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.
S.A.L.E. — the 4-step ask that busy colleagues find hard to refuse
1. Shared win – start with the goal you both own (“Faster onboarding boosts CS NPS and our renewal target”).
2. Advance gift – offer value first (“I mocked up the email copy—just need your API endpoint”).
3. Legitimizer – cite proof others are in (“Ops queued the job for tonight’s batch run”).
4. Easy step – make the commitment tiny and time-boxed (“Can you green-light line 14 by 3 p.m.? Takes 5 min.”).
Reciprocity + social proof + foot-in-the-door, served in 30 seconds.
🎯 Try this today: Grab one stalled request, recast it with S.A.L.E., and fire it off—track how quickly the “yes” lands.
SCORE Outline — a 5-step snap-brief that gets execs from “What?” to “Go.”
1. Stakes – open with the consequence of inaction or upside on the table (“Churn is creeping toward 6 %, risking $1.2 M ARR”).
2. Current state – one sentence on where we stand (“Onboarding emails ship 48 hrs late, users never activate”).
3. Option – your recommended move, verb first (“Cut email lag to 2 hrs via auto-triggered Zapier flow”).
4. Reason – the one data point or insight that proves it will work (“Teams that message <2 hrs see 40 % higher Day-7 retention”).
5. Endgame – the precise ask with owner + deadline (“Need $5 k for Zapier upgrade; approve by Friday so build starts Monday”).
Slip SCORE at the top of any deck, email, or hallway pitch and watch decisions pop.
🎯 Try this today: Open the next update you owe leadership; rewrite the first five lines using SCORE—time yourself, it’ll take under three minutes and halve the back-and-forth.