discovery-prep

Discovery Prep Skill

Comprehensive preparation for discovery calls and initial demos.

Purpose

Ensure every discovery conversation is strategic, insightful, and moves the opportunity forward.

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Required Integrations

Setup: Connect these data sources to enable full functionality. Claude will prompt you to connect any missing integrations when you use this skill.

Data Sources

# DISCOVERY PREP DATA SOURCES
# Configure the sources relevant to your discovery preparation

# Enterprise Search (searches across all internal sources)
- source: enterprise_search
  connector: "{{GLEAN | MOVEWORKS | ELASTIC}}"
  data:
    - internal_docs
    - wiki_content
    - shared_drives
    - slack_history

# Account & Contact Data
- source: crm
  connector: "{{SALESFORCE | HUBSPOT}}"
  data:
    - account_record
    - contact_records
    - previous_opportunities
    - activity_history
    - notes_and_attachments
    - related_contacts

# Calendar Integration
- source: calendar
  connector: "{{GOOGLE_CALENDAR | OUTLOOK_CALENDAR}}"
  data:
    - meeting_details
    - attendee_list
    - meeting_notes

# Company Research
- source: linkedin
  connector: "{{LINKEDIN_SALES_NAVIGATOR | LINKEDIN}}"
  data:
    - company_profile
    - attendee_profiles
    - recent_posts
    - job_changes
    - shared_connections
- source: company_website
  url: "{{ACCOUNT_WEBSITE}}"
  pages:
    - about
    - leadership
    - careers
    - newsroom
- source: news_search
  enabled: true
- source: crunchbase
  enabled: true

# Enrichment Data
- source: enrichment
  connector: "{{ZOOMINFO | CLEARBIT | APOLLO}}"
  data:
    - company_data
    - technographics
    - org_chart
    - intent_signals

# Previous Conversations
- source: call_recordings
  connector: "{{GONG | CHORUS | CLARI}}"
  data:
    - previous_calls_with_account
    - similar_persona_calls
    - successful_discovery_examples

# Email History
- source: email
  connector: "{{GMAIL | OUTLOOK}}"
  data:
    - thread_history
    - previous_correspondence

# Internal Resources
- source: internal_docs
  connector: "{{GOOGLE_DRIVE | SHAREPOINT | NOTION | CONFLUENCE}}"
  paths:
    - "/Sales/Discovery Guides/"
    - "/Sales/Persona Playbooks/"
    - "/Product/Demo Scripts/"
- source: sales_content
  connector: "{{SEISMIC | HIGHSPOT | SHOWPAD}}"
  data:
    - relevant_case_studies
    - persona_content
    - discovery_templates

# Competitive Intelligence
- source: competitive_intel
  connector: "{{KLUE | CRAYON | KOMPYTE}}"
  data:
    - competitor_battlecards
    - recent_competitive_intel

Output Destinations

# Where to deliver discovery prep outputs
outputs:
  # Always available - display in Claude UI
  - type: display
    enabled: true

  # Save prep doc for reference
  - type: documents
    connector: "{{GOOGLE_DRIVE | SHAREPOINT | NOTION}}"
    destination: "/Sales/Meeting Prep/"

  # Add to CRM record
  - type: crm
    connector: "{{SALESFORCE | HUBSPOT}}"
    actions:
      - add_meeting_prep_notes
      - log_pre_call_research

  # Send to self before meeting
  - type: email
    connector: "{{GMAIL | OUTLOOK}}"
    action: draft_to_self

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Instructions for Claude

IMPORTANT: Before executing this skill, you MUST validate the configuration above.

Pre-Execution Checklist

1. Check for placeholder values: Scan the YAML configuration for any {{...}} placeholders. These indicate required configuration that the user must provide.

2. Validate data sources: For each data source listed:

   • If a connector field shows {{OPTIONS}} format, ask the user which option they use
   • If URLs, paths, or names contain {{PLACEHOLDER}}, ask the user to provide actual values
   • Verify any required MCP servers are connected and available

3. Validate output destinations: For any output type beyond display:

   • Confirm the connector is available as an MCP server
   • Ensure destination paths/channels are configured (not placeholders)

If Configuration is Incomplete

Do not proceed with the skill. Instead:

1. List the specific missing or placeholder values found
2. Explain what each value is needed for
3. Ask the user to provide the missing configuration
4. Offer to help them set up the required MCP integrations

Example response when config is incomplete:

Before I can run this skill, I need some configuration:

**Missing values:**
- [List specific {{PLACEHOLDER}} values found]

**MCP connections needed:**
- [List required connectors not yet available]

Please provide these values, or let me know which data sources you'd like to skip.

