1. Identify the decision maker. No matter what industry you are in, knowing the decision maker is crucial to a quick close. Many times the decision makers will send someone else into the fire to learn all of the information they can about your company. If this is the case, be sure to put yourself into the head of the decision maker so that you can customize your sales pitch to that person's interests, even if they aren't there. Of course, your best-case scenario is that you sit down with the decision maker. Do whatever you can to setup a meeting with that person.