The Solopreneur's Guide to Closing Deals
dailyblog.scottdclary.com
Hi All,
Here’s my daily newsletter navigating the crossroads of business, growth, and life.
If you love this content (please share it), but also…
Start here > https://stan.store/scottdclary
Check out my Podcast, connect with me on YouTube / Twitter, and read my Weekly newsletter.
Sponsor: FreshBooks
The numbers speak for themselves - over 30 million people have chosen FreshBooks, processing more than $60 billion in invoices and saving an incredible 192 hours annually on accounting tasks. As an all-in-one accounting solution, FreshBooks helps entrepreneurs and freelancers create professional estimates, track time, automatically bill clients, and capture expenses on the go - all while integrating seamlessly with over 100 business tools and providing award-winning customer service.
Ready to stop drowning in receipts and chasing payments? Start your 30-day free trial at freshbooks.com - no credit card required.
Plus, if you act before January 7th, get an exclusive Success Story listener offer of 75% off your first three months at freshbooks.com/pricing-offer.
Transform Your Business with FreshBooks
Converting Leads Without a Sales Team
Every day, thousands of solopreneurs wake up and face the same crushing realization: they have leads, but no real system to close them. You check your inbox, see those "interested in learning more" messages, and feel that familiar mix of excitement and dread. Because let's be honest - you know most of these leads will slip through your fingers.
It's not that you're bad at sales. You're probably great at what you do. The problem is that you're trying to run a corporate sales playbook without a corporate sales team. You've read all the advice about "building a sales funnel" and "nurturing leads" - but none of it feels quite right when you're doing everything yourself.
The numbers tell a painful story. While 82% of solopreneurs say sales is their biggest challenge, only 13% have a real system for converting leads. Most are stuck in an endless cycle of "getting on quick calls" that go nowhere and writing long emails that never get responses.
But here's what changes everything: Converting leads without a team isn't about doing everything - it's about doing the right things in the right order. It's about having a simple, repeatable process that works even when you're the only one running it.
Today, you'll learn a dead-simple system for qualifying and closing leads that takes less than 15 minutes a day. You'll see how to use basic tools you already have to track and close deals. You'll understand which leads are worth your time, and how to gracefully decline the rest. And you'll get a framework that feels personal, not robotic.
The Hidden Truth About Solo Sales
Most "sales experts" are lying to you. Not intentionally, but they're teaching strategies built for teams of 20, not businesses of one. Every time they say "just have your sales team..." or "your account executives should..." they're describing a world that doesn't match yours.
But here's the reality no one talks about: Being solo isn't a weakness - it's your secret weapon. When prospects talk directly to the person who runs the business, magic happens. No corporate script. No hand-offs between departments. Just real conversations about real problems.
Think about your own buying experiences. When was the last time you actually enjoyed talking to a sales team? But I bet you remember conversations with founders who really understood your problems. Who could make decisions on the spot. Who didn't need to "check with their manager" about every little thing.
Data from the U.S. Small Business Administration reveals something fascinating: Solo businesses with direct founder involvement close deals 3x faster than those using traditional sales teams. But here's the kicker - they typically try to close fewer deals overall.
The Modern Solo Sales Stack
You don't need fancy CRMs or AI-powered sales tools. The best solo sales stack is probably already in your pocket. Your phone and email are enough - if you use them right.
When a lead comes in, you need exactly three pieces of information before you can do anything else - what they need, what they can spend, and who makes decisions. Here's the 15-minute call structure that gets you all three:
The Five-Minute Open Start with "What made you reach out today?" Then shut up and listen. Don't pitch. Don't explain your services. Just let them talk about their problem. You'll learn more in these five minutes than in an hour of back-and-forth emails.
The Seven-Minute Dig Ask these three questions in order:
"What have you already tried?"
"What's your timeline for solving this?"
"What would solving this be worth to your business?"
The Three-Minute Close End with "Who else needs to be involved in this decision?" and "What makes sense as a next step?"
