How Sales Actually Close in 2026

Unless they're wiring you a $10,000 check on the call in front of you, they turn into this formal freak and you're like, good God, this is like an absolutely different person. All of the TELS training that you'll see online, the vast majority of it covers calls. So closing frameworks, opening, closing. It might be some subset of basically cold calls or relationship building or closing. A lot of it is closing and then some of it is cold calling. The crazy thing with all of that is that none of it covers the other ultimately platforms that people use the most when they're closing, which is email and just messaging, whether it's Slack, whether it's WhatsApp, which is kind of crazy when you think about it, right? Because basically a lot of people F-U-C-K up deals on email or WhatsApp. And all we see is the other side of it, which is what just happened on the closing call. So first of all, I just want you to be conscious of that because as soon as you're conscious of that, you realize there's a massive deficit within the way in which you're trained and what you're actually looking at when it comes to your training and it's very lopsided and what you'll often see is then just this whole world of stuff that is worthy of review because it's the whole full journey which is why when it comes to selling actually it's not just about your ability to communicate over the phone it's your ability to write really good emails And it's your ability to write in this day and age really good WhatsApp messages. And it's your ability to send really good voice notes because a lot of stuff will happen over these mediums. And a lot of the deals that you'll find that you'll close will happen. The final piece will often happen over email or over WhatsApp, over DMs, basically, because you get the kind of big yes, let's say, when someone listens through to a 30, 45 minute pitch. But then you have to get the subsequent succession of small yeses that typically happen over email. I've got to escalate it to finance. They've got some questions. I've got to talk to legal. They had some line items about the contract. I've got to talk to the wife. My wife's coming back with these questions and they're not prepared to be on the phone or meeting on the phone seems nonsensical because I've already had a 45 minute call with you. So first of all, I just want to highlight the fact that these are areas that you really need to start looking at just yourself for independent analysis. The biggest discrepancies I've seen as a simple example is a lot of people don't talk the way that they write. So I've seen it so many times. People can be super casual, really friendly and warm on calls, and then they turn into this formal freak on email. And you're like, good God, this is like an absolutely different person. And you come across as almost rude on email, because what happens is that a lot of people write the way that they've been taught academically or formally, which isn't really a reflection in this day and age of how people communicate in general. Because the world's, of course, changed quite dramatically, but people's formal written training typically stops at a degree level. Or if you continue beyond that at a corporate career level. And what you'll see is that that's actually a lot of the time not empowered communication. And there's different types of things that you'll be closing, right? You'll be closing someone on the idea of turning up to a call because you'll go from, in your case, a cold call. You've got... two to ten minutes to convince them that it's worthy of having another call that's going to be 30 to 45 minutes. That's actually what you're trying to close. You're not trying to close product. You're trying to close attention. And then once they've got the attention, it would be Gina's role to close on product. So we're all closing, really, in a way. So it's worth then line iteming. all of the areas in which you communicate because they're all of the areas that need to be put under purview so you've got to widen your analytical lens fundamentally i don't see that happening anywhere online like where i haven't to be honest with you and it might be that i'm not catching everything but i've not seen for example an email tear down in a sales training where they look at how people reply and say what are you doing here what is the inference of that you're not noticing what's hidden between the lines with what's being said versus what's been implied. So I really encourage you to look at the full scope of your actual sales communication, because again, the actual closing actually mostly happens over email. Closing doesn't happen on calls. It's a big misnomer. People don't send you the money on the call most of the time. They send you money after they get off the call, and then there'll be a final series of questions off the call. And they're the moments that need to be managed. Same thing with cold calling. They say, great, I'm ready to turn up to a call sometime next week, but it's a week away. And now they're going to really turn up to a 30 to 45 minute call from an outbound actual call. To be honest with you, it's more likely to be no rather than yes, no matter how good the call was. So there's this body of work to be done between the call and the close. And that's not covered in most literature, which is, I just find to be ridiculous. And it perhaps unfortunately comes from a place of people's actually what I would call closing inexperience, because it would be logical for me to say, great, we've covered your closing on calls. Now let's start to look at how you respond on email and how you manage ultimately questions, objections and deal progression on email. What about also on WhatsApp? What about when someone sends you a question? What manner are you replying? Are you sending a comprehensive voice note? Are you sending a small written message? We're not even going to the idea of videos also, right? When someone sends quite a detailed email and you're unable to meet them and you think that, right, I could send a really detailed written explanation. Is that going to communicate what I need to communicate? Or should I really send a loom or a video, basically, just going through some of the elements of the proposal? So I think that as you... As we as sales professionals travel through ultimately our career, you want to get all elements of your ability to pitch in alignment. Because if you start to analyze each of those as buckets within their own right, you'll quickly identify that, you know what, I am not half as strong on WhatsApp as I am on calls. And that's actually a real problem because a lot of my prospecting is going to be done on WhatsApp and it's not going to be done on calls. So actually, I need to get really good at the WhatsApp side. I need to get really good at that side. Then this whole ultimately layer of skills and skill acquisition opens up. So this is grammar. Of course, this is looking at, for example, how to reply to emails. So for example, I'll give you a couple of areas, right? Just a sliver where I see that a lot of people slip up when it comes to communication outside of calls. that I see people get wrong all the time and I see that and I think this is going to prevent you or this is going to stop you from getting a deal over the line. So examples include but are not limited to when people send a detailed email with multiple points, right? I've got x, y, z question. What you really should do is reply in line. Put your hand up if you're not sure what I mean by inline comments, if you're not