Available Context & Tools

@_platform-references/org-variables.md @_platform-references/capabilities.md

Meeting Prep Brief

Why Meeting Prep Matters

Preparation is the highest-leverage activity across every type of meeting:

• Prepared professionals achieve 32% better outcomes (Gong, 2023 analysis of 1.2M calls). Better questions, fewer surprises, faster progress.
• 70% of B2B stakeholders say the other party doesn't understand their situation (Forrester). Generic meetings waste everyone's time.
• First meetings set the trajectory. CSO Insights found that 65% of successful engagements started with a "strong first impression" -- the professional demonstrated knowledge of the other party's context.
• Most professionals spend only 4 minutes preparing (Salesforce State of Sales). The top 10% spend 15-30 minutes. That gap determines outcomes.

This skill exists to close the gap: give every user the preparation quality of a top performer in 60 seconds -- whether the meeting is a sales call, service visit, client onboarding, or team sync.

The 5-Layer Prep Framework

Consult references/prep-frameworks.md for detailed meeting type frameworks including preparation checklists, question banks, and time allocation guides for discovery, demo, QBR, negotiation, renewal, and executive briefing meetings.

Effective meeting prep is not a flat list. It is a layered intelligence model where each layer builds on the previous one. Work through these in order -- each layer informs the next.

Layer 1: Company Context

What you need to know:

• What does the company do? (1-sentence description you could say aloud)
• Industry and vertical (shapes language and examples)
• Company size: employee count, revenue range (shapes pricing and use-case)
• Funding and growth stage (seed startup vs. enterprise -- completely different conversations)
• Recent news: funding round, acquisition, leadership change, product launch, layoffs (within 90 days)
• Tech stack (especially tools adjacent to or competing with ${company_name} products listed in Organization Context)
• Fiscal calendar (Q4 budget push? New fiscal year starting?)

Where to find it:

• CRM company record and custom fields
• Previous meeting notes mentioning company context
• Company website (About, Careers, Blog, Press pages)
• Crunchbase for funding and leadership
• LinkedIn company page for headcount and growth
• News search for last 90 days

Why it matters: Walking into a meeting without knowing the company had layoffs last month, or just raised a $50M Series C, makes you look unprepared at best and tone-deaf at worst.

Layer 2: People Intelligence

See references/stakeholder-guide.md for the complete stakeholder mapping framework, including the authority-influence matrix, MEDDICC stakeholder mapping, and stakeholder brief templates.

What you need to know for each attendee:

• Full name and correct pronunciation (check LinkedIn for phonetic spellings)
• Job title and functional area (Engineering? Finance? Operations?)
• Seniority level: IC, Manager, Director, VP, C-Suite
• Decision-making authority: Are they an influencer, champion, economic buyer, or technical evaluator?
• LinkedIn profile highlights: career path, recent posts, shared connections
• Communication style signals: Do they post long-form thought pieces (analytical) or short punchy takes (direct)?
• Previous interactions with your company (meetings, emails, support tickets)
• Known preferences or concerns from CRM notes

For new attendees you haven't met before:

• Google "[Name] [Company]" for published content, speaking appearances, podcast interviews
• Check if they were recently promoted or changed roles (timing signal)
• Look for mutual connections who could provide warm context

For returning attendees:

• What did they say in the last meeting? (check transcript)
• What commitments were made to them?
• What concerns did they raise?

Why it matters: Calling the VP of Engineering "the technical guy" or not knowing that Sarah from Procurement joined the call signals you don't value their time.

Layer 3: Deal Context

What you need to know:

• Current deal stage in your pipeline
• Deal amount and timeline
• MEDDICC status: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, Competition
• What has been agreed so far? What is still open?
• Competitive situation: Are they evaluating alternatives? Who?
• Last activity date: How long since meaningful engagement?
• Relationship health score (if available)
• Blockers: What is preventing this deal from moving forward?

Where to find it:

• CRM deal record: stage, amount, close date, custom fields
• Activity timeline: emails, calls, meetings in last 30 days
• Previous meeting transcripts (search for commitments and concerns)
• Task history: Open tasks assigned to you or the prospect

Red flags to surface:

• Deal has been in the same stage for more than 2x the average time
• Close date has been pushed more than twice
• No contact from the prospect in 14+ days
• Champion has gone quiet
• New stakeholders appearing late in the process

Layer 4: Interaction History

What you need to know:

• Number of previous meetings and when they occurred
• Key themes from past conversations (what keeps coming up?)
• Commitments made by both sides -- especially unfulfilled ones
• Questions they asked that you didn't answer well
• Objections raised and how they were handled
• Materials shared: proposals, decks, case studies, ROI models
• Email thread summary: what is the most recent written exchange about?

