This Is The Play

The Future of This Is The Play

Quick announcement episode. Steven shares a brief update on This Is The Play, why the release schedule paused, and what the show will look like when it returns. The long-term direction is more interviews with sales reps and leaders, so listeners can hear the real needle-movers from multiple perspectives (not just through Steven’s lens). He also introduces a new solo podcast launching soon: Calm Under Quota. It’s built for sales leaders and reps who want to make better decisions under pressure. The lens is Stoicism, plus Steven’s experiences in sales leadership, endurance sport, and disciplined training. The tone is intended to be reflective, practical, and not preachy. Subscribe so you don’t miss the new drop and the return of interviews. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenwerley/ or get in touch at https://closable.ai/

AI Pre-Call Brief: 5-Step Play to Win Every Meeting

Great sales calls begin before the meeting. Steven Werley walks through a fast pre-call workflow that uses AI to assemble a one-page brief so you enter discovery prepared, objection-ready, and set up to secure a clear next step. Key takeaways * Gather the essentials fast: invite, email thread, CRM facts, quick AI research. * Build a one-page brief with persona, pains, outcomes, objections, five discovery questions, binary next step, and proof points. * Use Steven’s plain-English prompt to generate a printable brief in minutes. * Label assumptions and avoid invented facts so the brief stays reliable on the call. Timestamps 00:00 Intro and show format 01:20 Why strong calls start before the call 01:39 Five-step play overview 01:46 Gather inputs, invite and thread and CRM facts and quick AI research 02:13 One-page brief sections, persona and pains and outcomes and likely objections 02:32 Follow the brief on the call and mark assumptions to verify 02:57 AI sidecar overview 03:27 Build the printable one pager in ChatGPT 03:31 The exact prompt to generate the brief 04:30 Guardrails, one page and plain English and assumption labels 05:07 Confirm time zones for the two realistic slots 05:20 Action in five minutes and close

The Single Source Sprint: Elevate Your Sales Game

The Single Source Sprint: Elevate Your Sales Game In this episode of 'This is the Play,' Steven Werley introduces 'The Single Source Sprint,' a strategy designed to place sales managers in the top 5% of their field. The key to this method is establishing a reliable CRM as the single source of truth, scrubbing away cluttered and inaccurate data. Werley outlines a daily 10-minute and weekly 20-minute routine to ensure CRM cleanliness, emphasizing the importance of seven core fields: owner, stage, amount, close date, last touch, next action, and confidence level. Additionally, leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT can assist in maintaining pipeline hygiene, ultimately boosting decision-making and forecasting accuracy. 00:00 Introduction to the Single Source Sprint 00:55 The Importance of a Single Source of Truth 01:34 Implementing the Daily Hygiene Loop 03:21 Choosing and Enforcing Your CRM 05:19 Daily and Weekly Review Processes 08:15 Leveraging AI for CRM Hygiene 13:05 14-Day Plan for CRM Optimization 13:39 Final Action Steps and Outro The Play: Single-Source Sprint 1. Choose your SSOT: the CRM. Freeze side sheets read-only. 2. Enforce 7 canonical fields: Owner, Stage, Amount, Close date, Last touch, Next action, Confidence. 3. Make “Next action + date” required — otherwise not a valid opp. 4. Build 3 core views: Missing Next Action • Stale by SLA (Hot 24h, Warm 72h, Cold 7d) • Closing This Week. 5. Run a daily 10–15 min Status-Sweep: fix missing next steps, touch stale opps, close junk. 6. Hold a weekly 20-min exceptions review: discuss outliers; every decision = next action. 7. Keep a dashboard with only 3 metrics: Time-to-first-touch • Stage-to-stage days • Win rate by source. Export a simple opps table and let GPT run a hygiene audit, returning a fix list and close/recycle candidates. * Don’t add new fields mid-sprint; stick to the 7 canonical. * Keep dashboards at 3 metrics. * Archive side sheets read-only — no split sources. * Back up before bulk edits. Start (≤5 min): Export today’s open opp view, paste into GPT with the audit prompt, and copy the FIX LIST into your task queue. Finish: Run a 15-minute Status-Sweep today and schedule it daily. AI Sidecar Export a simple opps table and let GPT run a hygiene audit, returning a fix list and close/recycle candidates. Guardrails * Don’t add new fields mid-sprint; stick to the 7 canonical. * Keep dashboards at 3 metrics. * Archive side sheets read-only — no split sources. * Back up before bulk edits. * Action in 5 Start (≤5 min): Export today’s open opp view, paste into GPT with the audit prompt, and copy the FIX LIST into your task queue. Finish: Run a 15-minute Status-Sweep today and schedule it daily.

