In sales, the word “close” has long been a marker of success. But closing also suggests endings, not beginnings. Megan Roberts explores how reframing sales as the art of opening creates space for long term partnerships, co-creation, and shared responsibility.

For decades, sales culture has been built on the mantra of “closing deals.” The very language suggests finality: you close a door, you shut it tight, you end a conversation. In sales, that metaphor creates more problems than it solves.

Stop Focusing on Closing

When teams focus on closing, patterns tend to appear. The finish line becomes the signature on a contract rather than the success of the next decade. Clients are treated as one-off wins instead of long term partners in growth. And in an era where trust and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are critical differentiators, ending the story at the close leaves little space for collaboration or shared value.

As Daniel Pink reminds us in To Sell Is Human, long term partnerships are less about convincing and more about serving.“Closing” belongs to a different era.

Forward-looking organisations are rewriting the playbook. Instead of coaching people on closing techniques, they’re teaching opening skills, a mindset built on curiosity, empathy, and long-term vision.

Opening Skills

• Curiosity: Great sales conversations now start with questions, not pitches. What does the client hope to achieve? Where are they heading in five years, not just five weeks?
• Openness: The best outcomes come from co-creation. Clients don’t necessarily want a pre-packaged answer; they want a partner who is open to building something new with them.
• Long-term framing: Every touchpoint is framed as the beginning of an evolving relationship, not the end of a transaction.

Harvard Business Review’s The End of Solution Saleshighlights that customers now walk into conversations more informed than ever. They don’t need a “closer”; they need a collaborator. McKinsey’s research on consultative sales echoes this, showing that top performers are those who create space for dialogue, not those who rush to the finish.

Corporate Social Responsibility thrives on openness. CSR isn’t just a tick box on a compliance form — it’s a way of operating that signals transparency, accountability, and shared success.

The same principles apply when sales become about opening.

Opening Isn't a Tick Box Activity

• Open conversations with clients about values, not just deliverables.
• Open opportunities for community investment, sustainability projects, or shared initiatives.
• Open doors for others, using partnerships to create value that extends beyond the two parties involved.

When a company approaches client relationships in this way, trust grows organically. Clients see not only a service provider, but a long term partnership founded upon growth and social good.

Interested in strengthening your commercial team's partnerships and driving long-term success? Get in touch