The Post-Call System (Do This Immediately)
Right after you hang up - literally while their words are still fresh - do these four things:
Quick Voice Note: Open your phone and say:
Their exact problem (in their words)
The budget signs you heard
Decision-making setup
Your gut feeling
Tag & Sort: Put them in exactly one category:
Hot (Ready to move, can afford it, can decide)
Warm (Interested but something's missing)
Not Now (Missing too many pieces)
Next Step: Write the single next action needed:
Send proposal by [date]
Follow up about [specific thing]
Check back in [timeframe]
Timeline: Put a firm date on when this next step happens
The whole post-call process takes 3 minutes max. But these 3 minutes determine whether this lead turns into revenue or disappears into your inbox forever.
The 15-Minute Sales Machine
Here's a truth that took me years to learn: Most leads die in the gaps between conversations. Not during your calls. Not in your emails. In the quiet spaces where momentum fades and enthusiasm cools.
But here's what changes everything: When you're solo, you can move at the speed of opportunity. No team meetings. No approval chains. Just you, making decisions in real-time.
Every morning, before you do anything else, spend 15 minutes on what I call "lead momentum." Pull up your voice notes from yesterday. Check your quick qualify notes. Then do exactly three things:
Message the hot leads first. These are people who mentioned specific problems you can solve. Don't pitch - just reflect back their situation and suggest one clear next step.
Send quick updates to the warm leads. These are folks still figuring things out. Share one useful insight related to their challenge. No pressure, just value.
Archive the cold ones. Some leads just aren't ready. That's fine. Add them to your "check back in 3 months" list and move on.
Turning Good Leads Into Actual Revenue
Remember those voice notes from your qualification calls? Here's what most people miss - they don't just tell you who's interested, they tell you how to close the deal.
When you play back those notes, listen for what I call "buying signals." Not the obvious ones like budget discussions. Listen for the specific problems they're trying to solve right now.
Here's what separates deals that close from those that drag on forever: Timing matters more than enthusiasm. A prospect who needs something solved this quarter will move faster than someone who "loves your approach" but has no pressing issues.
The game-changer for me was realizing that my follow-up needed to match their urgency, not my own. When someone tells you they need to solve a problem by next month, that's your real timeline. Not your calendar, not your revenue goals.
Your daily revenue time (that hour we talked about earlier) becomes way more focused when you work this way. Instead of following up with everyone, you're moving forward with the leads who actually need something now.
This isn't about being selective or difficult. It's about respect for everyone's time - including yours. When you focus on leads with real urgency, you have more energy for serving your actual clients.
Reading Urgency Without Being a Mind Reader
Most solopreneurs waste time trying to guess how serious their leads are. But the signs are right there in your voice notes if you know what to listen for.
When you play back those qualification calls, these words tell you everything:
"We need this done by..."
"Our current system is costing us..."
"We've already tried..."
"The team is asking for..."
But here's what changes everything. Real urgency isn't about their words - it's about their actions. When someone books a follow-up call before they hang up, that means something. When they send you details without being asked, that means something.
Converting Urgency Into Revenue
Once you spot a lead with real urgency, your job gets simpler. Stop selling. Start solving.
Pull up their voice notes. Look at the specific problem they mentioned. Then send them one clear message: "Based on what you shared about [their exact problem], here's what solving this looks like..."
No long proposals. No complex pricing tables. Just:
The problem (in their words)
How you solve it
What it costs
When you can start
Two paragraphs max. If they have real urgency, they'll respond fast. If they don't, you've saved yourself weeks of follow-up.
The Truth About Solo Sales
Let me tell you something most sales experts won't. When you're solo, you don't need more leads. You need the right leads at the right time.
Think about your best clients right now. The ones who value what you do. The ones who energize you. They probably came to you with real problems and real urgency. That's your blueprint.
Remember: You're not a sales team. You're a business owner who closes deals. Big difference.
Scott
P.S. Tomorrow morning, play back your most recent lead call voice note. Listen for those urgency signals we talked about. Then send just one message to the lead who needs something solved now. That's it. Start there.