Where to find it:

• CRM activity timeline
• Meeting transcripts (search for the contact name)
• Email integration (last 5-10 exchanges)
• Notes and tasks associated with the deal

Critical rule: Never walk into a meeting asking a question the prospect already answered. This is the fastest way to destroy credibility. Always check what has already been discussed.

Layer 5: Meeting Strategy

This layer synthesizes Layers 1-4 into an actionable plan. It answers: "Given everything I know, what should I actually DO in this meeting?"

Strategic questions to answer:

• What is the PRIMARY objective of this meeting? (Advance stage? Gather info? Close?)
• What is the SECONDARY objective? (Build champion? Map org chart? Introduce new stakeholder?)
• What must be TRUE after this meeting for the deal to progress?
• What is the prospect expecting from this meeting?
• What is the biggest risk to this meeting going well?

Data Gathering (via execute_action)

0. Check for existing company research profile: Before doing fresh company research, query the client_fact_profiles table for a profile matching the attendee's company domain or name (where is_org_profile = false and research_status = 'complete'). If a profile exists with research_completed_at within the last 7 days, use its research_data for Layer 1 (Company Context) instead of gathering from scratch. This avoids redundant research and provides richer data (industry, funding, tech stack, team size, competitors) that was collected during lead enrichment. The fact profile's research_data follows this structure: company_overview (name, description, founded, headquarters), market_position (industry, competitors, differentiators), team_leadership (employee count, key people), financials (funding, revenue range), technology (tech stack, platforms), recent_activity (news, milestones).
1. Fetch meeting details: execute_action("get_meetings", { meeting_id }) -- title, time, attendees, meeting URL
2. Fetch primary contact: execute_action("get_contact", { id: primary_contact_id }) -- name, title, company, email, phone, notes
3. Fetch related deals: execute_action("get_deal", { name: company_or_deal_name }) -- stage, amount, MEDDICC, activity
4. Fetch company status: execute_action("get_company_status", { company_name }) -- overview, relationship health
5. Fetch previous transcripts (if include_transcript is true): Search for transcripts involving the same contact or company
6. Fetch recent activities: Look for emails, calls, tasks in the last 30 days related to this contact/deal

Meeting Purpose Detection

Before generating anything, determine whether this meeting is business-relevant and what its purpose is. The purpose shapes tone, language, and content — or whether to generate a brief at all.

Detection signals (check in order):

1. Title matches personal patterns (doctor, dentist, home visit, school run, haircut, gym, holiday, personal, focus time, etc.) → Personal meeting. Do NOT generate a brief. Acknowledge it as personal and skip.
2. Active deal exists → Sales meeting. Use deal stage to select framework below.
3. Title contains sales keywords (demo, discovery, proposal, negotiation, pricing, pitch, close, prospect, renewal) → Sales meeting.
4. No external attendees or title suggests internal (standup, sync, 1:1, retro, sprint, planning, team, huddle) → Internal meeting. Use the Internal framework.
5. Attendees are known CRM contacts (even without a deal) → Business meeting. Use the General framework.
6. Title contains service/professional keywords (onboarding, kickoff, implementation, training, support, consultation, assessment, intake, orientation) → Service/professional meeting. Use the Service/Professional framework.
7. Title matches business patterns (interview, board, investor, partner, qbr, forecast) → Business meeting. Use the appropriate framework.
8. None of the above → Unknown. Proactively ask the user before generating anything: "I'm not sure if [meeting title] is a work meeting. Would you like me to prepare a brief for it, or should I skip it?"

Critical rules:

• Do NOT apply sales language (prospect, pipeline, close, objection, win probability) to non-sales meetings. Match tone to context.
• Do NOT assume every calendar event is work-related. When you cannot determine business relevance, ask rather than guess.
• A "home visit", for example, is personal — not a service delivery appointment — unless the user's business specifically involves home visits and the attendees are in the CRM.

Talking Points Methodology by Meeting Type

Sales Meetings

Discovery Call (First Meeting)

Goal: Understand their world, not pitch your product.