Speeding Up Sales Handoffs with the Two-Tap Update

Speeding Up Sales Handoffs with the Two-Tap Update This episode discusses the 'Two-Tap Update' strategy for sales teams, focusing on creating brief and consistent call notes to improve handoffs between sales development representatives (SDRs) and closers. The method involves using two templates: 'Outcome' and 'Next Action,' which can be completed in under two minutes. The episode explains how this approach leads to more efficient sales processes, fewer questions during handoffs, and nearly eliminates no-touch opportunities. Additionally, the script introduces an AI tool using ChatGPT to extract these snippets from call transcripts. 00:00 Introduction to the Two-Tap Update 00:36 The Problem with Current Note-Taking 01:43 Implementing the Two-Tap Update 02:34 Detailed Breakdown of Snippet Templates 03:23 Ensuring Consistency and Efficiency 05:13 Leveraging AI for Note-Taking 06:20 Action Steps and Conclusion The Play: Two-Tap Update 1. Save two snippet templates: • Outcome: “Call outcome: [result]. Objection: [x]. Next step proposed: [y].” • Next action: “Next action: [task] on [date/time]; owner [name].” 2. After every call, paste both; tweak a few words; set the next-action date before closing the record. 3. Friday 10-min audit: 100% of opps show a valid next action. AI Sidecar (copy-ready prompt) From this call transcript [paste], extract:1) Outcome snippet in one sentence (result, key objection, proposed next step).2) Next action snippet: a concrete task, realistic date/time, and clear owner.3) If the next step is missing in the transcript, propose one based on the conversation. Return only those two snippets, plain text, ready to paste into CRM. Keep each ≤25 words. Guardrails * Cap updates at ≤2 minutes per call. * Do not close an opportunity without a next action + date. * Keep snippets short; no paragraph “novels.” Action in 5 Start (≤5 min): Paste your most recent transcript into GPT; copy the two snippets into today’s opportunities. Finish: Use Two-Tap on 100% of calls this week and run a Friday audit. Links * 1-page checklist: Coming Soon * Closable.ai [https://closable.ai/]

The Five Line Nudge: A Quick Email Strategy

The Five Line Nudge: A Quick Email Strategy In this micro episode, the five-line nudge is introduced as a quick email technique to rejuvenate stalled deals. The method involves sending a concise, five-line email within 75-100 words that includes context, a value refresher, a friction reducer, a binary next step, and a sign-off. The episode also discusses the AI Sidecar, which uses AI tools to draft these emails from call transcripts. Recommendations include waiting 24-48 hours before following up and personalizing AI-generated drafts. A swipe tool for ready-to-send messages is also available for purchase. 00:00 Introduction to the Five Line Nudge 00:23 Overview of the Episode Structure 00:55 Crafting the Five Line Email 01:33 Detailed Breakdown of Each Line 03:11 Guidelines for Sending the Email 03:42 Using AI to Enhance Your Email 05:26 Optional Follow-Up Tools 06:07 Action Steps and Conclusion The Play: The 5-Line Nudge 1. Subject: “Quick next step?” 2. Context: “We paused on [project/outcome].” 3. Value refresher: “Goal was [result] without [pain].” 4. Friction reducer: “Can do a 10-min check-in or share a mini pilot.” 5. Binary next step: “Tue 2:30 or Wed 10:00 work?” 6. Sign-off: “—Steven” AI Sidecar (copy-ready prompt) Here’s the call transcript/notes and key deal context [paste].Draft a plain-text 5-line follow-up that sounds human, <100 words:- Subject: "Quick next step?"- Line 1: 1-line context in their words- Line 2: value refresher (outcome > features)- Line 3: friction reducer (10-min check-in or mini pilot)- Line 4: binary next step with two realistic time slots- Line 5: "—Steven"Return Version A and Version B. Also include a 1-line SMS variant. Avoid hype, keep it conversational. Guardrails * Plain text only; 75–100 words; no attachments. * Send once; wait 24–48h before any second touch. Action in 5 Start (≤5 min): Paste one transcript snippet into GPT, pick Version A or B, give it a quick humanizing pass, and send to 3 stalled leads. Finish: Send to 10 total and check replies/bookings in 48 hours. Links * 1-page checklist: Coming Soon * Follow-Up Builder ($7): https://grow.closable.ai/get-swipebox-5300