Capability template for sales

Deal close plan

Your account executive holds one late-stage deal on two pages: the buyer's case for buying now, counted from the buyer's own figures, and a dated plan of every step to signature with its owner on each side. The seller decides what the buyer sees; nothing reaches the sales system without approval.

The outcome

The deal stops depending on hope and a close date somebody typed in weeks ago. Your account executive walks into the last stretch with the buyer's own argument for buying, in the buyer's own words: what the problem costs them today, what they want to achieve, what each part of your offer does toward it, and plain arithmetic weighing the price against their own numbers. Nothing in it is a benchmark or a borrowed result, so the buyer's champion can carry it into the room with the person who signs and defend every line.

Beside it sits the plan both sides can work to. Every step still to happen before signature is on it: the budget meeting, the security review, the review of your order form, supplier setup, your own approvals and the signatures, each with an owner and a date. The plan shows which steps actually set the signature date and how much room every other step has. If the date in your sales system cannot be reached, the plan says so plainly and shows the earliest date that can, so the forecast conversation starts from facts.

Who starts the work, and when

The account executive responsible for the deal starts it, or the founder or partner doing the selling. The right moment is when the buyer has asked for a quote or proposal and the paperwork is about to begin. Run it again each time the path shifts: a new date, a new owner, an extra step on the buyer's side.

The account executive reads the plan and decides what the buyer sees, whether to send the covering note, and which proposed changes to make in the sales system. Prices and exceptions stay with the people your company names to approve them. The AI assistant sends nothing, shares nothing and changes no record.

What they supply

The buyer's own words. Call notes, transcripts and emails, each with its date and who was speaking.
The quote as the buyer received it. Prices, discounts, one-time fees, the term, billing and how long setup takes.
The deal record. The deal's single row, saved out of your sales system or spreadsheet: stage, amount, close date and next step.
Your deal facts. Today's date, the target signature date if it is not the record's, who is on the deal from your side, closed days, and anything already promised to the buyer.
Your approval steps. The internal sign-offs your company needs, when each one is needed, who signs it off and how long that takes.

What comes out

One plan in two parts.

The draft for the buyer. The business case in six lines (the problem today, what they want, what the offer does, the arithmetic, the cost of waiting, what they valued) and the mutual action plan, step by step, with owners, planned dates and the date each step must finish by. Every line carries a tag to its source, removed before sharing.
Notes for you alone. Whether the target date holds, the chain of steps that sets the signature date, the spare days on every other step, the owners and dates still to confirm with the buyer, the points held out of the business case until the buyer backs them, usual steps nobody has mentioned yet, the changes proposed for your sales record, and a short covering note to the buyer's main contact, ready for you to edit and send.

A good close plan is one your champion forwards to their boss without editing, and one your sales lead can check line by line against the notes.

An invented example

Illustrative example with invented data. The companies, the people, the deal, the dates and the amounts below are all invented. The seller is an invented 40-person company that sells stock-planning software to food distributors; its people on this deal are an account executive, a solutions engineer, a sales lead and a finance director. The buyer, Account D, is an invented regional food distributor. First come the inputs the account executive supplied, in full, then the close plan the capability returned.

The inputs

1. Deal facts (typed by the account executive)

Today: Monday 16 November 2026
Account: Account D. Deal: D-214, stock planning first year.
Target signature date: none set here; use the record's close date.
Outputs: both.
Our side: account executive (me), solutions engineer, sales lead,
  finance director.
Working days: Monday to Friday. Both companies are closed on Thursday
  26 and Friday 27 November.
Already promised: I told the operations director she will have the
  business case by Wednesday 18 November.
Signatures: we allow one working day for both signatures.
Covering note to: the operations director.

2. Deal record row (exported from the sales system)

deal_id,account,deal_name,stage,amount,close_date,next_step,next_step_date
D-214,Account D,Stock planning first year,Negotiation,63000,2026-11-30,Send order form,2026-11-13

3. The quote as sent

Quote Q-0418, 6 November 2026, for Account D
Stock-planning subscription, with expiry alerts on every stock line:
  $60,000 a year list, less 10% discount = $54,000 a year. Term: 12 months.
Setup and import of order history: $9,000 one time. Setup takes six
  weeks from signature.
Planner training: two sessions, included.
Billing: annually in advance.
First-year total: $63,000.

