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Sales Process Documentation: Consistency Without Gatekeepers

You just closed your biggest deal in six months. A prospect who seemed lukewarm suddenly said yes. The contract is signed. You're celebrating.

Your co-founder asks: "What did you do differently on that call?"

You freeze. "Uh... I don't know. I just... talked to them?"

You can't recreate it. You can't teach it. And when the next big prospect shows up, you're starting from scratch again—hoping lightning strikes twice.

This is the founder sales trap: you're good at closing deals, but you have no idea why you're good at it. And if you can't document it, you can't scale it.

The Invisible Playbook

Here's the problem: great salespeople don't consciously know what makes them great.

They've internalized patterns through repetition. They "just know" when to push and when to hold back.

But that intuition can't be transferred. And if it can't be transferred, it can't scale.

Think of sales like cooking.

A great chef doesn't just follow a recipe. They taste, adjust, add a pinch of this, a dash of that. They know when the sauce needs more time or when to pull it off the heat.

If you ask them to teach someone, they can't just say "make the sauce." They need to write down the steps, the timing, the visual cues, the taste markers.

Sales documentation is the recipe. Without it, you're hoping your new hire is also a natural chef.

Why This Matters for Microteams

Big companies have sales enablement teams, CRM systems loaded with playbooks, and managers who coach reps daily.

You've got one founder who closes deals and maybe one other person trying to help.

Here's why sales process documentation is especially critical for microteams:

  • You can't afford low close rates. Every lost deal hurts. Documentation increases consistency.

  • You're the bottleneck. If only you can close, you can't scale. Documentation lets others sell.

  • You don't have time to train repeatedly. Write it once, reference it forever.

  • Your best practices are in your head. If you get sick, go on vacation, or quit, they're gone.

The best microteam founders don't just sell well. They document how they sell well.

The Sales Process Documentation Framework

Here's how to turn your sales intuition into a documented, repeatable system.

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