Pipeline & Closing
Sales is a process with fixed stages, not a personality trait. This skill defines the stages, the
exit criteria per stage, and the discipline to disqualify.
Stages and exit criteria
| Stage |
Definition |
Exit criteria |
Typical failure |
| 0 Target |
On the ICP list, not yet contacted |
Contact route identified |
— |
| 1 Contacted |
A message has been sent |
Sent, with a record of the exact message and date |
Sending and forgetting |
| 2 Replied |
Any human response at all |
They said something (even "no") |
Treating silence as interest |
| 3 Problem confirmed |
They described the problem in their own words |
A verbatim quote of their pain, in their language |
Pitching before this exists |
| 4 Value agreed |
They agreed the problem is worth solving and the outcome matters |
A number: what it costs them, or what they'd pay |
Assuming agreement from politeness |
| 5 Terms |
Price, scope, timing on the table |
A specific written offer they've seen |
Vagueness to avoid rejection |
| 6 Won / Lost |
Decision made |
Explicit yes (with payment path) or explicit no with a reason |
"Let me think about it" left open forever |
Rule: you may not skip a stage, and you may not count a stage as passed without its exit
criterion. "They seemed interested" is not stage 4. The exit criteria are the whole point.
Qualify hard — the disqualification discipline
Disqualify (move to Lost, politely) when any of these is true:
- No trigger event and no deadline → will never buy, will absorb unlimited time.
- No budget authority or no budget → talking to the wrong person.
- The problem is not in their top-3 current priorities.
- They need a capability we have no path to deliver.
- They are shopping only on price against an incumbent with scale.
- They cannot articulate the problem without you supplying the words.
Disqualification is a revenue-generating activity. Every hour with a non-buyer is an hour not
spent with the list of real buyers.
Discovery — the question order
Ask in this order. Do not pitch during this phase; the cost of a premature pitch is the loss of the
information the pitch was supposed to be built on.
- "Walk me through how you currently handle ." (Process, not opinion.)
- "What happens when it goes wrong?" (Cost of the problem, in their words.)
- "How much time/money does that cost you a month?" (The anchor number for pricing.)
- "What have you tried?" (Prior failed solutions = the objections you must pre-handle.)
- "What would have to be true for this to be worth doing this quarter?" (Reveals real gate.)
- "Who else is involved in a decision like this?" (Maps the actual buyer.)
- "If we fixed this, what changes for you personally?" (The real motivation — usually risk,
time, or status, not the feature.)
The single best discovery move is silence. Ask, then stop talking. The second-best is to
repeat their last sentence back and wait.
Objection handling (structure, not scripts)
Acknowledge → Isolate → Answer → Confirm.
- Acknowledge: "That's a fair concern — a lot of people ask that."
- Isolate: "If that were resolved, is there anything else in the way?" (Separates the real
objection from the polite one.)
- Answer with evidence — a number, a reference, a live artifact.
- Confirm: "Does that address it?" Never assume the objection is dead.
| Objection |
Real meaning |
Move |
| "Too expensive" |
Value unclear or wrong buyer |
Re-anchor to their cost of the problem (from discovery q3) |
| "Send me some info" |
Polite exit |
"Happy to — what specifically should I cover?" |
| "Not the right time" |
No trigger |
"When does happen? I'll come back then." Put a real date |
| "We're already using X" |
Comparison fear |
"What would have to be different for you to switch?" |
| "I need to think" |
Unclear small next step |
Offer a smaller commitment, not a discount |
| Ghosting |
Message failed or lost priority |
2 more touches, different angle/channel, then close the file |
Follow-up discipline
- 3–5 touches total in a cold sequence (see
sales/outbound-sequences), then stop.
- Each touch adds something new (a result, an idea, a resource) — never "just checking in".
- The LAST touch is a close-the-file message: "I'll assume the timing isn't right and stop
reaching out — if that changes, reply any time." That message routinely produces the most replies
of the sequence, because it removes the pressure and gives permission.
Closing
Ask a specific, small, unambiguous next step:
- Good: "Shall I send the 5-day plan with the price, so you can say yes or no by Friday?"
- Bad: "Let me know what you think."
- Good (paid pilot): "£X for the first one, delivered in 5 days. If it doesn't do Y, you don't pay."
- Bad: "We can start whenever."
Then get it in writing (a message or a one-page offer with price, scope, date). Verbal yeses
are not stage 6.
Operating loop for an agent
- Read the pipeline file (repo). Update stage + evidence for every open conversation.
- Identify the single conversation closest to the next stage; advance it (one message, one
question, one offer).
- Identify one stalled conversation; either advance it with a new angle or move it to Lost with a
recorded reason.
- Record everything: date, channel, exact message, response, next date.
Nurture rule: any "no" gets one slot in a 90-day follow-up list. No's become yeses when the
trigger event arrives; the only reason they don't is that nobody came back.
Boundaries
- I can draft, sequence, and track. I cannot send, call, or take payment. Sending is a
surface_finding for Carl (or a human-sent WhatsApp from the station) until a sender exists.
- Never misrepresent price, capability, guarantees, or who we are. It is a small market and it is
the fastest way to end the business.
- Never claim a result we have not produced. If there is no proof, say what the proof would be.
- Compliance is upstream of everything here:
sales/outbound-compliance. Read it before any outbound.
