How to close a sale: eight steps, the right close for the moment and a worked B2B example

This guide is for account executives, founders and anyone who sells to other businesses and has deals that go quiet near the end. It covers the steps, which close to use when, a close plan you build with the buyer, and the arithmetic to do before you agree to a discount. The worked example is a cleaning contract, but the method is the same for software, services or supplies.

Stalling is the normal state of a B2B deal, not the exception. Forrester's State of Business Buying 2024 research found that 86% of B2B purchases stall during the buying process. A good close doesn't rely on a clever line; it removes the reasons a deal stalls before you ask.

How to close a sale in eight steps

1. Qualify before you try to close. Confirm the buyer has a problem worth solving, a budget, a reason to act now and access to the person who signs. If any of those is missing, no closing technique will fix it. The BANT questions cover this.
2. Agree how they'll decide. Ask who signs, what approvals the spend needs, and whether legal, procurement or IT have to review it. Write the answers down. Deals that stall late usually hit a step nobody mentioned.
3. Confirm the value in their numbers. Restate the problem, what it costs them and what changes if they buy, using figures they gave you. If you can't, you're not ready to ask.
4. Surface objections before the ask. Ask, "Is there anything that would stop us from moving forward?" and deal with each answer. An objection raised now is cheaper than one raised after you've asked.
5. Build a close plan backward from their start date. List every step between today and the day the work starts, with an owner and a date for each. Share it with the buyer and agree it together.
6. Ask for a specific commitment, then stop talking. Name the decision, the document and the date. Silence after the question is the buyer thinking, so let it run.
7. Handle the answer. A yes moves to paperwork. "We need to think about it" means there's an unresolved concern, so find it. A no deserves a question about why, and a note in your CRM.
8. Make signing easy. Send one document with the agreed scope, price and start date, and use an e-signature. Under the federal ESIGN Act, a contract affecting interstate commerce can't be denied legal effect just because it was signed electronically.

Is the deal ready to close?

Run this check before you ask. Each "no" is your next task, not a reason to push harder.

If you can't find who signs, how to find decision makers shows how to map the owner, the signer and the influencers at a company.

Pick the close that fits the moment

The named closes are just different ways to ask. Choose one by what the buyer has already agreed to.

Only use deadlines that exist. The FTC's 2022 staff report on dark patterns lists a "false limited time message", a deadline that doesn't exist or resets, among the tactics designed to pressure buyers. The report is about consumer websites, but business buyers react the same way when they catch it: they stop trusting everything else you've said.

Build a close plan with the buyer

A close plan (also called a mutual action plan) is a short, dated list of what both sides need to do before work starts. Build it with your main contact and send it after the call. It's the single best tool for deals with more than one approver.

GOAL: [what starts, e.g. nightly cleaning of all three buildings] on [start date]

WHY THAT DATE: [their reason, e.g. current contract ends 31 December]

STEPS (work backward from the start date)
[date]  Work starts                                   Owner: [us]
[date]  Notice given to current supplier             Owner: [them]
[date]  Agreement signed                              Owner: [both]
[date]  Approval from [signer or committee]           Owner: [them]
[date]  Legal / procurement / security review done    Owner: [them]
[date]  Final proposal and supporting documents sent  Owner: [us]
[date]  [Trial, site visit or reference call]         Owner: [both]

WHO SIGNS: [name, title], approval limit [amount, if known]
OPEN QUESTIONS: [anything still unresolved]

Worked example: closing a cleaning contract for an office park

Illustrative example. The companies, people and numbers are fictional, to show the method.

The seller: Brightline Facility Services (brightline.example), a commercial cleaning company. The buyer: Meridian Business Park (meridianpark.example), three office buildings with 180,000 square feet. The property manager runs the day-to-day relationship. The building owner's asset manager approves any contract over $100,000 a year at a monthly review on the third Tuesday.

Brightline has proposed nightly cleaning for $14,200 a month on a 12-month term ($170,400 a year), so the asset manager has to approve it. The current cleaner's contract ends on 31 December and needs 30 days' written notice.

The close plan they agreed:

Without the plan, Brightline would have pushed for a signature in early November and hit a wall: nobody could sign before the asset manager's review, and missing that review would have meant missing the notice date and losing another year.

The discount request. On 10 November the property manager asked for 8% off to fit the budget the asset manager had set. Brightline's gross margin on the contract is 25%, so it ran the numbers:

Eight percent off the price would have cut gross profit by 32%, since every dollar of discount comes straight out of profit. Brightline offered 3% off in exchange for a 24-month term instead. The property manager took it to the asset manager, because a two-year term also saved her running a tender next year.

The ask, after the test clean:

"Your tenants scored the test floor well, we've agreed the scope, and the 24-month price fits your budget. If the asset manager approves on the 17th, can we sign on the 24th so you can give notice on the 1st?"

That's a summary close followed by a direct one. Then Brightline stopped talking.

Do the discount math before you agree

A discount comes entirely out of your gross profit. To earn the same gross profit after a discount, you need to sell more: required increase in sales = discount ÷ (gross margin minus discount).

The lower your margin, the more a discount costs. When a buyer asks for one, trade it for something worth as much to you: a longer term, a larger scope, faster payment or a reference. If price is the only problem, offer less scope at the same rate before you offer the same scope for less.

When they say "we need to think about it"

This usually means a concern they haven't said out loud. Ask about it directly and kindly, then follow up in writing.

Of course. So I can help you think it through: is it the [price / timing / scope / risk of switching], or something else?

(If they name it): That's fair. What would you need to see to be comfortable with that? [Agree one step and a date.]

(If they don't): Would it help if I put the scope, price and dates on one page you can share with [signer]? I'll send it today and call you [day] at [time].

Subject: [Company] and [your company]: what we agreed

Hi [first name],

Thanks for today. To confirm what we agreed:

1. Scope: [one line]
2. Price and term: [amount], [term]
3. Start date: [date], because [their reason]

Next steps:
- [date]: [their step, e.g. approval at the monthly review]
- [date]: agreement signed
- [date]: [notice to current supplier / kickoff]

If anything here doesn't match your understanding, tell me and I'll fix it before I send the agreement.

[Your name]

If the buyer pushes back on price, timing or their current supplier, the objection handling guide has responses for each. A deal that keeps stalling at the close often started with the wrong account. Bebop helps here by finding companies that match your best customers and explaining why each one fits, so fewer poor-fit deals reach this stage.

After the signature

Closing isn't the end of the sale; it's the start of the reference you'll want next year. Send a thank-you and the kickoff date the same day. Introduce the person who'll run the work. Check in after the first week and again after the first month, and ask then whether there's anyone else in the company you should talk to.

Common mistakes

• Asking before the value is agreed. If the buyer can't say what the problem costs them, the ask feels like pressure and the answer is "let me think about it".
• Talking past the yes. Once they agree, stop selling. More features give them new things to question.
• Not knowing who signs. A yes from someone who can't approve the spend is a recommendation, not a close.
• Discounting to close. It teaches the buyer to wait for the next discount and costs more profit than it looks.
• Inventing urgency. A deadline that turns out not to be real undoes the trust the deal depends on.
• Letting the next step float. Every conversation should end with a dated next step both sides agreed.

Next step: if your deals involve several approvers, the MEDDPICC method gives you a structure for qualifying them from the first call to the close.