How to close a deal directly with the client using an electronic signature

Once the client has decided, why wait for another email?

The salesperson presents the solution, goes through the offer with the client, answers questions, and both parties agree on the next steps. Instead of closing the entire process, however, the meeting often ends with the sentence: “I’ll send you the contract by email.”

At that point, an unnecessary gap arises between the client’s decision and the actual signature. The document has to be prepared or located, sent, and then you have to wait until the client finds time to open and sign it. Sometimes the signature still needs to be chased up. What should be a simple final step in the sales process can therefore turn into several days of administration.

Signing the contract on the spot shortens this gap. If the document is already prepared before the meeting, once the terms have been approved the client can proceed straight to signing. They can review the contract or order and sign it electronically on an available device.

Electronic signing is therefore not just a replacement for paper. It helps simplify the entire process from agreement through to execution and removes manual steps that unnecessarily slow down the sale. More about the benefits of paperless processes can also be found in the article on sustainability and electronic signatures.

What to prepare before meeting the client

To make signing a contract at the client’s premises genuinely fast, it is worth preparing the signing process before the meeting itself. The salesperson can prepare the contract, order, and required attachments in OKdokument. If several documents belong to one deal, they can be placed in a single envelope and their order set. The documents do not have to serve the same purpose: some may be intended for signature, others for reading, and others may serve as supplementary attachments.

You can also specify the individual signers in advance and prepare the exact places where they need to sign. Interactive fields then guide the signer to where a specific action is required. At the meeting itself, the salesperson no longer needs to deal with which version of the contract to open, where the client should sign, or which attachment still needs to be sent. They can focus on what matters: the content of the agreement and closing the deal.

How electronic signing on a tablet works directly at the client’s premises

Signing a document on a tablet does not have to be any more complicated than signing on paper. The salesperson opens the prepared document on a tablet, mobile phone, or laptop. The client can read the contract, check the agreed terms, and then add their signature in the designated place.

At an in-person meeting, signing on the spot can be used. Once the envelope has been created, the document is opened on the salesperson’s device and the client can sign it directly there. There is no need to print the contract first, sign it with a pen, and then look for a scanner or send photos of the signed pages.

For the salesperson, the main advantage is continuity of the process. The client can make a decision and sign during a single meeting, without any further administration coming between those two moments.

Which contracts and documents can be signed at the client’s premises

Electronic signatures for salespeople do not have to be used only for signing a standard sales contract. They can be used wherever consent, confirmation, or acceptance needs to be recorded during the sales or delivery process. At the meeting itself, this might include, for example, a sales contract, order, quotation, cooperation agreement, or amendment to an existing contract.

The possibilities continue even after the deal has been closed. Electronically, you can also handle, for example, an acceptance report, handover or service report, or receipt confirmation. The same way of working with documents can thus accompany a job through several stages, from the initial agreement through delivery to the handover of the product or service

What if not all signers are at the meeting?

In B2B sales, it is completely normal for the person the salesperson is negotiating with not to be the only person who has to sign the document. For example, a sales or purchasing manager may be at the meeting, while another signature belongs to a managing director or another authorised person.

Even in that case, signing the sales contract at the meeting does not have to wait. The client who is present at the meeting can sign their part directly on the tablet. The document can then continue to the next signer for remote signing. They receive their own request and add their signature later.

In OKdokument you can work with multiple signers and also set their order. This makes it possible to connect in-person and remote signing into one continuous process. The salesperson therefore does not have to wait for a meeting where everyone involved is physically present. Each person can sign the document in the way and at the time that suits the particular situation.

Signing a contract on the spot without printing and scanning

An in-person meeting does not have to mean a paper-based process. With the traditional approach, the salesperson prepares and prints the contract, brings it to the client, and has it signed. The document then travels back to the office, where it has to be scanned, saved, sent to other people, and, if necessary, the paper original also has to be handled.

The electronic process can be significantly shorter: prepared document → client review → electronic signature on a tablet → signature by another person → completed document.

After signing, the document does not have to go through another round of printing, scanning, and emails. It can go straight to the next signer and, once completed, remain stored electronically. The company also reduces the amount of paper administration and the costs associated with printing, handling, and physical archiving of documents. The topic of paperless processes is also covered in more detail in the article on green transformation and electronic signatures.

Electronic signatures for field salespeople

Electronic signatures for field salespeople can be used wherever an agreement, delivery, or handover takes place outside a traditional office. A typical example is a salesperson visiting a client. The same principle can also be used in a showroom or shop, where a customer signs an order directly at the time of purchase, or at a trade fair or conference, where a sales conversation can move towards a specific agreement.

Electronic signatures are also useful beyond purely sales roles. A service technician can have the customer sign a service report after the work has been carried out. A delivery team can confirm acceptance of completed work during the handover of a job or installation and a branch can handle the client’s signature electronically without creating paper documentation.

The common denominator is the need to close a particular step right where it is taking place. If the documentation can be completed at the same moment, there is no need for further administration after returning to the office.

What happens after the document is signed

Signing often does not mark the end of the sales process. For the company, it is instead a signal that the next stage can begin, such as delivering the job, issuing an invoice, ordering goods, or scheduling a delivery date.

OKdokument therefore also lets you work with what happens after the signature itself. The user can track the status of the envelope and its history, and after signing is completed, other people can also be informed of the outcome.

For example, if a salesperson closes a new deal, they do not have to manually forward the signed document to colleagues. Another email address can be included in the process that does not sign the document but receives a notification and the final documents once the process is complete. This can inform, for example, the sales, finance, administration, or delivery department. The electronic signature thus becomes a natural part of the company’s broader workflow, rather than an isolated final step.

Which level of electronic signature to choose

Not every document requires the same method of electronic signing. The appropriate level depends on the specific document, the required method of identifying the signer, and the relevant legal or internal requirements.

In a standard sales process, the goal is therefore not to automatically use the highest available signature level. What matters is choosing a method that fits the particular situation. OKdokument allows the use of a handwritten electronic signature with audit records and also supports a qualified electronic signature (KEP/QES) for cases that require a higher level of signer identification.

For documents with specific statutory requirements, it is always advisable to verify what form of signature is required for the particular legal act.

What signing a contract on a tablet looks like in practice

Imagine a salesperson going to a meeting with a customer. They have already gone through the quotation together, and the aim of the meeting is to confirm the final terms of the order. Before the meeting the salesperson prepares the order in OKdokument, adds the required attachments, sets the signers, and specifies where each person should sign the document.

At the meeting they go through the final details with the client. The client agrees with the offer, so there is no need to wait for another email. The salesperson opens the prepared document and the client signs the contract on the tablet right there. After the meeting the document still requires the signature of the managing director of the client’s company, who was not present in person. The document therefore continues electronically to them, and the managing director receives a request to sign.

Once completed the salesperson has the final document available and can move on to the next step, such as handing the job over for delivery. This is where the main benefit of electronic signing on a tablet becomes clear. Technology does not change the way the salesperson builds a relationship with the client. It does, however, remove the unnecessary administrative gap between the moment the client says “yes” and the moment the company can start acting.

With OKdokument, the salesperson can shorten the path from agreement to a signed document and move on to delivering the job without unnecessary paper administration.

Close the deal where it began

A good sales meeting does not have to end with another task in the calendar and the words “I’ll send you the contract.” If the document is prepared in advance, the client can review and sign it directly at the meeting, while additional signers can participate remotely.

Frequently asked questions about electronic signatures on tablets