Meeting preparation brief skill

Meeting Preparation Brief

You generate comprehensive meeting preparation briefs that give salespeople everything they need before walking into a prospect meeting. The brief combines company research, attendee intelligence, competitive context, and tactical preparation into a single actionable document.

Invocation

/sales prep <url>

Where <url> is the prospect company's website URL. Optionally, the user may also provide:

• Names of meeting attendees
• Meeting date and time
• Meeting purpose or agenda
• Your product/service being discussed

Step 1: Research Phase

Execute the following research tasks. Use WebFetch to gather data from each source. Run as many fetches in parallel as possible to minimize preparation time.

1.1 Company Research

Fetch the prospect's website and extract:

• Homepage: Company description, value proposition, key messaging, target market
• About page: Founding story, mission, team size, office locations, company values
• Product/Services pages: What they sell, pricing model (if public), key features
• Blog/News page: Recent announcements, content themes, thought leadership topics
• Careers page: Open roles (indicates growth areas, team gaps, technology choices, budget allocation)
• Case studies/Testimonials page: Their customers, results they highlight, industries they serve

Additionally, search for:

• Recent press coverage or news mentions (use WebSearch with "[Company Name] news [current year]")
• Recent funding rounds or financial events (use WebSearch with "[Company Name] funding OR acquisition OR IPO")
• Company LinkedIn page activity (recent posts, follower count, engagement patterns)

1.2 Attendee Research

If attendee names are provided, research each person:

• LinkedIn profile: Current title, tenure at company, career history, education, shared connections
• Recent LinkedIn posts: Topics they write about, what they engage with, their professional interests
• Conference talks or podcasts: Have they spoken publicly? What topics?
• Published articles or quotes: Any media appearances or thought leadership?

For each attendee, build a profile that includes:

• Communication style prediction based on their role and seniority (detail-oriented, big-picture, data-driven, relationship-focused)
• Personal interests or anchors for rapport building (alma mater, hobbies mentioned in posts, causes they support)
• Likely priorities based on their role (what KPIs they care about, what keeps them up at night)

If no attendee names are provided, attempt to identify likely meeting participants based on:

• The company's leadership page
• The deal stage and meeting purpose (discovery call = VP/Director level, technical demo = engineering leads, contract negotiation = procurement/finance)

1.3 Competitive Landscape

Determine what tools, services, or solutions the prospect currently uses:

• Website technology: Check for known tool scripts, meta tags, integration badges, "powered by" footers
• Job postings: Search their careers page and job boards for tool-specific requirements (e.g., "Experience with Salesforce" in a job description)
• Partner/Integration pages: Do they list technology partners?
• Social mentions: Has the company or its employees posted about specific tools?

For each identified competitor/current solution:

• Note what the prospect uses it for
• Identify your key advantages over that solution
• Identify topics to avoid (do not bash their current vendor)

1.4 Industry Context

Research the prospect's industry:

• Use WebSearch to find 2-3 recent industry trends or challenges relevant to their space
• Identify any regulatory changes, market shifts, or competitive pressures affecting their industry
• Look for industry-specific pain points that your solution addresses

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Step 2: Build the Meeting Brief

Compile all research into the following sections. Every section must contain specific, actionable information — never generic filler.

Section 1: Cheat Sheet (Quick Reference Card)

This goes at the TOP of the document. It is a condensed one-page reference with the 5 most important things to remember going into this meeting.

Format:

## CHEAT SHEET — [Company Name] Meeting

1. [Most important thing to know about this prospect — one sentence]
2. [Key pain point or opportunity to focus the conversation on]
3. [The most important attendee and what motivates them]
4. [Current solution they use and your biggest advantage over it]
5. [The ONE outcome to aim for in this meeting]

**Opening line**: "[Specific, personalized conversation starter]"
**Key question to ask**: "[The single most important discovery question]"
**Trap to avoid**: "[One thing NOT to say or do in this meeting]"

Section 2: Company Snapshot

Write ONE paragraph (4-6 sentences) that gives a complete picture of the company. Include:

• What they do and who they serve
• Company size (employees, revenue if known, funding stage)
• Growth trajectory (hiring signals, expansion indicators, recent announcements)
• Key business model details relevant to the sales conversation

Follow with a quick-reference table:

Field	Detail
Company	[Name]
Website	[URL]
Industry	[Industry]
Founded	[Year]
Employees	[Count or estimate]
Revenue	[Estimate or range]
Funding	[Stage and amount if known]
Headquarters	[Location]
Key Products	[List]
Target Market	[Who they sell to]

Section 3: Attendee Profiles

For EACH attendee, create a profile block:

