Provider B] -- [Product type] -- maps to: [Your Product 2], [Your Product 3]
• [Provider C] -- [Product type] -- maps to: [Your Product 1 variant], [Your Product 4]
• [Provider D] -- [Product type] -- maps to: [Your Product 3]
• [Provider E] -- [Product type] -- maps to: [Your Product 3], [Your Product 2]

=== [PROVIDER NAME] ===
Review Date: [DATE] | Status: [Active / Integrating / Evaluating]

  Reliability (uptime, execution quality):     [1-5] -- [Notes]
  Pricing Tier:                                [Rate] -- [Fee structure, volume discounts]
  Exclusivity Terms:                           [None / Soft / Hard] -- [Any restrictions]
  Integration Maturity:                        [1-5] -- [API quality, docs, sandbox]
  Support Responsiveness:                      [1-5] -- [Avg response time, escalation path]
  Regulatory Standing:                         [1-5] -- [Registration status, compliance]
  Dependency Risk:                             [1-5] -- [What happens if they go down/pivot]
  Relationship Health:                         [1-5] -- [Last touchpoint, key contact]

  OVERALL SCORE: [X/40]
  Action Items: [Specific actions to improve weak dimensions]

Provider Risk Mitigation Rules

Provider Coverage Matrix

Track which providers cover which products to identify gaps and redundancy:

Section 4: Design Partner Program

Program Purpose

Design Partners are your first 3-5 paying clients who receive a [X]% discount in exchange for co-marketing rights, structured feedback, and case study participation. They validate the product, generate proof points, and accelerate sales to subsequent clients.

Selection Criteria

Score each candidate on these dimensions. Minimum total: 18/25 to qualify.

Program Structure

DESIGN PARTNER AGREEMENT OUTLINE

Partner: [COMPANY NAME]
Start Date: [DATE]
Duration: 6 months (renewable)
Company Contact: [FOUNDER_1 / FOUNDER_2]

WHAT THEY GET
- [X]% discount on standard pricing for 6 months
- Dedicated Slack/WhatsApp channel with your team
- Priority bug fixes and feature requests
- Early access to new products and API endpoints
- Co-branded announcement at launch

WHAT YOU GET
- Permission to use logo on website and materials
- Written case study within 90 days of go-live
- Quarterly product feedback session (structured, 60 min)
- Public testimonial or quote for sales enablement
- Reference call availability for 2-3 qualified prospects per quarter

MILESTONES
  Day 0-14:   Kickoff + sandbox access + integration planning
  Day 15-30:  API integration complete, first test transactions
  Day 31-60:  Production deployment, first real volume
  Day 61-90:  Case study drafted, first product feedback session
  Day 91-180: Steady-state operations, expansion discussion, renewal decision

Design Partner Success Metrics

Section 5: Sales Enablement

Objection Handling Guide

Common objections and responses. Tie to battlecards from the gathering-competitive-intelligence skill for competitor-specific responses.

Sales Enablement Kit Checklist

Ensure these materials exist and stay current. Review monthly.

Demo Script Framework (30 min)

Structure every demo around the prospect's stated pain, not your feature list.

1. Recap Their Pain (3 min): "Last time we spoke you mentioned [PAIN]. Let me show you exactly how we solve that."
2. Show the API (10 min): Execute a transaction in sandbox. Show multi-product capability. Highlight single API key, single onboarding. Focus on THEIR use case.
3. Integration Walkthrough (5 min): Documentation quality, code snippet in their language. "Most clients: sandbox to production in [N] weeks."
4. Economics (5 min): Their estimated volume, pricing at their tier, total cost vs. multi-provider approach.
5. Social Proof (3 min): Reference design partners, show metrics (uptime, volume, integration time).
6. Next Steps (4 min): Propose specific next action with date. Offer sandbox credentials on the call. Identify next stakeholders.

Section 6: Client Success (Embedded)

Graduation trigger: When the company reaches 10+ active paying clients, extract this section into a standalone skill file.

Client Health Score Model

Score each active client monthly. The health score triggers proactive intervention before churn signals become cancellations.

Health Score Template

CLIENT HEALTH SCORE -- Client: [NAME] | Period: [MONTH/YEAR] | Scored by: [NAME]

USAGE (40% weight)                          SUPPORT & ENGAGEMENT (25% weight)
  API volume vs. plan:     [1-5]              Ticket volume:        [1-5]
  MoM volume trend:        [1-5]              Severity trend:       [1-5]
  Product breadth:         [1-5]              Team engagement:      [1-5]

SATISFACTION (20% weight)                   EXPANSION SIGNALS (15% weight)
  NPS / satisfaction:      [1-5]              Asked about new products: [Y/N]
  Feedback quality:        [1-5]              Growing toward next tier: [Y/N]
                                              Referred a prospect:      [Y/N]

OVERALL HEALTH SCORE: [X/100]
BAND: 80-100 HEALTHY (quarterly) | 60-79 MONITOR (biweekly) | 40-59 AT RISK (weekly, escalate) | 0-39 CRITICAL (CEO call in 48h)

Intervention Triggers

Client Lifecycle Playbook

Each client passes through four stages. No stage is skipped; each transition is deliberate.

