Sales and closing

Phase 7 turns qualified sales opportunities (SQL) into binding closed deals through structured sales leadership, with a clear decision logic, a clean forecast and turnover that can be justified.

Qualified sales opportunities are led to a binding close. The focus is on decision, negotiation and forecast. The result is turnover or a clean no-decision. The phase is strongly shaped by decisions and negotiations. What counts is the probability of closing, not reach.

When phase 6 is complete and an SQL with documented qualification has been handed over. Without documented qualification no active sales process begins.

Phase 7 is driven by Sales. Overall responsibility lies with the person responsible for Sales as a whole, who is also accountable for turnover. Product, Delivery and, where needed, executive management are involved, and Marketing and Business Development are informed. Exactly one person is responsible for each closed deal.

Sales leads the decision and negotiation processes, clarifies budget, scope, risks and timing, is responsible for the forecast and the close of its own sales opportunities, and decides between a close and a no-decision. Finding the market or the problem in the first place, qualifying leads or shaping the offer is not part of this.

Realistic in this phase are closed deals, negotiations and a reliable forecast, not Sales having to find the market first.

Roles in this phase

Sales reviews the SQLs handed over by Sales Development. If the qualification is confirmed, Sales takes the sales opportunity forward as an opportunity. Otherwise, Sales rejects the SQL and returns it to Sales Development with reasons. The basis is the SQLs from phase 6 and potential at existing customers handed over by Customer Success (phase 8), offer and pricing documents, and the history of decisions and objections so far. Sales analyses need and decision in greater depth, negotiates scope, price and conditions, and agrees in advance with Delivery and product any commitments on scope or deadlines that deviate from the defined offer. At the end there is a close or a cleanly managed no-decision. Every sales opportunity is managed traceably as an opportunity. Forecast and pipeline are based on this information.

A traceable share of the opportunities is won. Order size and length of the sales cycle are recorded in a traceable way. And the forecast deviates little from the actual closed deals, because it is based on qualified sales opportunities.

“A forecast is not a target. A forecast is the result of sound preparatory work.”

No forecast without a qualified opportunity, no discounts without a clear basis for decision, no selling on hope. The quality of the sales opportunities counts more than their number.

Opportunity. An opportunity is a qualified sales opportunity that Sales actively manages. It is based on an SQL or, for existing customers, on potential handed over by Customer Success that Sales has confirmed. It is in the structured process of decision and negotiation. It is not yet turnover, but a possible decision.

Won (closed won). Won refers to a sales opportunity for which a binding contract has been concluded and the turnover can be realised. Won marks the transition from Sales (phase 7) to Delivery and Customer Success (phase 8).

Won means: the customer has decided, not the sales team.

Lost / no decision. An opportunity that was not closed, either through a decision against the offer or because no decision was made. These cases are not a failure but a central source of learning for phase 9.

A lost deal or a no decision without an insight is a system error.

Phase 8 begins with the concluded contract or order and a clear basis of services and expectations from phase 7. Customer Success does not begin after the close, but with it.