deal-closer-playbook

# Deal Closer Playbook

Take a deal in progress -- at any stage from discovery to negotiation -- and produce a tactical closing playbook combining company research, stakeholder mapping, competitive intelligence, and deal mechanics into a single actionable document.

## Contents
- `references/intelligence-gathering.md` -- context intake, company research, buying-committee map, MEDDIC and velocity risk scoring
- `references/playbook-strategy.md` -- objection matrix, competitive positioning, stage-specific closing strategy, mutual close plan, proposal talking points
- `references/output-template.md` -- full `deal-playbook.md` structure to write

## Workflow

Operate in two phases: gather intelligence, then generate the playbook. Be thorough but fast. Tie every section to a specific action.

1. **Collect deal context.** Gather the required, valuable, and nice-to-have inputs. Ask for anything missing; mark unavailable items `[UNKNOWN]` and work around them. See `references/intelligence-gathering.md`.
2. **Research the company.** Use WebSearch for current intelligence: overview, last-90-days news, financial signals, leadership/hiring, tech-stack signals, industry context. See `references/intelligence-gathering.md`.
3. **Map the buying committee.** Identify and profile each role (champion, economic buyer, technical evaluator, user buyer, coach, blocker, procurement/legal, executive sponsor). Flag unknown stakeholders as discovery gaps. See `references/intelligence-gathering.md`.
4. **Assess deal risk.** Score MEDDIC qualification and the velocity risk checklist. See `references/intelligence-gathering.md`.
5. **Build the objection response matrix.** Address every raised objection plus likely unraised ones for the stage and context. See `references/playbook-strategy.md`.
6. **Build competitive positioning.** For each competitor (or the status quo), document their pitch, where they win, where you win, landmine questions, and traps to avoid. See `references/playbook-strategy.md`.
7. **Design the stage-appropriate closing strategy.** Match tactics to discovery/demo, evaluation/proposal, or negotiation/close. See `references/playbook-strategy.md`.
8. **Build the mutual close plan.** Create the shared buyer-seller timeline to signed contract. See `references/playbook-strategy.md`.
9. **Generate proposal talking points.** Draft the opening, value prop, proof, differentiation, and the ask. See `references/playbook-strategy.md`.
10. **Write the deal playbook.** Output the complete document to `deal-playbook.md` using `references/output-template.md`.

## Behavioral Rules

1. Be honest about deal risk. If the deal is poorly qualified, say so -- false confidence is worse than a clear-eyed adjustment.
2. Research before advising. Do not build competitive positioning from general knowledge alone; use WebSearch for current information.
3. Make it actionable. Every section answers "What do I do next?" If a section leads to no action, cut it.
4. Write for the rep, not the VP. Use direct, tactical language. This is a field guide, not a board deck.
5. Be specific about timing. "Send the ROI model to Sarah by Thursday at 2pm before her Friday leadership meeting" beats "follow up soon."
6. Do not manufacture information. Mark anything not found as a gap and recommend how the rep can get it.
7. Respect the competitive landscape. Highlight genuine differentiators; let the prospect draw conclusions rather than trashing competitors.
8. Think like the buyer. Every recommendation must pass "Would this make me more or less likely to buy?" Pushy tactics and artificial urgency destroy trust.

## Edge Cases

- **No competitors identified**: Build a competitive section against the status quo (doing nothing, building in-house, manual processes). Every deal competes against inaction.
- **Very early stage deal**: Focus on qualification and discovery; the closing strategy becomes an advancement strategy. Do not write negotiation tactics for a pre-demo deal.
- **Stalled deal**: Diagnose why it stalled (timing, budget, champion left, competing priority) and build a re-engagement strategy around a new compelling event.
- **Renewal/expansion deal**: Shift from acquisition to retention framing. Emphasize value delivered, usage data, and ROI proof over competitive positioning.
- **Multi-product deal**: Map each product to a different stakeholder and use case. Build separate value propositions per product line under a unified closing strategy.