Stage 1: Onboarding (Day 0-30) -- Goal: Signed contract to first production API call.

• Day 0-3: Kickoff call (CPO), shared Slack/WhatsApp channel created
• Day 1: Sandbox credentials delivered (CTO)
• Day 7-14: KYB/compliance completed (CEO)
• Day 7: First sandbox transaction (Client + CTO)
• Day 14: Integration code review (CTO)
• Day 21-30: Production go-live, first real transaction (All)
• Day 30: Health score baseline set, internal "client live" announcement (CPO)

Stage 2: Adoption (Day 31-90) -- Goal: Steady-state usage, volume meets forecast.

• Weekly: Volume check vs. forecast (CPO) + technical support review (CTO)
• Day 30: First health score (CPO)
• Day 45 + 90: Product feedback sessions (CPO)
• Day 60: Business review call (CEO + CPO)
• Exit criteria: 3+ consecutive weeks at or above forecasted volume

Stage 3: Expansion (Day 91-365) -- Goal: Land-and-expand to 2+ products.

• Cross-sell discovery call when adoption criteria met (CEO)
• QBR every 90 days (CEO + CPO)
• Common expansion paths:
  • [Segment A]: [Product A] -> [Product B] -> [Product C]
  • [Segment B]: [Product A] -> [Product D] -> [Product E]
  • [Segment C]: [Product C] -> [Product B] -> [Product A]

Stage 4: Renewal & Advocacy (Ongoing) -- Goal: Retain, grow, and turn into reference.

• Contract renewal review 60 days before expiry (CEO)
• Annual business review (CEO + CPO)
• Reference request after NPS >= 8 (CPO)
• Product advisory board invitation when 10+ clients exist (CPO)

Expansion Revenue Framework

Track Net Revenue Retention (NRR) as the primary CS metric. Target: 120%+ NRR (each cohort of clients grows 20%+ year-over-year).

EXPANSION REVENUE TRACKER -- Period: [QUARTER/YEAR]

| Client | Start ARR | Current ARR | Change | Type (Cross/Up/Usage) |
|--------|-----------|-------------|--------|-----------------------|
| [Name] | $[X]K     | $[Y]K      | +$[Z]K | [Type]               |

NRR Calculation: Starting $[X]K + Expansion $[X]K - Contraction $[X]K - Churn $[X]K = Ending $[X]K
Net Revenue Retention: [X]% | Target: 120%+ | Status: [On Track / Below / Above]

Section 7: Founder-Led Sales Playbook

Weekly Sales Rhythm (CEO + CPO)

This is a small team. Sales cannot consume more than 40% of the CEO's time or 20% of the CPO's time until ARR exceeds $500K.

Outbound Cadence

• Day 1: Personalized LinkedIn/WhatsApp -- reference shared connection or pain point, ask a question, do not pitch
• Day 4: Follow-up with relevant content (blog post, case study, market data)
• Day 8: Direct value message: "Here is what we built and why it matters for [THEIR COMPANY]"
• Day 15: Final follow-up: "Happy to reconnect when timing is right."
• Day 30+: Nurture list -- monthly LinkedIn engagement, occasional content share

Rules: Max 5 new prospects/week. Personalization is non-negotiable. Track every touchpoint. No response after Day 15 = nurture, do not chase.

Cross-References

Checklist: Full Skill at a Glance

Pipeline & Qualification:

• CRM pipeline stages defined with conversion targets
• Pipeline sources tracked (founder network formalized as structured outreach)
• Every deal scored with BANT+SPIN qualification scorecard
• Monthly pipeline review completed with win/loss analysis

Provider Partnerships:

• Quarterly provider scorecard completed for all providers
• Risk scores reviewed -- any 4-5 triggers mitigation plan
• Coverage matrix checked for product gaps

Design Partners:

• Selection criteria applied (minimum 18/25 to qualify)
• Agreement signed with milestones and success metrics
• 90-day milestones tracked (case study, feedback sessions, production volume)

Sales Enablement:

• One-pager, deck, demo script, and rate card are current
• Objection handling guide reviewed and updated with latest competitive intelligence
• Demo script customized for each prospect's stated pain

Client Success (Embedded):

• Monthly health scores completed for all active clients
• Intervention triggers monitored and acted on
• Expansion opportunities identified and tracked
• NRR calculated quarterly -- target 120%+

Founder-Led Rhythm:

• Monday pipeline review completed
• Max 4 external meetings per week respected
• Friday sales retrospective held
• Outbound cadence running (5 new prospects/week max)