sure. Right, so cool, great. So what will happen is someone will have six points on an email And then your reply basically with a block of text above. But logically, what you want to do is reply inside the lines to each of their actual comments so that they can see that they've almost got a blow-by-blow breakdown to all of their actual comments. It's a much more effective way to reply because what happens is that they, by the time you reply, will have processed another 50 emails. and then they'll have forgotten the line-by-line items which they sent across to you in the order which in which they sent it in. So you need to reply back so they can effectively read their own comments and read your replies together like so almost like it's a real synchronous conversation because if you respond back a week later imagine Gina you send me six points about a proposal I sent across to you and by that time you've also organizing flights out of the country because you're going for a holiday. You've also spoken to your team about a new initiative. And then I reply back with detailed replies. You'll probably have forgotten exactly what the points are. Unless I reply in line and then you're able to see, ah, okay, so I said this and then you said that. I said this and you said that. So that's something I see people get wrong all the time. And it's about sales psychology, right? People get it wrong all the time. Another example is when someone does send you, for example, a block of text, and some of it ultimately is not going to be effectively dealt with in, for example, a written format, because you can sense that there's not just logical questions that they're asking, but there's maybe a sense of emotional fear that's coming across on email or on text, and that needs to be dealt with in a manner that supersedes a written format. So then there's decisions that need to be made. should I try and ring them? But you know what? I've already spent an hour and a half on the phone with this person and I don't think that they really want to talk to me anymore. Or the emotion is coming, for example, from someone who's outside of the conversation and I'm not going to get access to that person. So how can I convey my sincerity without being able to talk to that person? So all I'm trying to illustrate today is that none of this is covered in any sales training that I've seen, which is kind of crazy when you think about it. because this is where the closing happens you don't close on sales calls unless people wire the money in front of you and mostly that does not happen especially in a corporate environment it's just unusual for that to happen even in a personal environment when you're doing individual sales people say great i'll pay you within 30 minutes of getting off the call and then there's probably 101 questions that will come up right so this is something i encourage you to look through when it comes to reviewing the full sales cycle. How are you emailing? How are you WhatsAppping? How are you sending LinkedIn messages? How are you voice noting? How are you and when are you replying over what medium? Just widen the lens, understand that that's all part of your sales ability and you'll quickly begin to identify areas where there's probably significant opportunity for improvement or significant opportunity for an outside party to come and review what you're actually doing. because mostly we're unaware of the mistakes that we're making and not even aware that they're mistakes in general. So with that being said, I will now go to questions and comments. So I'm looking at Gina's question. Would you say it's not informal, but actually prefer to use some emotions or emojis alike? So mirroring is, of course, a really big thing, Gina. So people talk about mirroring, but it's not always mirroring. You can mirror and level up, but you don't want to always level down. So if someone's using emojis and then you're really flat, that's leveled down. If someone's flat and then you're using an emoji or two, that's okay because a lot of people are often drawn to people's enthusiasm, but typically people aren't drawn to people being very formal and corporate, right? You can make some general broad sweep assumptions based upon a niche that someone's in, but generally speaking, people respond to someone who seems enthusiastic. because enthusiasm correlates with people's impression as to delivery so i've won deals where they said d you know what you're saying the same stuff the other guys are saying but your energy when you come into calls kind of just tells me that i feel safe with you your service is exactly the same deepak you're selling lead generation you're selling a self-assessment but you know what when i talk to you i just somehow feel that you're gonna make sure that i'm taking care of and i'm looked after So in an actual formal environment, it's quite easy, especially depending upon the world that you're selling in. It's like energy that you communicate over a call is an easy way to separate yourself. Mel in catering does that quite well, that she'll sell her own sense of energy when she's on calls. So there's small things that you can do to distinguish yourself, and energy is often one of them, especially where you need to find finer points of differentiation when you're in ultimately a commoditized market. where you don't have for example incredible offer that's world beating which by and large is quite uncommon if you're in the services space unless people ultimately have a offer that's irresistible you are selling something that someone else is selling also that will ultimately outside in sound very similar so if we're selling we at pearl em and sell lead generation it's not a world-beating product that no one's ever heard of before and we don't necessarily have a unique mechanism Everyone likes to think that they do. But when you're listening to five sales pitches in a row, you're like, dude, the comment from the 8 Mile, the Eminem movie is like, pay attention. You're saying the same shit that he said. So when you think in those terms, a lot of it will come down to a manner of individual difference. And that can be communicated on email as well as voice notes. So voice notes are fabulous from a closing perspective, because what I've often done historically is an example. He'll say, look, you know. I'm talking to my wife about it and she's got some concerns and I'll say, oh, amazing. What's your wife's name? It's Mary. I'll be like, brilliant. Hey, Mary. So look, my name's Deepak. I just really wanted to communicate the X, Y, Z, this, that. And he's like, amazing. I played that voice note to my wife. She's happy. Let's move on. Right? So there's all of these infilled small tactics that you can begin to ultimately use that sit well outside the sales call itself. So begin to think about. this guys and these are the areas where you can really accelerate your ability to close because most of the literature that i read online or that i see online is all about right i'm going to teach you a closing framework on the call the closing doesn't happen on the call unless they're wiring you a ten thousand dollar check on the court in front of you which doesn't happen mostly and i've been doing sales for 10 years i have had one call closes i have closed people over the phone but you experience will show you that mostly doesn't happen it just mostly doesn't happen and that actually what happens is a load of questions that come after the call but people aren't dealing with that which i always find strange anyway none of this and that is it for today

