A 6-stage framework for builders who ship whiz-bangs but can't sell them. No charisma required. No guru voice. No 30 minutes showing the whiz-bang off. Just states, transitions, and a merge at the end.
Seven states, indexed from zero. The headline calls it six because arrays start at zero and so does selling. Every stage is insurance for a later stage. Skip one and you pay for every objection at full price, later, when the truth is expensive.
stage-0 lurk
Fifteen minutes of public research before every call. Then weave one or two facts in naturally. Weave, never recite. Nobody trusts a stranger who read their file out loud. But everybody remembers the one caller who did their homework. Prepared beats charming, and it is the opposite of being treated like a number.
This stage is productized as The Lurker, a runnable file: paste it into Claude with a prospect's name, get a one-page pre-call recon brief back. It's free.
stage-1 rapport
One to two minutes of small talk to find the overlap, so nobody feels like a number. No weather talk. Worst case: "Sooo, Claude, where are ya' at in the world?" Whatever they answer, common-ground it.
Then the frame: "Thanks for taking the call with me today. I want you to think of me as your business doctor. I am going to ask you some questions so I can diagnose what's going on and prescribe what you need. Just like a doctor, if I can't help you, I will refer you to a specialist. Does that make sense?" It has to end in a yes.
stage-2 diagnosis
A doctor does not prescribe before examining you. "What brought you in today?" "Are you happy with your X results?" "How long have you had this problem?" "What have you tried?" "Is there a business partner or spouse who should be on this call?"
Then the magic wand: "I just waved a magic wand. It is now one year from today. Where is your business, that would make you happy?"
You are discovering pain, letting them put themselves in the future without pain, and confirming every decision maker is in the room.
stage-3 COMMITMENT
Before anything gets presented: "Perfect! Real quick, before I present my solution... if everything makes sense on the call today, would you be opposed to moving forward at the end of this call?"
The only time "no" means "yes". Ask for a yes here and their survival instinct spikes: why is this person asking me to do business already, do I even trust them? You would never get a clean yes anyway, just a pause and "ummm, sure?" A no is safe to say. So they say it, and now there is a spade in your pocket for later.
Commit to close. It is the name of the site because it is the stage everyone skips.
stage-4 presentation
Present a roadmap broken into steps and/or phases. Never a feature tour. The prospect just needs to see the clear path from where they're at to where they want to be. "Where do you already fall?" They answer. "Being at step 4 is great news!", said out loud. The steps they have not reached ARE the offer. Nobody argues with their own pin.
stage-5 test-close
"How does everything look?" "Do you see this NOT working for your business?" Real objections show up here, where they cost nothing. The lies start after you go for the close.
If the first thing they ask is "looks good, so what's the price?", isolate: "We're about to get to that. Other than price, are there any other questions or concerns, or is price the only thing you need to know?" Flush the stack, answer it, then close.
stage-6 close
"It costs $X,XXX.XX to get started. What do you want to do next?" Then silence. I mean it, DO NOT SAY ANOTHER WORD. If you did this right they will say something like "Damn, that's a good question... let's get started."
hotfix/objections (if needed)
If the machine ran clean you never visit this branch. If you do: all objections are lies, it's always about the price, and you need three handlers, not a thousand rebuttals. The spade (the commitment callback), isolation (flush the whole objection stack), and the 1-to-10 scale (they dictate their own closing conditions). The full diffs are on the homepage.
Never argue, disagree outright, or let them control the conversation with questions. You've shown them the roadmap, had them say what their issues are, nobody argues with their own beliefs. Nobody buys from someone they're arguing with.
Never tell them anything you can get them to say themselves. They won't believe what you say. They will believe everything they say.