Before you schedule “one more call,” define what that call must decide. Otherwise, you’re creating motion, not progress.
Use the Exit Criteria Close:
1. Purpose: “What do we need to accomplish on this next call?”
2. Decision: “What should we be ready to decide by the end?”
3. People: “Who needs to be there for that decision to stick?”
4. Prep: “What should I send beforehand so we can use the time well?”
5. Confirm: “If we align on that, is the next step moving to ___?”
🎯 Try this today: For one upcoming meeting, write the exit criteria in one sentence before you send the invite.
Use the Next-Step Lock to stop strong calls from ending in the graveyard of “send me some info.” Closing isn’t always asking for the signature—it’s securing the next visible commitment.
1. Confirm the business reason: “Is reducing ramp time still the outcome we’re solving for?”
2. Map the path: “Who else needs to weigh in before this moves forward?”
3. Book it live: “Let’s put 25 minutes on the calendar with them now.”
4. Split homework: “I’ll send the ROI model; you’ll confirm the current onboarding numbers.”
🎯 Try this today: On your next call, don’t leave with a vague follow-up. Leave with a calendar invite and one buyer-owned action.
FRAME — 5-step pre-flight that turns a 30-minute zombie meeting into a 15-minute decision.
1. Final outcome: one sentence on what will exist by the end (“choose launch date”).
2. Roles: name the decider, advisors, and listeners—unneeded folks stay out.
3. Agenda questions: max three questions that must be answered to hit the outcome.
4. Minutes per question: set a timer; when it dings, move on.
5. Exit actions: last two minutes, say the decisions + next steps aloud while someone types and hits Send.
🎯 Try this today: For your next calendar invite, paste “F R A M E” in the description and fill each letter before you hit send—watch the attendee list and meeting length shrink.
COIN Flip — a 4-line pitch that wins quick buy-in
1. Context: Start with their metric or pain (“Customer churn just blew past the 5% threshold”).
2. Outcome: Quantify the win your idea creates (“A self-serve FAQ could cut support tickets 30%”).
3. Implication: Spell out the cost of inertia (“If churn holds, we leave $2M ARR on the table this quarter”).
4. Next step: Ask for one low-risk move (“Kick off a 2-week pilot—no code changes, just new copy”).
🎯 Try this today: Draft your next request in four COIN bullets, then deliver it verbatim; notice how framing the cost of doing nothing sharpens attention.