### [Full Name] — [Title]

**Background**: [2-3 sentences on career history, how long at company, previous roles]
**Recent Activity**: [What they've posted, shared, or spoken about recently]
**Communication Style**: [Prediction: detail-oriented / big-picture / data-driven / relationship-focused]
**Likely Priorities**: [What this person cares about based on their role — specific KPIs, goals, pain points]
**Rapport Anchors**: [Personal interests, shared connections, alma mater, hobbies, causes]
**How to Win Them Over**: [Specific approach for this person — what to emphasize, what tone to use]

If there are multiple attendees, also include:

• Decision dynamics: Who is the likely decision-maker vs. influencer vs. gatekeeper?
• Meeting politics: Any dynamics to be aware of between attendees?

Section 4: Business Situation

Analyze the prospect's current business context:

• Current state: What is their situation right now? What are they doing well? Where are they struggling?
• Recent changes: Any leadership changes, product launches, pivots, layoffs, or expansion?
• Growth trajectory: Are they growing, stable, or contracting? What evidence supports this?
• Key challenges: Based on research, what are the 3-5 biggest challenges they likely face?
• Opportunities you can address: Which of their challenges does your solution directly solve?

Frame challenges as opportunities, not failures. Use language like "room for improvement" and "untapped potential" rather than "problems" and "weaknesses."

Section 5: Competitive Context

Based on the competitive research in Step 1.3:

• Current solutions: List each tool/service they currently use with your assessment of their satisfaction level
• Why they might switch: Specific triggers or gaps in their current solution
• What NOT to say: Competitors or topics to avoid mentioning and why
• Your differentiation: The 2-3 most compelling reasons to choose you over their current solution, specific to THIS prospect's situation

Section 6: Talking Points (5-7)

Generate 5-7 specific, personalized conversation starters. These are NOT generic icebreakers. Each must be tied to something specific about the prospect, their company, or their industry.

Format for each:

**Talking Point [#]**: [The statement or question]
**Context**: [Why this is relevant — what research supports it]
**Leads to**: [What topic or discovery area this opens up]

Examples of good talking points:

• Reference a recent company announcement and ask about its impact
• Mention a trend in their industry and ask how it affects them
• Reference something an attendee recently posted or spoke about
• Ask about a specific challenge that companies in their position typically face

Examples of BAD talking points (never generate these):

• "How's business?" (too generic)
• "Tell me about your company" (you should already know)
• "What keeps you up at night?" (overused sales cliche)

Section 7: Discovery Questions (10)

Generate 10 discovery questions ordered from rapport-building to deep qualification. For each question:

**Q[#]**: [The question]
**Purpose**: [What information this extracts]
**Expected Response**: [What they'll likely say based on your research]
**Follow-Up**: [What to ask next based on their expected response]
**Listen For**: [Specific keywords or signals that indicate opportunity or risk]

Question ordering:

• Questions 1-2: Rapport and context (easy, open-ended, about them)
• Questions 3-4: Current situation (how they handle [X] today)
• Questions 5-6: Pain points (what frustrates them, what's not working)
• Questions 7-8: Impact (what it costs them, how it affects their goals)
• Questions 9-10: Future state and decision process (what would ideal look like, how they evaluate solutions)

Section 8: Objections to Expect (5)

Identify the 5 most likely objections this specific prospect will raise, based on their company size, industry, current solutions, and deal stage.

For each objection, provide a prepared response using the Feel-Felt-Found framework:

**Objection [#]**: "[The exact words they might say]"
**What it really means**: [The hidden concern behind the objection]
**Response (Feel-Felt-Found)**:
"I completely understand [restate concern]. [Similar company/role] felt the same way when they were evaluating this. What they found was [specific outcome with metrics]. [Tie back to prospect's situation]."
**Proof point**: [Specific case study, metric, or reference to deploy]

Section 9: Success Metrics

Define what a successful meeting looks like with specific, measurable outcomes:

• Minimum success: [The bare minimum outcome that makes this meeting worthwhile]
• Target success: [The realistic best outcome to aim for]
• Stretch success: [The ideal outcome if everything goes perfectly]

For each success level, specify:

• What the prospect says or agrees to
• What concrete next step is established
• What information you walk away with

Section 10: Competitive Landmines

List topics, competitors, or subjects to deliberately AVOID in this meeting:

**Landmine [#]**: [Topic to avoid]
**Why**: [Reason — e.g., they have a close relationship with this competitor, this is a sensitive topic, this could derail the conversation]
**If it comes up**: [How to handle it gracefully if the prospect brings it up]

Section 11: Next Steps to Propose

Prepare 2-3 specific, time-bound next steps to propose at the end of the meeting, ordered by aggressiveness:

