Most lost deals do not fall apart in the pitch. They slip in the last two minutes, when you are ready to be done and the prospect is ready to be polite.
Use this before you hang up. Seven checks. If one of them is missing, the call is not finished.
You can say their problem back in one sentence
If you cannot, you pitched a product, not a fix. Restate the problem and wait. Let them correct you.
A rep who hears “yes, that’s it” has earned the rest of the call. A rep who skips this spends the hour solving the wrong thing.
Just so I have it right — the thing that is actually broken is…
You asked what it costs to leave it alone
Pain without a cost is a story. Ask what the delay costs this month: a renewal that walks, a seat that stays open, a lane that sits empty.
You are not looking for a perfect number. You are looking for a reason the conversation is happening now.
If this stays as it is through the end of the month, what does that cost you?
You isolated the objection before you answered it
“Too expensive,” “send me an email,” and “we already have someone” are not answers yet. Do not defend the first version you hear.
One question tells you whether you are negotiating or still discovering. If they would not move even with that issue gone, you do not have the real objection.
If that weren’t in the way, would you want to move forward?
Money was named out loud
A call that never mentions price is a call you will have again, softer. Put a number on the table and tie it to the cost you just heard.
Silence after the number is fine. Filling it is how reps talk themselves out of the deal.
The gap you described is roughly this much a month. The work to close it is this.
You know who else has to say yes
“I need to think about it” often means “I cannot sign this.” Ask who else feels the problem, and whether they should be on the next call.
Get the name. A next step with the wrong person is a calendar hold, not a deal.
Who else has to be comfortable with this before it can move?
The next step has an owner
“I’ll send something over” is not a step. Say who does what: you send the one-page summary, they review it with the person you just named.
If both sides do not have a job, the email lands and nothing happens.
I’ll send the summary today. You’ll review it with Jordan before we talk again.
The next step has a day and a time
This is the check that gets skipped when the call feels friendly. Friendly is not a date.
If they will not pick a time, you do not have a deal in motion. You have a pause, and pauses lose.
Thursday at 2, you and Jordan, twenty minutes. I’ll send the invite now.
Run the seven before you write the recap. The recap will flatter you. The checklist will not. Keep it next to the dialer.