poc-to-contract-closer
Use this skill after tob-poc-war-room says the POC is closeable or in closing range.
The goal is to prevent a successful POC from losing momentum. POC success is not a contract. The work is to convert evidence into a buying process.
Required Inputs
Use the POC summary from tob-poc-war-room when available:
- POC result and pass rate
- remaining P0/P1/P2 issues
- accepted business value
- customer champion and decision maker status
- customer silence signal
- competitor signal
- budget / procurement status
- expected launch window
If the input is incomplete, output a closing gap list instead of pretending the path is ready.
Time Risk
Closing has a window. POC success decays fast.
| Time since POC accepted | Risk level | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 0-7 days | Low | Proceed through six steps |
| 7-14 days | Medium | Escalate: Champion must confirm buying path within 48h |
| >14 days no progress | High — Cooldown Risk | Pull Champion for face-to-face. If no response, return to tob-poc-war-room for re-assessment |
| >30 days stalled | Critical | Treat as lost. Archive and note lessons. |
Also check external deadlines:
- contract season / fiscal year end
- customer-side budget cycle
- competitor POC parallel timeline
If a hard deadline is approaching, compress the six-step cycle: do Steps 1-3 in one pass, not sequentially.
Six-Step Closing Method
1. Data Passed
The POC result must be expressible in one sentence:
- what was tested
- what passed
- what business value was proven
- what evidence supports it
If the result is vague, first action is to produce a POC recap, not a quote.
2. Issues Cleared
- P0 must be closed or explicitly accepted as workaround.
- P1 must have owner and post-contract handling plan.
- P2 goes to backlog and must not block closing.
Never let a small open issue become an excuse for silent delay. Decide: close, workaround, or backlog.
3. Decision Maker Reached
Champion approval is not enough.
Check:
- economic buyer
- technical gatekeeper
- business owner
- procurement or legal owner
If decision maker is missing, next action is an executive recap meeting, not another technical demo.
4. One-Page Recap
Produce a one-page recap before pricing pressure starts.
Two-part structure:
- Part A (for decision makers): 3-sentence summary — pain + POC result + decision requested
- Part B (for procurement/internal): 7-field detail — pain, scope, result, business value, risks, rollout, decision
Part A must be forwardable in a chat or email without attachments. Part B supports internal evaluation.
4b. Procurement Path Check
Before quoting, determine the buying path:
- Single source / direct purchase: Quote → internal approval → sign
- Requires bidding / tender: Prepare bid materials, identify timeline, assign bid owner
- Budget not yet locked: Gap list item — who must approve budget and when
- Procurement/legal review required: Submit One-Page Recap + compliance docs, track review SLA
If procurement path is unknown, next action is NOT a quote. Next action is to confirm procurement path with Champion or economic buyer.
Risk: In ToB, most deals with compliance requirements default to bidding. Assuming single source without checking is a common failure mode.
5. Quote
Quote only after the value and buyer path are clear.
Quote action must include:
- package / scope
- assumptions
- commercial owner
- deadline
- what customer must confirm
If budget is unknown, ask for buying-process confirmation before sending a detailed quote.
6. Launch Node
Every closing plan needs a launch node:
- kickoff date
- first production milestone
- customer-side resource
- success metric after launch
Without launch node, the contract has no urgency.
Closing Abort / Fallback
If closing stalls despite following the method:
- >14 days no progress on any step → return to tob-poc-war-room for re-assessment
- Customer explicitly signals competitor entry → trigger tob-competitor-snip
- Customer says "not now" with no alternative timeline → mark as lost, write lessons
- Decision maker leaves company / org change → return to tob-poc-war-room for stakeholder rebuild
Do not keep cycling through the six steps if the underlying buying process has changed.
Output Format
## POC-to-Contract Closing Plan
### 1. Closing Readiness
- Status: Ready / Nearly ready / Not ready / Blocked / Stalled
- Reason:
- Main blocker:
- Time risk: <14 days since POC accepted / 14-30 days / >30 days
- Procurement path: confirmed / unknown / bidding required
### 2. Six-Step Checklist
| Step | Status | Evidence | Gap | Owner | Next action |
### 3. One-Page Recap Draft
**Part A — Decision Maker Summary (3 sentences):**
- Pain → Result → Request
**Part B — Internal Evaluation Detail:**
- Original pain:
- POC scope:
- Result:
- Business value:
- Remaining risks:
- Rollout proposal:
- Decision requested:
### 4. Customer Message
- Recipient:
- Objective:
- Draft:
### 5. Quote / Commercial Action
- Quote now? yes/no
- Scope:
- Assumptions:
- Owner:
- Deadline:
### 6. Launch Node
- Proposed kickoff:
- First milestone:
- Customer dependency:
- Success metric:
### 7. Risks
- Buying-process risk:
- Technical residual risk:
- Silence / momentum risk:
- Time risk: cooling window status
- Procurement path risk: single source vs bidding uncertainty
Acceptance Example
Input:
POC pass rate 93%. Four of five issues closed within 48h. Last issue has workaround. Champion says result is good. No decision maker meeting yet. Customer has been quiet for 7 days after recap.
Expected reasoning:
- technically ready, commercially stalled.
- decision maker path is the main blocker.
- create one-page recap and ask champion for executive/procurement meeting.
- do not lead with a detailed quote until buying path is confirmed.
Boundaries
- Do not invent price, discount, contract terms, or launch date.
- Do not call the deal ready if decision maker is unknown.
- Do not hide unresolved P0 issues.
- Do not output generic sales copy. Tie every action to POC evidence.
