convert-close

# Convert Close - The Cascade Close

> *"The close isn't a single moment. It's a cascade - multiple closes flowing one after another, each designed to catch a different type of buyer. You're not closing once and hoping. You're closing from every possible angle until there's nothing left to object to."* - The Donahoe Method, Framework 5

This skill writes the full Cascade Close: five core layers (Stack → Vision → Math → Safety Net → Door) plus P.S. and P.P.S. that close *again* from fresh angles.

By the time the reader reaches the bottom of the page, every type of buyer - vision-driven, logic-driven, risk-averse, ready-to-act - has been spoken to in the language they need.

## When to Use

Trigger phrases: "write me a close", "donahoe close", "cascade close", "stack vision math safety net door", "close my sales page", "write the CTA section", "guarantee copy", "P.S. close", `/convert close <product>`.

Use for any conversion point: sales pages, VSLs, OTO pages, long-form launch emails, webinar pitch segments, upsell pages, checkout pages.

Do NOT use for:
- Writing the opening hook (use `convert-open`)
- Designing the offer's value structure (use `funnels-offer` - bonuses, tiers, price-points)
- Writing a single button label (this is the full close architecture; the button is one element of the Door)
- Auditing existing closes (use `convert-audit`)

## Inputs

Required:
1. **Offer details** - what's being sold, the price, what's included (the modules / bonuses / templates / community / coaching), the format, the delivery
2. **The guarantee** - what risk reversal can the seller honestly stand behind? (30-day, 60-day, results-based, no-questions, double-your-money, conditional). If there's no guarantee, that's a flag - push back: a Donahoe close without a Safety Net is structurally weak
3. **Three Locks output** (from `convert-three-locks`) - Lock 1 Want feeds Vision Close; Lock 3 Excuse pre-writes the Math Close
4. **Why Now** (from `convert-four-questions`) - feeds the urgency framing in the close

Optional:
- **Available proof** - a strong Receipt or Anecdote anchors the in-between-closes layer
- **Reader temperature** (from `convert-temperature`) - Hot/Boiling audiences need compressed Cascade; Cool audiences need full five-layer + P.S. + P.P.S.
- **Asset type** - sales page (full Cascade) / VSL (close at video minute 14-18) / email (compressed Cascade in P.S. + P.P.S.) / OTO (Cascade in 200-400 words)
- `out_path` - caller-controlled output. Defaults via `build_report_path`.

## The Cascade Layers (full method)

### 1. The Stack

List everything they get, but **conversationally.** Not a formal value table with inflated dollar amounts nobody believes.

If the value is genuinely high, let the numbers speak. But present them like you're explaining it to a friend, not filling out an infomercial template.

Specifications:
- Conversational connector phrases ("plus", "and you also get", "which honestly", "any one of these would be worth it on its own")
- Real components (no fluff, no "Bonus #7: My Special Mindset Audio")
- Optionally: dollar values per component if defensible
- Closes with a natural total, not a "TOTAL VALUE" splash

Example:
> *"So you're getting the full system - every module, every template, the calculator I built for myself, the video walkthrough where I show you the exact ad I was running last quarter, plus the private community where we troubleshoot in real time, plus the 6 weekly group calls. Honestly, any one of those alone is worth more than what I'm charging for the whole thing."*

Anti-pattern:
> *"Component 1: The Complete Master System ($1,997 value). Component 2: The Ultimate Templates Pack ($497 value). TOTAL VALUE: $7,394."*

### 2. The Vision Close

Close on the **desired state.** Paint where they'll be.

This catches the emotionally-driven buyers - the ones who've already decided and just need permission.

Specifications:
- Re-anchor Lock 1 Want from the body
- Specific scene, sensory detail, time-of-day
- Pose the choice as fast-path vs slow-path, not whether-or-not

Example:
> *"This is what your morning looks like 90 days from now: you wake up, you check your phone, and there are three new bookings that came in overnight. You haven't sent a single email yet today. The system did its job while you slept. The only question now is whether you want to get there the slow way - figuring it out alone, the way I did, with all the wrong turns I made - or the fast way, which is the next 90 days inside this."*

### 3. The Math Close

Close on **logic.** Make it about the numbers.

This catches the analytical buyers - the ones who need numbers to justify what they already feel.

Specifications:
- Compare the price to a relatable past expense (Already-Spent compare from `convert-three-locks` Lock 3)
- Show payback math (when does the offer pay for itself?)
- Optionally: one fraction-of-something-else ("less than what you spent on the last conference that didn't work")

Example:
> *"Let's do the math. This is $1,997. You spent $4,400 on the Facebook agency last summer that didn't book you a single new client. You spent $2,100 on the SEO retainer the year before that quietly drained off auto-renew. This is less than half of either of those - and it pays for itself the first booked job. Run those numbers however you want; the math doesn't change."*

### 4. The Safety Net

Close on the **guarantee.** Make it so strong it's almost absurd.

This catches the skeptics - the ones who believe it could work but are afraid of getting burned again.

Specifications:
- State the guarantee in plain English
- Remove every hoop ("no forms, no phone calls, no 'retention specialists'")
- Show the seller's confidence ("I take all the risk because I already know this works")
- Make it conversational, not legalistic

Example:
> *"Try it. If it doesn't work for you in the first 60 days, I'll refund every dollar - no forms, no phone calls, no 'customer retention specialist' trying to talk y