Claire was a friendly girl as they all are! You see, whatever you give out you get back. If you Approach in a friendly way the girl will be friendly back to you. Its the law of reciprocity!
People are critical of Richard's style of just being friendly and not always closing... If you go in with the attitude that you have to get something out of the girl or the Approach you are BADLY mistaken! Approach people with the attitude of "how can I improve their life? How can I help them enjoy their day a little more?" Try thinking about giving rather than taking taking taking all the time. See her as someone special who could potentially be very friendly, nice, sweet and the kind of girl you could be friends with and not have to have any kind of physical relationship with her.
If you help someone enjoy their day more then you are a real man!
Girls are people with their ups and downs just like anyone else, if you Approach respectfully, they will enjoy being Approached and won't feel the need to protect themselves from bad Approaches by having a high Bitch shield and being defensive.
Remember to leave a girl in a good way so the next guy along can get to know her without her freezing up because of a lousy Approach. We all have lousy Approaches from time to time and thats fine so long as you are making an effort to be a giver and not a taker... keep practicing with the right beliefs and you'll get the hang of it.
Richard was able to number close so quickly because Claire knew he was a good guy with good energy! He was a giver and he displayed this by being interested in what she was saying and even talking about what interested her rather than plowing through his routines...
When you talk to someone and especially if you ask questions...MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN TO THEIR ANSWER! Then tell a short story related to their answer to show that you heard what they had to say and that you care.