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From the notebook · 2014

Sales Technique

A seven-step routine from one page of an old notebook.

In 2014 I wrote my sales routine on a single page of a lined notebook. Seven steps, numbered from zero, because the first one happens before you meet anyone.

I’ve typed it up below with a note on each step. Where I circled a word on the page, it’s circled here too.

Dale P. Deacon · Written 2014 · Posted 30 October 2026 · 4 min read

Handwritten notebook page: Sales Technique, Dale 2014. An overview of steps 0 to 6, with arrows looping from steps 4 and 5 back to steps 2 and 3, and notes on step 0, Preparation.
Page one, as written.

TL;DR

The page, typed up

  1. 0PreparationResearchRevise routineProfessionalism
  2. 1PresenceRespectfulnessEngagementPositivityAcceptance
  3. 2Introduction + ValidationIntro scriptNeedsValidate
  4. 3Qualify Product6 influencesEEE stories
  5. 4Potential BarriersAssertionsFeedbackTriggers
  6. 5LoopingActing: logicPay: emotion
  7. 6ClosingSummary stackFollow upNetworking

Steps 2 to 5 aren’t a straight line. The arrows on the page loop back from Barriers and Looping to earlier steps. More on that in step 5.

Preparation

Step zero happens before the meeting, which is why it’s zero. The page lists three parts: research, revise the routine, and professionalism.

  • Know their clients, business, industry and culture.
  • Research the likely objections and FAQs.
  • Revise your knowledge, your facts and the best-case scenario.
  • Have a simple agenda.
  • Run through the routine: intro, prospecting and validation, qualifying, barriers, loop, close.
  • Arrive early.

The last note is about attitude: sharp, respected, composed and methodical. Look like the authority in the room, and put the emphasis on the key phrases you prepared.

Presence

  • Respectfulness
  • Engagement
  • Positivity
  • Acceptance

This is how you behave once the meeting starts. Respect their time. Stay engaged, and listen more than you talk. Accept what they tell you, even when it’s not what you hoped to hear.

Positivity is the one I circled.

Introduction + Validation

Script your opening. The first minute is the one most likely to go wrong, so don’t improvise it.

Then ask about their needs, and keep asking until you could explain their problem back to them. That’s the validation: say their need back in their words and wait for the yes.

Intro scriptHi, I’m Deac. Here’s why I’m here.

NeedsWhat are you trying to solve?

…

ValidateSo what you need is ___. Right?

Right.

Qualify Product

Once you know the need, show how the product meets it. The page says “6 influences”: Robert Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion, from his 1984 book Influence.

  1. ReciprocityPeople return favours.
  2. CommitmentPeople stick with what they’ve already said yes to.
  3. Social proofPeople follow people like them.
  4. AuthorityPeople listen to experts.
  5. LikingPeople buy from people they like.
  6. ScarcityPeople want what’s running out.

Stories is circled. Tell them about a client like them: what they needed, what you did, and what happened.

Potential Barriers

Something always gets in the way. Price, timing, a boss who has to sign off.

Assertions
State the facts you prepared in step zero, plainly.
Feedback
Ask how it’s sounding as you go, so barriers come up while you can still answer them.
Triggers
Listen for the words and questions that show where they’re stuck.

On the page an arrow runs from here back to step 3. A barrier usually means the product isn’t qualified yet.

Looping

When a barrier comes up, loop back. Return to their needs (step 2) or re-qualify the product (step 3), then come forward again. Repeat until there’s nothing left in the way.

ActingLogic

PayEmotion

Both halves of the note are circled. Logic gets someone to act. Emotion gets them to pay. Each loop should give them both: a reason that adds up, and a reason to want it.

Closing

To close, stack up everything they’ve agreed to. Each need, and how you meet it, one on top of the other. By the top of the stack, saying yes is just agreeing with what they’ve already said.

  1. Need met
  2. Need met
  3. Barrier answered
  4. Yes

Then follow up. The last word on the page is networking: the people you meet in this deal are where the research for the next one starts. Which takes you back to step zero.