How to Close a Sales Deal in 7 Steps (B2B)

Most founders think a killer demo is enough to close deals. It’s not.

I learned the hard way at Letterdrop. I’d run what I thought was a great demo, hear “This is awesome, let me take it back to my team”… and then the deal would quietly die.

It wasn’t the product. It was my process.

After working with Isaiah Crossman and Ryan Patel, I've learned that closing complex deals isn’t about showing off features. It’s about guiding the buyer step by step through their process of getting internal buy-in. 

I used to bomb every single sales call at Letterdrop.

Here's the system that changed everything.

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Step 1: Discovery

The first call isn’t about pitching. It’s about understanding. What are their top priorities? What’s blocking them? What’s their fallback if they do nothing?

Keep it conversational. Don't interrogate them. You can (and should) always do more discovery later.

We might show them a preview at this point but never demo on the first call. It's too much and will overwhelm them, plus you won't be prepared.

One prospect told me,

“You were the first vendor who didn’t jump straight into a pitch, you actually understood my world.”

Step 2: The Demo

On Call 2, I recap what I heard, let them correct me, and then run a demo laser-focused on their priorities. Skip the features that aren't as relevant.

I’ll tell stories: “Here’s how a customer just like you solved this.” A buyer once stopped me and said, “That’s exactly the situation we’re in.” 

That’s when I know I’m on track.

Make sure to pause and let them speak often. You're looking for wow moments and for them to internalize that this is the solution they need. Let them talk themselves into buying.

And once they've agreed that it's a good idea to use your solution, stop selling.

Don't sell past the sale.

Step 3: The Business Case

Don’t let your champion wing it. Work with them to build an internal doc that looks like they wrote it themselves. 

Nate Nasralla has a great template. It should use their language and be focused on the biggest priorities of the decision maker. The goal is that when their exec sees it, the reaction is, “I'm really glad you put this together.”

Practice with your champion on what they're going to say. You don't want the deal to die in a 30 second hallway conversation, "Not a priority right now."

Step 4: The Buying Committee

This is where most deals stall. I map all stakeholders, connect on LinkedIn, run targeted ads, and post content so they see me in their feed.

One champion admitted,

“It was so much easier to pitch you internally because my boss already knew your name from LinkedIn”. 

Step 5: The Group Demo

If you get to this step, that's a good sign. Your champion made a pseudo-compelling business case to the decision maker.

Make sure to set up a pre-group demo call 1:1 with your champion to align on what every stakeholder cares about. Setup a post-call to debrief with the champion.

In the meeting, make sure each person feels heard. Let them all share priorities and reactions. The decision maker matters most of course.

Follow up individually 1:1 with every stakeholder so they feel comfortable reaching out to you.

Debrief with your champion to get an honest opinion on things and arm them with ammo to address any lingering objections.

Step 6: Executive Sponsorship

If it’s moving in the right direction, I loop in our exec sponsor to connect with the decision-maker. It reassures them they’ll be supported from the top down. 

When my AE is running deals, I’m the exec sponsor. Letterdrop has an automation to trigger this on behalf of myself for my AE. 

Connect+message from my Linkedin to their decision maker.

Step 7: Procurement and Close

At this point, the decision maker and champion get CFO approval.

Project-manage the process: finance, legal, IT. Make it easy for the champion and do as much as you can for them. We’ve personally had many deals die at the 11th hour.

Once the deal is live, have CS get them to value as quickly possible. And ask for referrals after.

This framework turned me from “hopeful demo guy” into someone who can consistently navigate complex sales cycles.

Adopt this playbook for yourself and feel free to contact us if you want any help systemizing it.