What the Kentucky Derby Teaches Closers About Pull-Through Selling

The Derby's first female winner reveals why the best closers never chase—and how to make prospects ask to buy from you.

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Cherie DeVaux just became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. Her horse, Golden Tempo, came from behind to win at 15-1 odds. The jockey didn't chase the pace. He let the race come to him.

There's a parallel here that most closers miss.

Dan Lok put it directly: "When it comes to High Ticket Closing, don't ask for the sale. Instead, let the prospect ask you how they can buy."

Most sales training teaches the opposite. Chase. Push. Follow up. Overcome objections. Create urgency. Close hard. The entire frame is one of pursuit—you want something from them.

But the closers who win consistently operate from a different position. They create conditions where the prospect feels like they're the one who needs to close the deal.

The Frame That Changes Everything

Pull-through selling isn't about being passive. It's about positioning.

When you chase, you signal that you need the deal more than they do. The prospect feels it immediately. Their defenses go up. They become the selector, and you become the applicant. Every objection becomes a test you have to pass.

When you operate from pull, the dynamic flips. You're evaluating fit. You're deciding whether this person deserves your expertise, your time, your solution. The prospect senses this and responds by wanting to prove they're qualified.

DeVaux didn't chase the Derby. She trained a horse that could win it. She built the capability, then let the race unfold. The jockey rode with patience, trusting that the positioning would pay off in the final stretch.

How to Create Pull

Pull doesn't happen by itself. You create it through three elements:

  1. Certainty in your own value. You know what you offer transforms. You've seen it work. You're not hoping they buy—you're observing whether they're sharp enough to recognize an opportunity.

  2. Willingness to walk. The moment you need the deal, you lose the frame. The best closers are genuinely okay with a "no." This isn't a negotiation tactic. It's a real internal position that prospects can feel.

  3. A tight diagnostic process. You're not selling to anyone. You're running a process to discover whether there's a fit. If there isn't, you disqualify quickly. If there is, the prospect starts selling you on why they should work with you.

The shift is subtle but total. You stop trying to convince and start trying to discover. You stop pushing for the close and start creating the conditions where they pull you across the finish line.

The Takeaway

Golden Tempo won by not chasing the pace. DeVaux won by building something that could win, then letting the race come to her.

In high-stakes sales, the same principle applies. Don't ask for the sale. Build the frame, run the diagnostic, hold the certainty. Let them ask you how they can buy.

The best close is the one where the prospect is relieved when you say yes.