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Driving Deals to Close
How to Actually Get Deals Across the Finish Line
Harrison Waid
February 15, 2025
Read time: 5 minutes
Welcome to the Succession newsletter where 650+ life science sales reps improve their skills in 5 minutes per week. If you’re getting value from these newsletters, we'd love it if you could forward it along to your sales colleagues. If you’re new here, subscribe below.
The harsh reality in sales is you're going to lose more deals than you win. Your role is to reduce the risk in each opportunity you're working. Ultimately, you can't control if they buy or not, but if you focus on what you can control, reducing risk, you'll increase your win rates.
Closing deals is hard. You do the outreach, the meetings, the follow-ups and everything seems to be going great. And then…nothing. The deal stalls. People ghost you. Budgets magically disappear.
In our recent interview with Lewis Shipp, we dug deep into what actually moves deals forward. Lewis has firsthand experience driving complex sales and shared key strategies that separate top performers from those who constantly chase deals that never close.
Here’s a breakdown of the key strategies that help you drive deals to a close, based on real sales experiences, not just theory.
1. Don’t Get Happy Ears
We've all been there. Someone loves your product. They’re excited. They say all the right things. And then…poof. Nothing happens.
That’s because excitement doesn’t mean budget approval. Or decision-making power. Or urgency.
Lewis Shipp put it this way: "Just because someone is excited about your solution doesn’t mean they can actually buy it. You need to dig deeper to find out who makes decisions and where the budget sits."
Watch for these red flags:
They’re only talking about how cool the tech is, not how it helps their business.
They can’t explain the purchasing process when you ask.
They keep saying "Let me check with my team" but never do.
They end the call with “Send me some info and we’ll discuss and get back to you”.
Instead of taking their word for it, ask direct questions:
“What actual problem is this solving for the business?”
“Is our solution worth spending your time evaluating? Would rather know if not, so we don’t waste each other’s time”.
“Who needs to sign off on this?”
“Has budget already been set aside for this type of solution?”
“What’s your internal approval process like?”
If they can’t give clear answers, they might not be a serious buyer. Read more about how to qualify real buyers here.
2. Identify and Empower A Champion
An important thing to consider when finding a champion is that the first person you talk to is most likely not your champion. They’re usually the ones talking to multiple vendors, just trying to figure out how to solve their problem. You have to engage other stakeholders to identify a true champion.
A champion is someone inside the company who believes in what you’re selling and will fight for it. But not everyone you talk to is a champion. Just because someone likes your product doesn’t mean they have the pull to get it bought.
Here’s how to spot a real champion:
They have influence. Maybe they own the budget, or maybe leadership trusts them.
They care about solving this problem as it affects their work directly.
They actually want to push this forward. Some people just enjoy new learning about new tech. That’s not a champion.
Once you’ve got the right person, make it easy for them to sell internally. Give them the data, the stories, and the step-by-step plan. Frame it so that when they pitch it to their boss, they look good. If they feel like they’re winning by pushing your deal forward, they will.
As Lewis said, "The best champions aren’t just people who like your solution. They’re people who are willing to put their credibility on the line for it."
3. Multi-Thread: Never Rely on One Contact
Ever had a deal fall apart because your contact left the company? It’s brutal. That’s why you never want just one point of contact. Multi-threading means building relationships with multiple people in the company, decision-makers, bench scientists, finance, IT, so if one person drops off, your deal doesn’t.
How do you do it?
Ask, "Who else cares about this problem? Shouldn’t we get their opinion?" early on.
Use meetings as an excuse to bring in new people. “Hey, it’d be great to get Sarah from finance on our next call so we can talk budget.”
Make the business case broad enough that multiple teams see value in it.
Lewis pointed out, "The best deals aren’t champion-dependent, they’re company-dependent. When multiple teams have skin in the game, the deal becomes a priority."
4. Build a Business Case
If you think your pitch alone is enough, think again. Most of the selling happens when you’re not there. Your contact, whether a scientist, a manager, or a department head, needs to convince their boss, their finance team, and maybe even their entire company that this is worth investing in.
A solid business case makes that easier. Here’s what it should include:
The problem – What’s costing them time, money, or sanity?
The solution (you) – How does your product or service fix it?
The impact – Why should they care? Show numbers, time saved, risks reduced.
The plan – How will this actually happen? Lay out the steps so no one gets stuck in ‘thinking about it’ mode.
Risk mitigation – Executives always think, “What if this fails?” Be proactive. Outline what could go wrong and how you’ll handle it.
And don’t just throw a deck together and call it a day. Build the case with your champion so they have a stake in it. If they help shape the business case, they’ll actually use it.
Here’s a simple business case template you can start with.
5. Keep the Momentum with Micro-Commitments
Time kills all deals. Shorten the time between steps and always always always have next steps on the calendar.
Big commitments (like signing a contract) can feel daunting. Small ones? Way easier. That’s why getting little "yeses" throughout the process helps keep deals moving.
Some micro-commitments you can use:
“Can we set up a time to review this with your leadership team?”
“Can you introduce me to the person who handles purchasing?”
“Would it help if I drafted an internal email you can send about this?”
Every little "yes" gets them more invested. By the time they get to the big "yes," it’s just the natural next step.
6. Pre-Mortem Analysis
Want to avoid getting blindsided? Do a pre-mortem. This means asking: “If this deal falls apart, what will have caused it?” and addressing those risks early.
Common deal killers:
Budget reallocation – “What happens if leadership decides to cut costs?”
Internal politics – “Who might block this deal, and how do we bring them in earlier?”
Differentiation - “Are my differentiators a key part of the decision criteria?”
Urgency – “What’s if this is important to one person but nobody else cares?”
By addressing risks upfront, you’re preparing your champion to navigate obstacles before they become deal-breakers. Here’s a detailed guide on how to run a pre-mortem analysis.
How to Take Action
Look at all your deals and see how many points of contact you have. Less than 3? Reach out to more people or get introductions.
Ask yourself if you have a real champion—not just someone who is easy to talk to and "likes" your solution. If not, go find a champion, or you’ll likely waste time on a deal that won’t close (harsh but true).
Pick one of your top opps where you do have a champion and work with them to build a business case. If they don’t want to, (hint hint) you don’t have a real champion.
Run a pre-mortem analysis to find all the risks in your deals.
Episode 55: [Sales] Use a business case to beat the competition with Lewis Shipp
Learning through Inference
How to onboard at a start up
How to transition from PhD to Biotech sales
Using a business case to beat the competition
Founder lead sales to AE sales
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