this all sounds about right. refinements i would add:
* don't ask the customer what the next step is, tell them, show them, push them in the right direction. they have a job to do, and don't want to think about yours.
* also setup a final proposal review meeting for last minute q&a. ask what any last hurdles might be. then push hard for the signature, buyers respect a seller who is confidently trying to drive the schedule forward. be polite but drive forward.
* include a deposit, if not the entire licensing fee as a requirement to start work/deployment. a customer that does not pay you is not a real customer, they are trying to manipulate you for some other purpose i.e. reducing their incumbent vendor's price.
* if you have a working product, do not, under any circumstances, offer any kind of "30 day out" clause, or refund, or whatever. this just means you are going to waste 30 days of your time and money. this is fine for SaaS with freemium, but not enterprisey sales/services driven deals.
in larger businesses you can be flexible on the last point (i.e. accepting a purchase order instead of cash), but as a small shop you can't afford to waste your time or be jerked around by assholes.
but honestly i wouldn't even worry about it, if you're a newbie at sales, it's 100% guaranteed you're going to learn that the hard way. c'est la vie.
the 'what happens next' question should be answered or asked depending on the client's personality. sometimes the client wants to be a little important in the negotiations or the company clearly has their own way of doing things, so I ask them 'now what', but it is never asked so bluntly. More along the lines of "To move forward, I typically would send you a proposal/invoice, but I would defer to you on how you company handles this. What works for you?"
* don't ask the customer what the next step is, tell them, show them, push them in the right direction. they have a job to do, and don't want to think about yours.
* also setup a final proposal review meeting for last minute q&a. ask what any last hurdles might be. then push hard for the signature, buyers respect a seller who is confidently trying to drive the schedule forward. be polite but drive forward.
* include a deposit, if not the entire licensing fee as a requirement to start work/deployment. a customer that does not pay you is not a real customer, they are trying to manipulate you for some other purpose i.e. reducing their incumbent vendor's price.
* if you have a working product, do not, under any circumstances, offer any kind of "30 day out" clause, or refund, or whatever. this just means you are going to waste 30 days of your time and money. this is fine for SaaS with freemium, but not enterprisey sales/services driven deals.
in larger businesses you can be flexible on the last point (i.e. accepting a purchase order instead of cash), but as a small shop you can't afford to waste your time or be jerked around by assholes.
but honestly i wouldn't even worry about it, if you're a newbie at sales, it's 100% guaranteed you're going to learn that the hard way. c'est la vie.