The pattern.
- Recap their stated pain in their own words.
- Recap how this solves each piece.
- Ask the close.
Example:
"So just to recap what you told me: you're losing roughly 8 hours a week to the manual reporting, your team is frustrated because they can't see live numbers, and your last vendor disappeared after 60 days. What we just covered solves all three — the automation kills the 8 hours, the dashboard gives the team live visibility, and you have my direct line for the entire onboarding. Sound like the right move?"
Why it works. The prospect can't argue with their own words. By the time you ask the close, they've already heard themselves agree to every premise. Saying no would mean reversing things they said.
Three rules.
- Use their language. Not your features. Your features bore them. Their words activate them.
- One sentence per pain → one sentence per fix. Don't go long. Long summaries feel like a sales pitch.
- End with a soft, confident close. "Sound like the right move?" or "Make sense to lock this in?" — not "what do you think?" (too open).
Pair with the assumptive close for maximum power: "Sound like the right move? — Tuesday or Thursday for kickoff?"