Talking points should focus on:

• Open-ended questions about their current situation ("Walk me through how you currently handle X")
• Pain discovery questions ("What happens when that breaks down?")
• Impact quantification ("How does that affect your team/revenue/timeline?")
• Process questions ("Who else is involved in decisions like this?")

Do NOT include: Product features, pricing, or case studies. It is too early.

Demo / Evaluation Meeting

Goal: Show them their future state, not your feature list.

Talking points should focus on:

• Connecting features to their specific pain points from discovery
• Addressing concerns raised in previous conversations
• Competitive differentiation on criteria that matter to them (use competitor intel from Organization Context)
• Technical requirements and integration questions
• Timeline and next steps after the demo

Negotiation / Pricing Discussion

Goal: Protect value while moving to close.

Talking points should focus on:

• ROI recap: Tie back to the metrics and pain identified in discovery, using ${company_name} value propositions from Organization Context
• Value justification for each line item
• Concession strategy: What can ${company_name} offer? What is non-negotiable?
• Procurement process: Legal, security review, contract redlines
• Timeline pressure: Why acting now matters (without being pushy)

Executive Alignment / Sponsor Meeting

Goal: Get executive sponsorship and budget commitment.

Talking points should focus on:

• Business impact in executive language (revenue, margin, risk reduction, speed)
• Strategic alignment with company initiatives
• Competitive risk of inaction
• Clear ask: What you need from the executive (budget approval, champion empowerment, timeline commitment)

Renewal / Expansion Meeting

Goal: Demonstrate value delivered and expand the relationship.

Talking points should focus on:

• Usage metrics and ROI achieved since implementation
• Success stories within their organization
• Gaps or underutilized ${company_name} features (expansion opportunity)
• Upcoming ${company_name} product roadmap items relevant to them
• Multi-year or expanded pricing

Service / Professional Meetings

Initial Visit / Consultation

Goal: Understand needs, build trust, and set expectations.

Talking points should focus on:

• Introduction: Who you are, your role, and what you can help with
• Understanding their situation: "What prompted you to reach out?" / "What are your main concerns?"
• Setting expectations: What this meeting will cover, what happens next
• Listening for priorities: Let them lead -- your job is to understand, not prescribe

Do NOT include: Sales jargon, upsell language, "qualifying" questions, or pipeline terminology.

Onboarding / Kickoff

Goal: Align on scope, process, and timeline.

Talking points should focus on:

• Recap what was agreed and confirm understanding
• Walk through the process: What happens, in what order, and who is responsible
• Address any open questions or concerns
• Agree on communication preferences and check-in cadence

Check-in / Review

Goal: Track progress, surface issues, and adjust as needed.

Talking points should focus on:

• Progress since last meeting: What has been accomplished?
• Any challenges or blockers?
• Are expectations still aligned?
• Next steps and any adjustments needed

Internal Meetings

Goal: Align the team, unblock work, and decide next actions.

Talking points should focus on:

• Progress updates and status of key items
• Blockers that need team input or escalation
• Decisions needed and who owns them
• Action items and owners for next steps

General / Relationship Meetings

Goal: Build the relationship, understand context, and identify how to help.

Talking points should focus on:

• Learn about the person and their current situation
• Understand what they need and how you might help
• Share relevant context about yourself or your organization
• Agree on whether and how to continue the conversation

Question Design Principles

Great questions are the single highest-leverage tool in any meeting. A well-designed question builds understanding faster than any presentation.

Open vs. Closed Questions

Open questions (use 70% of the time): Start with "How", "What", "Walk me through", "Tell me about", "Describe"

• "How does your team currently handle pipeline reporting?"
• "What happens when a deal slips past the expected close date?"
• "Walk me through the approval process for a purchase like this."

Closed questions (use 30% of the time, strategically): Yes/No or specific fact

• "Have you evaluated other solutions in this space?"
• "Is your fiscal year calendar-aligned?"
• "Does the CTO need to sign off on security?"

Rule: Never start with a closed question. Open questions build rapport and generate information. Closed questions confirm and narrow.

Strategic vs. Tactical Questions

Strategic (decision-level, use with executives):

• "Where does this initiative rank in your top 3 priorities this quarter?"
• "If you could solve one operational problem this year, what would it be?"
• "What does success look like for you personally in this project?"