4. Buyer notes, in the order supplied

Discovery call, Thursday 22 October 2026. Notes by the account executive.
Operations director: "Planners find out stock is expiring when it's
already on the write-off report." "We write off about $18,000 of
expired stock every month." "Late deliveries cost us something like
$6,000 a month in customer penalties." "I want write-offs cut in half
by the end of March 2027, and the new system live by the start of our
spring season on 1 March 2027."

Demo call, Tuesday 3 November 2026. Notes by the solutions engineer.
Operations director: "The expiry alerts are the part my team got
excited about."
IT manager: "Anything that touches our order data goes through our
security review. We need ten working days once we have your
questionnaire answers, and nobody here signs until security has
cleared it."

Email from the operations director, Monday 9 November 2026.
"Our CFO wants to see the numbers before she agrees the budget, and she
decides in that meeting. I've asked her for Tuesday 24 November and am
waiting to hear back. Once she agrees, procurement needs ten working
days to set you up as a supplier and issue the purchase order.
Procurement will also ask for quarterly billing rather than annual in
advance. Our lawyers review your order form before anyone signs,
usually five working days. When the purchase order is out, the CFO
signs; she signs anything over $50,000."

My own note, Thursday 12 November 2026 (account executive).
Sent the security questionnaire answers to the IT manager today. Our
integration with their warehouse system is a big differentiator.

5. Our approval steps

- Billing other than annually in advance: the finance director approves
  before the order form goes out. 3 working days.
- Discount above 10% of list: the sales lead approves. 2 working days.
- Order form: sent by the account executive 1 working day after the
  approvals it needs.
- Countersignature: the sales lead signs for us on the day the buyer
  signs.

The output

DEAL CLOSE PLAN: Account D, Stock planning first year

For: Account executive. Deal D-214. Prepared Monday 16 November 2026.
From: deal facts [F]; deal record row [R]; quote [Q] of Friday 6 November 2026; buyer notes N1 to N4, dated Thursday 22 October 2026 to Thursday 12 November 2026; your approval steps [A].
Target signature date: Monday 30 November 2026 (from the record's close date). Plan built on: Friday 11 December 2026. TARGET CANNOT BE MET: earliest signature Friday 11 December 2026, 9 working days after the target.
Working days: Monday to Friday. Closed: Thursday 26 November 2026, Friday 27 November 2026.

PART 1. DRAFT FOR THE BUYER

Nothing here has been shared with Account D; you decide what they see. Remove the source tags in square brackets before sharing.

The business case for Account D

The problem today: "Planners find out stock is expiring when it's already on the write-off report." (Operations director) [N1]. What it costs them: about $18,000 of expired stock written off every month [N1].
What they want: write-offs cut in half by the end of March 2027 (Wednesday 31 March 2027) [N1]; the new system live by the start of the spring season on Monday 1 March 2027 [N1].
What the offer does: stock-planning subscription with expiry alerts on every stock line -> cutting write-offs in half [Q, N1]. Setup and import of order history, six weeks from signature -> live by Monday 1 March 2027 [Q, N1]. Planner training, two sessions -> not linked to a stated goal [Q].
The arithmetic: Investment: subscription $60,000 a year list, less a 10% discount, $54,000 a year for a 12-month term; setup $9,000 one time; first year $63,000 [Q]. Value at their own target: half of $18,000 a month = $9,000 a month; $9,000 × 12 = $108,000 a year [N1]. Recovery: $63,000 ÷ $9,000 = 7 months of value at target recover the first year's cost [Q, N1]. On Account D's own figures and target; not a forecast and not a promise of results.
The cost of waiting: each month the target is not met costs $9,000 on their own figures (half of $18,000) [N1]. They want to be live by Monday 1 March 2027 [N1]; setup takes six weeks from signature [Q]; Monday 1 March 2027 less six weeks is Monday 18 January 2027, the latest signature that meets it. Signatures on Friday 11 December 2026 put go-live on Friday 22 January 2027 [Q].
What they valued: "The expiry alerts are the part my team got excited about." (Operations director) [N2].