Minimum Requirements

At minimum, this skill requires:

• Account name and meeting context (who you're meeting with)
• display output enabled (always available)
• Web search provides company and person research without additional setup

Enhanced functionality requires:

• CRM for account history and previous interactions
• LinkedIn for stakeholder research
• Call recordings for conversation context
• Internal docs for relevant case studies

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Scheduling & Automation with Taizen

Automate this skill: Schedule automatic discovery prep with Taizen. Create a free account to have meeting prep delivered automatically before every call.

How It Works

The Taizen MCP server accepts natural language requests to schedule agents. Simply describe what you want to automate:

Before any discovery call on my calendar, automatically research the account
and attendees, then send me a prep brief via Slack 24 hours before the meeting

Taizen will:

1. Read this skill's definition to understand the capabilities
2. Create an agent triggered by your calendar events
3. Execute the prep and deliver results before your meetings

Example Natural Language Requests

Auto Discovery Prep:

Whenever I have a meeting with "discovery", "intro", or "first call" in the
title, automatically generate a comprehensive prep doc including account
research, attendee LinkedIn profiles, tailored discovery questions, and
competitive context. Send it to me via Slack DM 24 hours before.

Morning Meeting Digest:

Every morning at 7am, look at my calendar and generate discovery prep
summaries for all meetings scheduled today that I haven't prepped for yet.
Send the digest to my Slack.

New Attendee Alert:

If a new attendee is added to any of my upcoming prospect meetings, research
them immediately and send me an update with their profile and relevant
talking points.

Post-Meeting Follow-Up:

After my discovery calls end, generate a follow-up email draft and suggest
what to update in the CRM based on typical next steps.

Setting Up Taizen Automation

1. Create Account: Sign up at usetaizen.com
2. Connect MCP: Add the Taizen MCP integration in your Claude settings and authenticate
3. Connect Calendar: Link your Google Calendar or Outlook
4. Schedule Agent: Describe your automation in natural language
5. Taizen Reads Skill: The agent receives this skill's full definition to understand what it can do

Technical Details

When scheduling via Taizen MCP, Claude will:

1. Read this SKILL.md file to get the full skill definition
2. Call Taizen MCP with the skill content included

Parameter	Description	Example
task	Natural language description of what to do	"Generate discovery prep with tailored questions"
schedule	When to run	"24 hours before calendar events matching 'discovery'"
skill_content	Object containing primary skill and referenced skills	See structure below
outputs	Where to send results	"Slack DM, Google Drive, CRM"
triggers	Calendar or CRM events	"calendar events with 'discovery' in title"

skill_content structure:

skill_content:
  primary:
    name: "discovery-prep"
    content: "<full content of this SKILL.md>"
  referenced:
    - name: "product-context"
      content: "<full content of product-context SKILL.md>"

Note to Claude: When a user asks to schedule this skill with Taizen, read this entire SKILL.md file and pass it as skill_content.primary. Also read any referenced background skills (like product-context) and include them in skill_content.referenced.

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Discovery Framework

Pre-Call Research

Before the call, gather:

• Account Context: Company, industry, size, recent news
• Stakeholder Context: Attendee roles, backgrounds, priorities
• Competitive Context: Current solutions, recent evaluations
• Trigger Context: Why now? What's driving the conversation?

Discovery Question Framework

Structure questions across these dimensions:

1. Current State

• How do you currently handle [relevant process]?
• What tools/systems are you using today?
• Who's involved in this process?

2. Pain & Impact

• What's working well? What's not?
• When this breaks down, what's the impact?
• How does this affect [relevant business metric]?

3. Future State

• What does success look like?
• If you could change one thing, what would it be?
• What's your timeline for addressing this?

4. Decision Process

• Who else is involved in evaluating solutions?
• What criteria matter most?
• What's worked or not worked with past vendors?

5. Compelling Event

• What's driving the timing of this initiative?
• What happens if nothing changes?
• Are there any deadlines we should be aware of?

Demo Customization Guide

Based on discovery, customize the demo:

Opening (2 min): Recap what you heard, confirm priorities Core Demo (15-20 min): Focus on their top 2-3 use cases Differentiators (5 min): Highlight unique value for their context Proof Points (3 min): Share relevant customer stories Next Steps (5 min): Align on path forward

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How to Use This Skill

Invoke with natural language describing your upcoming meeting:

Basic Prep

• "Prep me for my discovery call with Acme Corp tomorrow"
• "I have a meeting with Stripe in an hour - quick prep"
• "Help me prepare for my first call with Nike"

Specific Context

• "Prep for my call with the VP of Engineering at TechCorp - it's a technical discovery"
• "I'm meeting with the CHRO at IBM - prepare persona-specific questions"
• "Discovery prep for Acme Corp - they're currently using Competitor X"

Demo Prep

• "Prep me for the demo with Salesforce - focus on enterprise features"
• "I have a demo after discovery with a fintech company - what should I show?"

