Sales hire offer close

Purpose

Offers to strong candidates fail in two predictable ways. The number goes out before anyone knows whether the candidate would accept it. Or the candidate accepts, resigns, is persuaded to stay, and nobody prepared for that conversation. This skill covers the step between a decision to offer and the new hire's first day, so both failures are managed.

When to use

• The hiring manager has decided to make an offer.
• The candidate has asked for more, or an answer on the number is overdue.
• A counter-offer is expected, or the candidate has resigned.
• A notice period needs planning.

Route elsewhere when:

• The question is the assessment of the candidate. Use sales-hire-scorecard.
• The question is the pay plan for the role. Use gtm-compensation.

Inputs

• The candidate's stated motives, and the figures they have shared about their current package.
• The approved ceiling for the role, from whoever signs off compensation.
• The total package basis: base, variable pay on target, benefits, and any equity at a stated value.
• The notice period in their current contract, and any known counter-offer history.

Procedure

The prime rule

Never make an offer that has not been trial-closed. Ask the candidate, before the figure is sent: if this lands, are you accepting? If the answer is not known, the offer is not ready, however strong the final interview felt.

1. Run the close-ready gate. Check that the candidate has confirmed their motive, their current package, and what would make them accept. If any is unknown, the next step is a conversation, not an offer.
2. Size the gap. Compare the candidate's stated expectation with the approved ceiling on total package, not base alone. Name the gap in the same currency and units.
3. Price up to three structures. Each structure combines base, variable pay, and any sign-on or equity element. For each, state the cost to the company, the signal it sends, and the risk it carries, such as an early departure or a counter-offer.
4. Write trial closes in the candidate's terms. Each asks a question that can be answered yes or no, before the offer is made. Example form: "If the total package reached the figure we discussed, would you accept this week?"
5. Rate counter-offer risk. Consider whether the candidate's current employer is likely to respond, how they have been treated, and how long they have been looking. Write a defense plan: what the company will say, and what it will not change.
6. Rehearse the resignation conversation with the hiring manager, including the likely counter-offer and the planned reply.
7. Plan the notice period as dated steps from the day of resignation to the start date. Set regular contact points so the candidate stays engaged. Assign one owner for that contact.
8. Give one decision. The card ends with a yes or no on the number, for the hiring manager or the approver.

Output

• The close-ready gate result, with any unknowns.
• The gap on total package, in one line.
• Up to three priced structures, each with cost, signal, and risk.
• The trial-close wording.
• The counter-offer risk rating and the defense plan.
• The dated notice-period plan with its owner.
• One yes or no decision.

Quality bar

No offer is made before a trial close is recorded. The gap is sized on total package. Each structure states its cost, signal, and risk. The counter-offer plan exists before the offer is made. The notice period has dates and an owner. Watch for numbers sent before the candidate's answer is known, base-only comparisons, and no plan for a resignation.