Closing is a
sales term which refers to the process of making a sale. The sales sense springs from real estate, where
closing is the final step of a transaction. In sales, it is used more generally to mean achievement of the desired outcome, which may be an exchange of
money or acquiring a
signature. Salespeople are often taught to think of targets not as strangers, but rather as prospective customers who already want or need what is being sold. Such prospects need only be "closed."