A close plan is the written path from where a deal is today to a signed contract, listing each step, its owner on both sides and its date.
Confirmed steps and assumed steps
The account executive writes it once a late-stage deal has a buyer reason and a buyer date, working backwards from that date through approvals, legal, security review and procurement. The useful version tags each step as confirmed (the buyer said it on a call or in writing) or assumed (the seller's guess). The assumed steps are what the deal is missing, and each one becomes a question for the next call with the champion. Once the champion has reviewed and corrected it on a call, the plan is usually shared and becomes a mutual action plan. Managers use it in the weekly deal review, part of deal coaching, to decide what the rep works on next.
- 01A buyer reason and a buyer date
- 02Work backwardsApprovals, legal, security review, procurement
- 03Tag confirmed or assumed
- 04Assumed steps become questionsFor the next call with the champion
- 05The champion reviews itThen it becomes a mutual action plan
Example
A buyer says their system must be live before a June audit. The rep works back: rollout by May, signature by late April, legal and procurement before that. Legal timing is assumed; the rep asks on the next call and learns a six-week security assessment must come first. The plan moves, and the assessment starts that week.
In the deal review, the manager points at each date and asks one question: "Did the buyer give you that, or did we?" A good plan has a name and a source next to every step. A weak one has dates that all fall neatly before quarter end and no buyer name on the legal or procurement lines.
Related terms
FAQ
What is the difference between a close plan and a mutual action plan? A close plan usually starts as the seller's internal document. A mutual action plan is shared with the buyer, who edits the dates and owners. A close plan often becomes a mutual action plan once the champion has reviewed it on a call.
When should a sales rep create a close plan? Once the buyer has a reason and a date, usually after discovery and before the proposal. That leaves time to confirm the decision process. A plan written in the last weeks of the quarter tends to work back from the seller's date.
What makes a close plan useful? Separating what the buyer has confirmed from what the seller assumes. The assumed steps show what the deal is missing. Caty, our deal expert, checks each deal against your stage gates on the buyer's evidence for this reason. See drive deal execution, or talk to us about one of your deals.