Tactical (implementation-level, use with practitioners):

• "How many users would be in the initial rollout?"
• "What integrations are non-negotiable?"
• "What does your current data migration process look like?"

The "Why Behind the Why" Technique

Never stop at the first answer. The real insight is usually two questions deep.

1. "What is your biggest challenge with X?" --> Surface answer
2. "Why is that particularly important right now?" --> Timing context
3. "What happens if this doesn't get solved this quarter?" --> Stakes and urgency

Risk Identification Framework

For every meeting, identify and prepare for these risk categories:

Competitive Risk

• Is there an incumbent? What would it take to displace them?
• Are they evaluating alternatives? Who and how far along?
• Has a competitor offered aggressive pricing or terms?
• Prep: Know ${company_name}'s 3 strongest differentiators against each likely competitor (reference competitors and differentiators from Organization Context).

Stakeholder Risk

• Is a new decision-maker joining this call? What do we know about them?
• Has the champion gone quiet or changed tone?
• Is there an unknown blocker (legal, procurement, IT security)?
• Prep: Have a stakeholder map. Know who supports you, who is neutral, who is hostile.

Timing Risk

• Has the close date slipped? Why?
• Is there a competing priority consuming their attention?
• Is their budget cycle ending or starting?
• Prep: Have a clear "why now" story. Quantify the cost of delay.

Scope Risk

• Are requirements expanding without corresponding budget?
• Are they asking for capabilities you do not have?
• Is the project scope realistic for their timeline?
• Prep: Be ready to scope honestly. Overpromising kills deals in implementation.

Relationship Risk

• Has there been a miscommunication or missed commitment?
• Are they frustrated with response times or support?
• Did a previous rep damage the relationship?
• Prep: Acknowledge issues directly. Have a remediation plan.

Success Criteria Definition

Every brief must define what "good" looks like for this specific meeting. Success criteria make the difference between a meeting that felt good and a meeting that actually moved the deal.

Framework: SMART Meeting Outcomes

• Specific: "Get verbal confirmation on the 3 evaluation criteria" (not "have a good meeting")
• Measurable: "Confirm budget range within $X-$Y" (not "discuss pricing")
• Achievable: Aligned with where the deal actually is (do not try to close on a first call)
• Relevant: Directly tied to advancing the deal to the next stage
• Time-bound: "Schedule the technical review before end of week"

Examples by Stage

Stage	Good Success Criteria	Bad Success Criteria
Discovery	Identify 2-3 pain points with quantified impact	"Learn about their business"
Demo	Get agreement to proceed to technical evaluation	"Show all the features"
Negotiation	Agree on commercial terms pending legal review	"Talk about pricing"
Close	Get verbal yes with signed timeline	"Follow up next week"

Time-Based Prep Guide

The 5-Minute Quick Prep (Minimum Viable Preparation)

When you are between back-to-back calls and have almost no time:

1. Who (1 min): Glance at attendee names and titles. Know who is in the room.
2. What (1 min): Check the deal stage and last activity. Know where things stand.
3. Why (1 min): What is the stated purpose of this meeting? What should happen next?
4. Risk (1 min): Is there one thing that could go wrong? Name it.
5. Ask (1 min): What is the ONE question you need answered? Write it down.

The 15-Minute Standard Prep (Recommended)

The sweet spot for most meetings:

1. Company scan (3 min): Review company record, check for recent news
2. People review (3 min): Check attendee profiles, review previous interactions
3. Deal status (3 min): Review deal stage, open tasks, last meeting notes
4. Talking points (3 min): Draft 3-5 key points aligned to deal stage
5. Questions + risks (3 min): Write 3 questions and identify top 2 risks

The 30-Minute Deep Prep (High-Stakes Meetings)

For executive meetings, competitive situations, or close attempts:

1. Full company research (5 min): Recent news, funding, leadership changes, earnings
2. Attendee deep dive (5 min): LinkedIn review, previous transcripts, communication style
3. Deal archaeology (5 min): Full history, every commitment made, every concern raised
4. Competitive analysis (5 min): What alternatives they are considering, differentiators
5. Strategy and questions (5 min): Meeting objective, fallback position, key questions
6. Rehearsal (5 min): Practice your opening, anticipate objections, prepare pivots

Output Contract

Return a SkillResult with:

