---
title: Sales Systems That Don't Need You
summary: Build a documented sales playbook another person can run so pipeline never stops when you step away.
est_minutes: 20
sort: 5
---

Welcome to Module 2.5.

The biggest bottleneck in most operator businesses isn't lead generation, it's sales. Every call routes to the founder. Every proposal gets custom-built. Every objection lands on one person.

By the end of this module you'll have a Documented Sales Playbook that another human can execute. The standard: a sales hire produces close rates within 10-15% of yours within 60 days of onboarding.

**The Lie Operators Tell Themselves**

"Sales can't be systematized. Every customer is different."

That's the comforting lie. Repeated long enough, it becomes the operator's identity. "I'm the sales engine because no one else can be."

Two things are true:

1. **At the surface,** yes, every customer is different.
2. **At the operational level,** 80% of every sales conversation is the same. The objections repeat. The discovery questions repeat. The decision criteria repeat. The proposal structure repeats.

The 80% is what we're systematizing. The remaining 20% is what you still do.

This isn't a downgrade of the sales role. It's an upgrade, from full-time sales operator to coach of a sales function.

**The Five Playbook Components**

A Documented Sales Playbook has exactly five components. Every one is required. Operators who skip components get a half-built playbook that doesn't actually transfer.

**1. Qualification Script.** The 5 questions every prospect call opens with. Designed to filter out bad-fit buyers in the first 7 minutes. Without this, you spend full sales conversations on buyers who would never close.

**2. Discovery Script.** The 8-question framework that surfaces the buyer's real trigger, search behavior, and decision criteria. Uses your Module 2.2 customer intelligence directly.

**3. Objection Library.** Your top 8 objections, with documented responses, organized by buyer profile. The library is what makes the playbook executable by someone other than you.

**4. Proposal Template.** Addresses your top 3 decision criteria, in customer priority order, with proof points. Designed to convert at 30-50%, not the 10-20% typical of custom proposals.

**5. Close Protocol.** The 3-step sequence from proposal-sent to signed-agreement. Specific, time-bound, repeatable.

All five components live in one document. That document is your Sales Playbook.

**The Qualification Script**

Five questions. Every call. Same order.

The structure:

**Q1: Trigger.** "What's happening in your business right now that put us on a call?"

This is your single most important question. It tells you if the buyer is in active buying mode or just curious.

**Q2: Authority.** "Who else is involved in making this kind of decision?"

If the buyer says "just me," and they're an owner, great. If they say "just me," and they're a director, the deal will stall at their boss. You need to know.

**Q3: Budget.** "Help me understand budget. Have you set a number for this, or are we figuring it out together?"

The polite framing matters. The information matters more. Buyers without a number for "this kind of thing" usually aren't ready.

**Q4: Timing.** "If we found the right fit on this call, when would you ideally start?"

"This quarter" is real. "Eventually" is not.

**Q5: Comparison.** "Have you looked at anyone else? What did you see?"

Tells you the competitive set. Tells you what they've already ruled out.

After these 5 questions you know in the first 7-10 minutes whether this call is worth the next 30 minutes. About 30-40% of calls will disqualify at this gate. That's the system working.

**The Discovery Script**

Eight questions. After qualification. Built directly on your Module 2.2 customer intelligence.

The structure:

**Q1: Trigger story.** "Walk me through the moment you decided this was a problem worth solving."

**Q2: Current state.** "What's the cost of staying where you are for the next 12 months?"

**Q3: Tried before.** "Have you tried to solve this in the past? What happened?"

**Q4: Decision criteria.** "What are the top 3 things that need to be true for you to choose someone?"

**Q5: Wins/losses.** "Tell me about a vendor you loved working with. What did they do?"

**Q6: Internal politics.** "If you said yes today, what does the path-to-yes look like internally?"

**Q7: Worst case.** "What's the worst thing that could happen if this engagement goes sideways?"

**Q8: Specific outcome.** "If we're sitting here in 6 months and this worked perfectly, what's changed?"

Each question maps to a specific Module 2.2 intelligence category. The buyer's answers are the inputs for the proposal you'll write at the end of the call.

**The Objection Library**

The top 8 objections every operator-business sale encounters:

1. **Price.** "That's more than I budgeted."
2. **Timing.** "Can we start in 60 days?"
3. **Internal alignment.** "I need to check with my partner / board / CFO."
4. **Compare to alternative.** "How are you different from [competitor]?"
5. **Risk.** "What if this doesn't work?"
6. **Self-do.** "Why couldn't we just do this internally?"
7. **Custom scope.** "Can we tweak the scope to be just X?"
8. **Loyalty.** "I'm already working with someone."

For each, document:
- The most common version of the objection
- The 2-sentence response
- The follow-up question that surfaces the real concern
- The proof point you bring out (case study, specific example, deliverable preview)

A real Objection Library is 4-6 pages. It's the most valuable section of the playbook because it's what a new sales hire actually uses on every call.

**The Proposal Template**

Custom proposals close at 10-20%. Template proposals close at 30-50%.

Counterintuitive, but true. Here's why:

**Custom proposals are slow.** Buyers feel the seller's hesitation. The proposal arrives 5 days after the call, the urgency is dead, the buyer has moved on.

**Custom proposals are inconsistent.** What you put in proposal A is different from proposal B. Half your proposals undersell, half oversell. None match the buyer's decision criteria precisely.

**Template proposals fit your tier structure.** From Module 2.3 you have 3 tiers. The proposal is a recommendation: "Based on what you said, Tier 2 is the right fit. Here's the scope, here's the price, here's the timeline."

The template has 6 sections:
1. The buyer's situation (in their words, from discovery)
2. The recommended tier and why
3. Scope (specific deliverables)
4. Timeline
5. Price
6. Next step (one clear action)

Sent within 24 hours of the discovery call. Ideally same day.

**The Close Protocol**

Three steps from proposal-sent to signed-agreement.

**Step 1 (Day 0):** Send the proposal. End the email with a specific time frame: "I'll follow up Wednesday."

**Step 2 (Day 2):** Specific follow-up. Not "checking in." A specific question or value: "I realized I should have included [X]. Adding it here. Any questions?"

**Step 3 (Day 5):** Direct close. "Wanted to make a final decision easier, here's a link to schedule a 15-min call if questions, or just reply yes/no/timing."

If no response by Day 7, the deal moves to nurture (long-cycle). Don't keep poking. The vast majority of operator-business buyers who say no don't say no, they go silent. Treat silence as no. Move on.

This protocol closes within 7 days from proposal to signed for about 50-65% of qualified deals.

**What To Do Right Now**

Four things:

1. **Open the workbook.** Complete Section A (Qualification Script). 20 minutes.

2. **Build the Discovery Script** in Section B, pulling directly from your Module 2.2 customer intelligence. This is the highest-leverage section of the playbook.

3. **Build the Objection Library** using YOUR real sales history. Pull from your last 20 sales calls. The objections you actually hear are the only ones that matter.

4. **Write the Proposal Template** to fit your Module 2.3 tier structure. One template. Send within 24 hours every time.

Take the quiz.

The test of "done" for the Sales Playbook: someone who has never seen your business before can run a discovery call and produce a usable proposal using only the playbook document. If they can't, the playbook isn't done.

I'll see you in Module 2.6, Retention and Customer Lifetime Value, where we turn the customers you close in this module into multi-year revenue that compounds.
