Productivity
Write a mutual action plan
The steps to close, agreed with the buyer rather than tracked at them.
Fill it in
Where it stands, who is involved, and the compelling event.
Security review, legal, procurement.
So slippage is visible early.
Your prompt
Write a mutual action plan. [the deal] Include THEIR steps, named: security review, legal, procurement, the budget approval and whoever signs. A close plan listing only what the seller will do is a forecast, and it is why deals slip in the last two weeks on a step nobody had written down. Work backwards from the date they need it live, with a duration on each step. That is what makes slippage visible in week two instead of week seven. Name an owner on both sides for every line. A step owned by "the customer" is not owned. Write it to be SHARED with them. The value is the agreement, not the tracking, and a plan they never saw is a spreadsheet.
Use Write a mutual action planOpens with everything above already filled in.
Why this works
A close plan listing only what the seller will do is a forecast, which is why deals slip in the last fortnight on a step nobody wrote down. This includes theirs.