Poc To Contract Closer

Closing playbook for converting a successful ToB POC into a contract. Use when a POC is technically accepted, near final demo, has cleared P0 issues, or has stalled after success and the team needs a structured contract path, gap list, one-page recap, quote action, and launch-node plan.

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

markdown

## 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:

text

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.