1---2name: pipeline-and-closing3description: Run a sales pipeline end to end — stage definitions, qualification, discovery, objections, and closing — without a CRM. Use for any conversation with a potential buyer, for deciding who to spend time on, and for moving a "maybe" to a decision. Triggers on "follow up with", "they went quiet", "how do I close", "discovery call", "qualify", "pipeline", "objection", "quote", "proposal".4---56# Pipeline & Closing78Sales is a process with fixed stages, not a personality trait. This skill defines the stages, the9exit criteria per stage, and the discipline to disqualify.1011## Stages and exit criteria1213| Stage | Definition | Exit criteria | Typical failure |14|---|---|---|---|15| **0 Target** | On the ICP list, not yet contacted | Contact route identified | — |16| **1 Contacted** | A message has been sent | Sent, with a record of the exact message and date | Sending and forgetting |17| **2 Replied** | Any human response at all | They said something (even "no") | Treating silence as interest |18| **3 Problem confirmed** | They described the problem in their own words | **A verbatim quote** of their pain, in their language | Pitching before this exists |19| **4 Value agreed** | They agreed the problem is worth solving and the outcome matters | A number: what it costs them, or what they'd pay | Assuming agreement from politeness |20| **5 Terms** | Price, scope, timing on the table | A specific written offer they've seen | Vagueness to avoid rejection |21| **6 Won / Lost** | Decision made | Explicit yes (with payment path) or explicit no with a reason | "Let me think about it" left open forever |2223**Rule: you may not skip a stage, and you may not count a stage as passed without its exit24criterion.** "They seemed interested" is not stage 4. The exit criteria are the whole point.2526## Qualify hard — the disqualification discipline2728Disqualify (move to Lost, politely) when any of these is true:29- No trigger event and no deadline → will never buy, will absorb unlimited time.30- No budget authority or no budget → talking to the wrong person.31- The problem is not in their top-3 current priorities.32- They need a capability we have no path to deliver.33- They are shopping only on price against an incumbent with scale.34- They cannot articulate the problem without you supplying the words.3536**Disqualification is a revenue-generating activity.** Every hour with a non-buyer is an hour not37spent with the list of real buyers.3839## Discovery — the question order4041Ask in this order. Do not pitch during this phase; the cost of a premature pitch is the loss of the42information the pitch was supposed to be built on.43441. "Walk me through how you currently handle <the task>." (Process, not opinion.)452. "What happens when it goes wrong?" (Cost of the problem, in their words.)463. "How much time/money does that cost you a month?" (The anchor number for pricing.)474. "What have you tried?" (Prior failed solutions = the objections you must pre-handle.)485. "What would have to be true for this to be worth doing this quarter?" (Reveals real gate.)496. "Who else is involved in a decision like this?" (Maps the actual buyer.)507. "If we fixed this, what changes for you personally?" (The real motivation — usually risk,51 time, or status, not the feature.)5253**The single best discovery move is silence.** Ask, then stop talking. The second-best is to54repeat their last sentence back and wait.5556## Objection handling (structure, not scripts)5758**Acknowledge → Isolate → Answer → Confirm.**591. **Acknowledge**: "That's a fair concern — a lot of people ask that."602. **Isolate**: "If that were resolved, is there anything else in the way?" (Separates the real61 objection from the polite one.)623. **Answer** with evidence — a number, a reference, a live artifact.634. **Confirm**: "Does that address it?" Never assume the objection is dead.6465| Objection | Real meaning | Move |66|---|---|---|67| "Too expensive" | Value unclear or wrong buyer | Re-anchor to their cost of the problem (from discovery q3) |68| "Send me some info" | Polite exit | "Happy to — what specifically should I cover?" |69| "Not the right time" | No trigger | "When does <trigger> happen? I'll come back then." Put a real date |70| "We're already using X" | Comparison fear | "What would have to be different for you to switch?" |71| "I need to think" | Unclear small next step | Offer a smaller commitment, not a discount |72| Ghosting | Message failed or lost priority | 2 more touches, different angle/channel, then close the file |7374## Follow-up discipline7576- 3–5 touches total in a cold sequence (see `sales/outbound-sequences`), then stop.77- Each touch adds something new (a result, an idea, a resource) — never "just checking in".78- The LAST touch is a **close-the-file** message: "I'll assume the timing isn't right and stop79 reaching out — if that changes, reply any time." That message routinely produces the most replies80 of the sequence, because it removes the pressure and gives permission.8182## Closing8384Ask a **specific, small, unambiguous** next step:85- Good: "Shall I send the 5-day plan with the price, so you can say yes or no by Friday?"86- Bad: "Let me know what you think."87- Good (paid pilot): "£X for the first one, delivered in 5 days. If it doesn't do Y, you don't pay."88- Bad: "We can start whenever."8990Then **get it in writing** (a message or a one-page offer with price, scope, date). Verbal yeses91are not stage 6.9293## Operating loop for an agent94951. Read the pipeline file (repo). Update stage + evidence for every open conversation.962. Identify the single conversation closest to the next stage; advance it (one message, one97 question, one offer).983. Identify one stalled conversation; either advance it with a new angle or move it to Lost with a99 recorded reason.1004. Record everything: date, channel, exact message, response, next date.101102**Nurture rule:** any "no" gets one slot in a 90-day follow-up list. No's become yeses when the103trigger event arrives; the only reason they don't is that nobody came back.104105## Boundaries106107- I can **draft, sequence, and track**. I cannot send, call, or take payment. Sending is a108 `surface_finding` for Carl (or a human-sent WhatsApp from the station) until a sender exists.109- Never misrepresent price, capability, guarantees, or who we are. It is a small market and it is110 the fastest way to end the business.111- Never claim a result we have not produced. If there is no proof, say what the proof would be.112- Compliance is upstream of everything here: `sales/outbound-compliance`. Read it before any outbound.
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