Hey guys! Looking to improve your sales skills beyond just sales calls? In this video we break down how deals actually close in the real world and why mastering email messaging and WhatsApp conversations is just as important as your sales calls.

Most sales training focuses almost entirely on calls. You learn how to open a call, run discovery, deliver a pitch, and close the deal. But the reality is that many deals are not finalized on the call itself. After the call ends the real process continues through email WhatsApp Slack and direct messages where prospects ask questions review contracts and get approvals.

In this LemCoach sales training breakdown we explore why many sales reps lose deals after the call even when the presentation goes well. The missing skill is written communication. Strong emails clear follow ups structured messages and effective voice notes often determine whether a deal moves forward or stalls.

You will also see how the sales process typically continues after the initial yes from the pitch. Prospects often need to check with finance legal partners or even family members before committing. This means the follow up conversation becomes critical.

Understanding how to communicate clearly across these channels helps you guide prospects through the final stages of the buying process and close more deals consistently.

Chapters
0:00 How Sales Training Focuses Too Much On Calls
0:12 How Sales Behavior Changes On High Value Calls
0:28 How Most Sales Training Is Structured
0:40 How Closing Frameworks Dominate Sales Training
0:55 How Cold Calling Is Often Taught
1:10 How Relationship Based Selling Is Taught
1:25 How Most Training Ignores Messaging Channels
1:40 How Email Plays A Major Role In Closing Deals
1:55 How Messaging Platforms Influence Sales
2:10 How WhatsApp And Slack Affect Sales Communication
2:30 How Deals Are Often Lost In Written Communication
2:55 How Sales Calls Are Only One Part Of The Process
3:20 How The Real Sales Process Continues After Calls
3:45 How Buyers Move Toward A First Yes
4:10 How Small Yes Decisions Move Deals Forward
4:40 How Buyers Escalate Deals Internally
5:05 How Finance Approval Affects Deals
5:30 How Legal Questions Slow Deals
6:00 How Contract Discussions Continue After Calls
6:25 How Personal Decision Makers Affect Deals
6:50 How Messaging Channels Handle Follow Ups
7:15 How Email Conversations Continue The Deal
7:40 How DM Conversations Move Deals Forward
8:10 How Written Communication Builds Confidence
8:45 How Sales Reps Should Improve Messaging Skills
9:20 How Email Writing Influences Closing
10:00 How WhatsApp Messaging Affects Sales
10:40 How Voice Notes Support Sales Conversations
11:20 How Multi Channel Communication Closes Deals
12:00 How Sales Reps Should Review Their Communication
13:00 How Training Should Include Messaging Channels
14:00 How Full Sales Journeys Actually Work
15:10 How Better Messaging Improves Sales Results

🔗 Helpful Links
LemCoach https://lemcoach.com

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