• data.brief: Structured brief object with:
  • meeting_title: Meeting subject/title
  • meeting_time: When the meeting is scheduled
  • attendees: Array of attendee objects (name, email, role, company, decision_authority, last_interaction)
  • meeting_type: Inferred type (discovery, demo, negotiation, executive, renewal, check-in, service-visit, onboarding, internal, general)
  • meeting_goals: Primary and secondary objectives for this meeting
  • context_summary: Key context from CRM (deal stage, recent activity, relationship health)
  • company_snapshot: Quick company facts (size, industry, recent news)
  • agenda: Suggested agenda items with time allocations
  • talking_points: Key points to cover (aligned to meeting type and deal stage)
  • questions: Strategic questions to ask (3-5, prioritized)
  • risks: Potential risks or objections to prepare for (with mitigation suggestions)
  • success_criteria: Specific, measurable outcomes that define a successful meeting
  • prep_level: Recommended prep depth (quick/standard/deep) based on deal value and meeting type
• data.context_summary: High-level summary of relationship/deal context
• references: Links to related CRM records, previous meetings, transcripts

Quality Checklist

Before returning the brief, verify every item:

• Every attendee is identified with name, title, and role in the decision. No "unknown attendee" entries.
• Deal stage is current. If the CRM deal stage is stale (no update in 30+ days), flag it.
• Talking points are specific, not generic. "Discuss how [Feature X] reduces their manual QA process by 40%" -- not "Talk about product benefits."
• Questions are open-ended (at least 70%). No questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no" unless strategically placed.
• Risks are actionable. Every risk has a suggested mitigation or response.
• Success criteria are measurable. "Get agreement to proceed to POC" -- not "have a productive meeting."
• No stale data. If key information is older than 30 days, flag it as potentially outdated.
• Previous commitments are surfaced. If either side made promises in past meetings, they must appear.
• Competitive context is included if the deal involves a competitive evaluation.
• The brief fits on one screen. Concise beats comprehensive. If it requires scrolling through paragraphs, tighten it.

Error Handling

Meeting not found in calendar

Fall back to searching by contact name, company name, or time range. If still not found, ask the user to specify which meeting they mean. Never fabricate meeting details.

Contact not in CRM

Create a minimal attendee profile from the calendar event (name, email). Flag as "new contact -- not yet in CRM" and suggest creating a record.

No deal associated with the contact/company

Generate the brief without deal context. Focus on company and people layers. Use the Meeting Purpose Detection rules to determine the right framework. Do NOT default to sales language -- if the meeting title suggests a service visit, onboarding, or consultation, use the appropriate non-sales framework.

No previous meeting history

This is a first meeting. Emphasize discovery-oriented talking points and open-ended questions. Note: "First meeting with this contact -- prioritize discovery and rapport."

Transcript not available or access denied

Proceed without transcript data. Note: "Previous meeting transcripts not available. Talking points are based on CRM data and activity history only."

Multiple deals with the same company

Present context for all active deals, but highlight the one most likely related to this meeting (based on contacts involved, deal stage, and recency).

Meeting is in less than 5 minutes

Switch to the 5-Minute Quick Prep format automatically. Prioritize: who is in the room, what stage the deal is in, and the single most important question to ask.

Meeting type cannot be inferred

Do NOT default to sales language. First check if the meeting appears business-related at all (see Meeting Purpose Detection step 8). If business relevance is unclear, ask the user: "I'm not sure if this is a work meeting. Would you like me to prepare a brief, or should I skip it?" If the user confirms it's business, ask: "Is this a sales call, client meeting, internal sync, or something else?" and then use the appropriate framework.

Guidelines

• Detect meeting purpose first using the Meeting Purpose Detection rules above. This determines tone, language, and framework.
• For sales meetings: reference the products, competitors, and case studies from Organization Context to prepare talking points tailored to ${company_name}'s positioning. Reference deal stage to suggest appropriate next steps and talking point style.
• For non-sales meetings: do NOT reference products, competitors, deal stages, or pipeline language. Focus on the person, their needs, and the meeting's stated purpose.
• Flag any red flags or risks from CRM data prominently -- do not bury them
• Keep the brief concise but actionable (aim for a single-screen summary)
• Always surface unfulfilled commitments from previous meetings -- this is the #1 credibility killer
• When in doubt, prioritize recency: recent interactions matter more than historical ones
• Tailor question style to the seniority of attendees: strategic for executives, tactical for practitioners
• If the meeting has more than 4 attendees, flag it as a "committee meeting" and adjust strategy accordingly