Mutual action plan: signatures by Friday 11 December 2026

Send the security questionnaire answers to the IT manager · Us · Owner: Account executive · Done Thursday 12 November 2026 [N4]
Send the business case to the operations director · Us · Owner: Account executive · Planned Wednesday 18 November 2026 · Must finish by Monday 23 November 2026 · Date agreed [F]
Internal approval before the order form goes out · Us (internal) · Owner: Finance director · Planned Thursday 19 November 2026 · Must finish by Wednesday 2 December 2026 · Date not agreed [A, N3]
Send the order form · Us · Owner: Account executive · Planned Friday 20 November 2026 · Must finish by Thursday 3 December 2026 · Date not agreed [A, R]
Review the business case and decide the budget · Buyer · Owner: CFO · Planned Tuesday 24 November 2026 · Must finish by Tuesday 24 November 2026 · Date not agreed [N3]
Security review · Buyer · Owner: IT manager · Planned Monday 30 November 2026 · Must finish by Thursday 10 December 2026 · Date not agreed [N2, N4]
Review the order form · Buyer · Owner: to be named by the buyer · Planned Tuesday 1 December 2026 · Must finish by Thursday 10 December 2026 · Date not agreed [N3]
Set up the supplier and issue the purchase order · Buyer · Owner: Procurement · Planned Thursday 10 December 2026 · Must finish by Thursday 10 December 2026 · Date not agreed [N3]
Signatures · Buyer · Owner: CFO; with Sales lead (Us) · Planned Friday 11 December 2026 · Must finish by Friday 11 December 2026 · Date not agreed [N3, A, F]

PART 2. FOR YOU ONLY

Target: cannot be met: earliest signature Friday 11 December 2026, 9 working days after the target of Monday 30 November 2026.
Chain that sets the signature date: 5 -> 8 -> 9. Step 5 is the CFO's budget decision, requested for Tuesday 24 November 2026 [N3]. Step 8 takes ten working days after it, to Thursday 10 December 2026 [N3]. Step 9 takes one working day after steps 6, 7 and 8 [F].
Spare working days: none: 5, 8, 9. Step 2: 3; step 3: 7; step 4: 7; step 6: 8; step 7: 7.
Flags:
- Business case line 3, link not stated by the buyer: the quote lists expiry alerts on every stock line [Q] and the operations director wants write-offs cut in half [N1], but no note says the alerts will do that; N2 says only that her team "got excited about" them. The link is the assistant's reading; confirm it with the operations director before sharing.
- Step 3, condition expected, not yet met: the quote bills annually in advance [Q]; the operations director writes that procurement "will also ask for quarterly billing rather than annual in advance" [N3]. The inputs do not say when procurement will ask, so step 3 waits on nothing. If the buyer does not ask, drop step 3; step 4 would then be planned for Tuesday 17 November 2026 and the signature date would not move.
- Step 4, record date passed: the deal record dates "Send order form" Friday 13 November 2026 [R]; it is not reported done, and it waits on step 3, the finance director's approval of quarterly billing [A, N3].
- Step 5, your side's attendee not stated: the inputs do not say whether anyone from your side is invited to the CFO's meeting, so no second owner is named. Ask the operations director whether she wants you there.
Owners and dates to confirm with the buyer: Step 5: the operations director has asked the CFO for Tuesday 24 November 2026 and is waiting to hear back [N3]. Step 6: date worked out from the ten working days the IT manager gave [N2]; not agreed. Step 7: owner to be named by the buyer (the email says only "our lawyers" [N3]); date worked out from the five working days in the operations director's email [N3]; not agreed. Step 8: date worked out from procurement's ten working days [N3]; not agreed. Step 9: date not agreed with the CFO.
Not used in the business case until the buyer backs it:
- Late-delivery penalties, "something like $6,000 a month" [N1]: the buyer gave no target for them, so no value is counted and the cost is left out of Part 1. Question for the next conversation: how much of the penalty cost does the operations director expect to remove, and by when?
- "Our integration with their warehouse system is a big differentiator." [N4]: your own note; no buyer reaction is recorded. Question for the next conversation: does the warehouse connection matter to the operations director or the IT manager?
Internal lines: Step 3: the finance director's approval of quarterly billing, needed because procurement is expected to ask for billing other than annually in advance [A, N3]; decide whether the buyer sees it.
Usual steps the inputs never mention: none.
Your approval steps not needed: Discount above 10% of list (sales lead): the quote's discount is 10%, not above it [Q, A].
Proposed changes to the deal record, for you to approve and make:
- close_date: now "2026-11-30", proposed "2026-12-11", because the earliest possible signature is Friday 11 December 2026 (chain 5 -> 8 -> 9).
- next_step: now "Send order form", proposed "Send the business case to the operations director", because step 2 is your side's open step with the earliest planned date.
- next_step_date: now "2026-11-13", proposed "2026-11-18", the planned date of step 2.