Follow-Up Calls

• "Prep for my second call with Acme - we did discovery last week"
• "I'm doing a deeper dive with the technical team at Nike - prep me"

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Output Format

## Discovery Prep: [Company] - [Meeting Type]

**Prepared**: [Date/Time]
**Meeting**: [Date/Time]
**Your Prep Time**: ~10 minutes to review
**Data Sources Used**: [CRM, LinkedIn, News, Gong, etc.]

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### Meeting Context

- **Company**: [Name]
- **Meeting Type**: [Discovery / Demo / Follow-up]
- **Your Objective**: [What you want to accomplish]

### Attendees

| Name | Title | LinkedIn | Key Intel |
|------|-------|----------|-----------|
| [Name] | [Title] | [Link] | [Background, tenure, recent activity, priorities] |

### Why This Meeting?

**Trigger Event**: [What prompted this conversation - from news, CRM, or outreach]
**Their Likely Priorities**: [Based on role, company situation, industry]
**Potential Pain Points**: [Hypotheses based on research]

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### Pre-Call Intel

**Company Context**
- **Industry**: [Industry]
- **Size**: [Employees] | **Revenue**: [If known]
- **Stage**: [Growth stage, funding status]
- **Recent News**: [Relevant headlines]

**Strategic Priorities**
*Based on job postings, news, and earnings:*
1. [Priority 1]
2. [Priority 2]

**Technology Landscape**
- **Current Stack**: [Known technologies from enrichment data]
- **Likely Current Solution**: [What they're using for your category]
- **Intent Signals**: [If available from intent data]

**Your History**
*From CRM:*
- **Previous Contact**: [Any prior touchpoints]
- **Previous Opportunities**: [Past deals if any]
- **Notes**: [Relevant CRM notes]

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### Discovery Questions

**Opening (Build Rapport & Confirm Context)**
1. "[Personalized question based on their background or recent news]"
2. "What prompted you to take this meeting? What are you hoping to learn?"

**Current State (Understand Today)**
1. "[Question about their current process/solution]"
2. "[Question about who's involved]"
3. "[Question about what's working]"

**Pain & Impact (Uncover Problems)**
1. "[Question about challenges - tailored to their likely situation]"
2. "[Question about business impact]"
3. "[Question about cost of status quo]"

**Future State (Understand Goals)**
1. "[Question about desired outcomes]"
2. "[Question about success metrics]"

**Process (Map the Deal)**
1. "Besides yourself, who else would be involved in evaluating a solution like this?"
2. "What does your decision-making process typically look like?"
3. "What timeline are you working toward?"

**Compelling Event**
1. "What's driving the timing of this initiative?"
2. "What happens if this doesn't get addressed this [quarter/year]?"

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### Anticipated Objections

*Based on persona, company stage, and common patterns:*

| Likely Objection | Why They'll Say It | Response Strategy |
|------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| "[Objection 1]" | [Root cause] | [How to address] |
| "[Objection 2]" | [Root cause] | [How to address] |
| "[Objection 3]" | [Root cause] | [How to address] |

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### Competitive Positioning

**If They Mention [Competitor 1]**:
- Lead with: [Key differentiator]
- Landmine question: "[Question that exposes competitor weakness]"

**If They're Using [Current Solution]**:
- Displacement angle: [Why they should switch]
- Avoid: [What not to criticize]

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### Demo Recommendations

*If this meeting includes a demo:*

**Focus Areas** (Based on their likely priorities)
1. **[Feature/Use Case 1]**: [Why relevant to them]
2. **[Feature/Use Case 2]**: [Why relevant to them]

**Skip/Minimize**
- [Area to de-emphasize]: [Why not relevant]

**Proof Points to Include**
- [Relevant customer in their industry]: [Key result]
- [Relevant metric]: [Impact stat]

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### Success Criteria

This meeting is successful if you:
- [ ] Confirm/uncover their primary pain point
- [ ] Quantify the business impact
- [ ] Identify all stakeholders involved
- [ ] Understand timeline and urgency
- [ ] Secure clear next step with date

### Ideal Next Step

Based on this meeting type: [Specific next step to propose]

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### Quick Reference Card

**Open with**: "[Personalized opener]"
**Key question to ask**: "[Most important discovery question]"
**Value prop to emphasize**: "[Most relevant benefit for them]"
**Proof point to share**: "[Best customer story for this persona]"
**Ask for**: "[Specific next step]"

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Automation Options

When configured with calendar integration, this skill can:

1. Auto-prep before meetings - Generate prep docs automatically before scheduled discovery calls
2. Attendee alerts - Notify you when new stakeholders are added to meetings
3. Competitive triggers - Alert when prospects are researching competitors (from intent data)
4. Post-meeting logging - Prompt you to log notes and next steps after calls