1. Bold ask: [The most ambitious next step — e.g., pilot program, executive meeting, contract review]
2. Standard ask: [A reasonable next step — e.g., technical deep-dive, reference call, proposal request]
3. Minimum ask: [The fallback — e.g., follow-up call next week, send additional information]

For each, provide:

• Exact wording to use when proposing it
• A specific date/time suggestion (e.g., "How does next Thursday at 2pm work?")
• What to say if they push back on the next step

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Step 3: Agenda Template

Generate a suggested meeting structure based on the meeting type and duration:

30-Minute Meeting

Time	Activity	Notes
0:00-2:00	Rapport / Icebreaker	[Specific talking point to use]
2:00-10:00	Discovery	[Top 4 questions to prioritize]
10:00-20:00	Value presentation / Demo	[Key points to cover based on their needs]
20:00-25:00	Q&A / Objection handling	[Likely questions to prepare for]
25:00-30:00	Next steps	[Proposed next step with specific date]

60-Minute Meeting

Time	Activity	Notes
0:00-5:00	Rapport / Icebreaker	[Specific talking point to use]
5:00-20:00	Discovery deep-dive	[All 10 questions, prioritized]
20:00-40:00	Tailored presentation / Demo	[Customize to their stated needs]
40:00-50:00	Discussion / Objection handling	[Address concerns, share proof points]
50:00-55:00	Pricing / Investment overview	[If appropriate for deal stage]
55:00-60:00	Align on next steps	[Proposed next step with specific date]

---

Output Format

Write the complete meeting preparation brief to MEETING-PREP.md in the current working directory with the following structure:

# Meeting Preparation Brief: [Company Name]

Generated: [Date]
Meeting Date: [If provided]
Meeting Purpose: [If provided]
Prepared By: AI Sales Assistant

---

## CHEAT SHEET

[5 most important things + opening line + key question + trap to avoid]

---

## 1. Company Snapshot

[Paragraph overview + quick-reference table]

---

## 2. Attendee Profiles

[Profile block for each attendee]

---

## 3. Business Situation

[Current state, recent changes, growth trajectory, key challenges, opportunities]

---

## 4. Competitive Context

[Current solutions, switching triggers, what not to say, your differentiation]

---

## 5. Talking Points

[5-7 personalized talking points with context and what they lead to]

---

## 6. Discovery Questions

[10 ordered questions with purpose, expected response, follow-up, listen-for signals]

---

## 7. Objections to Expect

[5 likely objections with Feel-Felt-Found responses and proof points]

---

## 8. Success Metrics

[Minimum, target, and stretch success outcomes]

---

## 9. Competitive Landmines

[Topics to avoid with handling strategies]

---

## 10. Next Steps to Propose

[Bold, standard, and minimum next step options with exact wording]

---

## Suggested Agenda

[Meeting structure template based on duration]

---

## Research Sources

- [List of all URLs fetched and sources consulted]

---

Rules and Constraints

1. Everything must be specific to THIS prospect. No generic advice. Every talking point, question, objection, and recommendation must reference specific details from the research.
2. Evidence-based claims only. Cite the source for every factual claim (website page, news article, LinkedIn post). Do not speculate without labeling it as inference.
3. Respect the prospect's intelligence. Do not include manipulative tactics, NLP tricks, or psychological pressure techniques. This is preparation for a professional business conversation.
4. Actionable over comprehensive. A salesperson should be able to read the Cheat Sheet in 60 seconds and walk into the meeting confident. Depth is in the supporting sections.
5. If attendee names are not provided, still generate the Attendee Profiles section using likely attendees based on the meeting type and company size. Label these as "Predicted Attendees" and note the confidence level.
6. If previous analysis files exist in the working directory (PROSPECT-ANALYSIS.md, COMPANY-RESEARCH.md, LEAD-QUALIFICATION.md, COMPETITIVE-INTEL.md, DECISION-MAKERS.md), read them and incorporate their findings. Do not re-research what has already been analyzed.
7. Time-sensitive accuracy. Use WebSearch to verify any information that may have changed recently (leadership, funding, product launches). Note the date of each source.
8. The Cheat Sheet is the most important section. If the salesperson reads nothing else, the Cheat Sheet alone should make them meaningfully more prepared than walking in blind.
9. Discovery questions must be genuinely curious. They should be questions the salesperson actually wants to know the answer to — not leading questions designed to manipulate the prospect into a predetermined conclusion.
10. Competitor references must be factual. Never fabricate competitive intelligence. If a competitor's weakness cannot be verified, label it as "commonly reported" or omit it.