Covering note to Operations director, a draft, not sent

Thank you for setting out how things work on your side. Here is the plan to signature we have put together from what you and your colleagues have told us, aiming for signatures on Friday 11 December. Could you confirm or correct these lines?

The CFO's review on Tuesday 24 November: has she confirmed the date?

Security review: finished by Monday 30 November, ten working days after our answers on 12 November.

Review of our order form: who will lead it for you? Five working days takes it to Tuesday 1 December.

Supplier setup and purchase order: ten working days after the CFO's decision, so Thursday 10 December.

Signatures on Friday 11 December: does that work for the CFO?

You will have the business case on Wednesday 18 November, as promised.

Source key: F = your deal facts. R = deal record row for D-214. Q = quote Q-0418, Friday 6 November 2026. A = your approval steps. N1 = discovery call notes, Thursday 22 October 2026, by the account executive; speaker: operations director. N2 = demo call notes, Tuesday 3 November 2026, by the solutions engineer; speakers: operations director, IT manager. N3 = email from the operations director, Monday 9 November 2026. N4 = your own note, Thursday 12 November 2026.

Draft for the account executive. Nothing has been sent or shared, and no record has been changed.

Where it fits

Sales: the last stretch of a deal, run the same disciplined way every time.
Software technology: late-stage deals pass a security review, a budget owner and procurement, each with its own clock.
Professional services: a partner's sign-off and the client's purchasing process decide when an engagement can start.
Manufacturing: capital budgets, plant schedules and supplier setup all sit between a yes and a signature.
Engineering firms: a client's board or funding body sets dates the plan has to respect.
Growth & scaling: larger deals bring more people and more steps than one person can track in their head.
Startups & new ventures: a founder closing the first big customers needs a plan that looks as organized as the buyer's own process.

It sits beside Stalled-deal review, which reads the whole pipeline for deals that have stopped moving; this plan works on one deal that is moving and needs a date. Sales proposal preparation writes the proposal this plan builds on, and Discount request review prepares the decision when the buyer asks for a lower price.

What has to change for your company

Your approval steps. Write down each internal sign-off, the deals it covers, the person who signs it off and its length in working days. The plan is only as accurate as this list.
Your record's columns. Agree the export's headers once; if your sales system names them differently, write the mapping down, and the assistant will stop and ask rather than guess.
A habit of the buyer's words. Dated notes that capture what the buyer actually said, figures included, are what turn the business case from a sales pitch into their own argument.
The default length of a step nobody has given a length for, and the extra stages your buyers tend to have, a board vote or a pilot sign-off, for example.
Who sees internal steps. Decide whether your own approvals show up in what the buyer reads.
Your platform. The instructions are written to be pasted into ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini. It works from files and notes you supply and needs no connection to your sales system.

What has been checked

Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026; the record is published with it. The points that run found open, and a few raised by the independent review after it, were settled the same day without a rerun; the record lists them and says where the recorded output differs from the rules as they now stand. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.

Testing in your environment means running it on two or three deals your sales lead remembers well, plus hard cases written in advance, each with its expected behavior: a target date that cannot be met, a buyer cost with no target, a step nobody gave a length for, closed days in the middle of the plan, a buyer owner nobody has named. The account executive checks every date and every sum before anything reaches the buyer. Pilot acceptance-test preparation builds that test set, and What we test before we call an AI workflow ready shows the record.

The full capability template

Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.

View the full template

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