biz-dev-credentials

name	biz-dev-credentials
description	Use when Agency Credentials Generator is needed to produce a credentials pack for social-media or digital-marketing work; use `biz-dev-positioning` when its narrower outcome is requested.
metadata	{"portable":true,"compatible_with":["claude-code","codex"]}

Agency Credentials Generator

Use When

• Use this skill when the requested outcome is specifically a credentials pack and the supplied brief falls within agency credentials generator.

Do Not Use When

• Use biz-dev-positioning when its narrower output is the real deliverable; do not use this skill as a generic substitute.
• Do not use it to publish, send, spend, alter a live account, or make unsupported legal, platform, performance, or certification claims.

Required Inputs

Artefact	Source/provider	Required?	If absent
Commercial brief, target buyer, offer, proof and requested next step	Requester or approved brief	Yes	Stop and request the missing decision context.
Brand voice, offer facts, constraints and approvals	Client source pack or authorised owner	Conditional	State assumptions; do not invent names, prices, results or approvals.
Performance, platform or research evidence used for claims	Traceable export, URL, document or named source	Conditional	Draft the narrowest reviewable version and flag the missing evidence.

Capability and Permission Boundaries

Drafting is permitted within the supplied brief. Publishing, sending, spending, changing live accounts, or claiming certification requires separate explicit authority. Minimum capabilities are read access to supplied files and search across the authorised evidence set. Use only the files, tools, accounts and evidence made available for the engagement, expose every unassessed check, and obtain explicit authority before any mutation.

Degraded Mode

Fallback: if files, network access, platform data, language review or production tools are unavailable, return the narrowest useful qualified credentials pack; mark unavailable checks not assessed and never convert them into a pass.

Decision Rules

Choice	Action	Failure or risk avoided
Buyer problem, proof strength and commercial objective align	Choose the offer and proof sequence that supports the requested buying decision.	A generic sales asset with unsupported claims or the wrong ask.
A required fact or approval is missing	Stop that claim or action; request it or use an explicit placeholder.	Fabricated facts, implied consent or unauthorised publication.
Evidence is partial but a useful draft is possible	Deliver a qualified draft with gaps and the next verification step.	Treating an unassessed requirement as passed.

Workflow

1. Confirm the exact credentials pack, consumer, market, channel and approval boundary; route to biz-dev-positioning if it is the closer match.
2. Inventory supplied facts, source provenance, constraints and missing inputs; stop if the objective, audience or authority is unknowable.
3. Select the domain method and record the material decision behind it before drafting.
4. Produce the smallest complete credentials pack; keep facts traceable and placeholders visibly unresolved.
5. Test the result against the decision table, domain quality criteria and anti-slop gate; recover by narrowing or qualifying unsupported portions.
6. Deliver the artefact with evidence, assumptions, unassessed checks and the next approval or verification step.

Outputs

Artefact	Consumer	Observable acceptance condition
Credentials pack	Requester, client reviewer or delivery team	The credentials pack addresses the named audience and objective, records assumptions, and passes the skill's domain checks without invented facts.
Decision and gap note	Approver or next workflow	Names the chosen route, evidence used, unresolved inputs and any action requiring authority.

Evidence Produced

Evidence	Format	Acceptance condition
Source/assumption register and completed release checklist	Inline table, checklist or linked source note	Every material claim, decision and unavailable check is traceable.

Quality Standards

• Preserve the domain guidance and East African market context below; replace it only when the requester names another market.
• Use British English unless the target language or market requires otherwise, and verify names, figures, quotations and platform rules before use.
• Make the key choice visible, cover failure and edge cases, and keep the result ready for its named consumer.
• Run the repository's anti-ai-slop ship gate; a blocking factual, cultural, safety or permission defect stops release.

Anti-Patterns

• Writing before the objective and audience are known. Fix: stop and obtain the missing brief fields.
• Reusing a neighbouring skill's template because the headings look similar. Fix: route by the requested credentials pack, not vocabulary overlap.
• Adding a price, result, quotation, platform limit or cultural claim without a traceable source. Fix: verify it or qualify/remove it.
• Treating missing access, evidence or native-language review as approval. Fix: mark the check not assessed and narrow the result.
• Publishing, sending, spending or changing a live account from drafting authority alone. Fix: obtain explicit action-specific authority and retain the approval record.

References

• biz-dev-positioning is the nearest routing comparison for this skill.
• Repository agent guide defines the engine-wide market, safety and anti-slop gates.

Produce two outputs from a single set of inputs: (1) a written credentials document and (2) an 8-slide deck outline. Both are ready to share or present without major editing. Apply East African English and professional register throughout.

Required Input

Ask for the following before generating anything:

• Agency name — trading name and any tagline
• Founder name and background — professional history, relevant experience, what prompted founding the agency
• Services offered — list of services (up to 6); plain-English descriptions
• Three client results — anonymised is acceptable; must include a measurable outcome for each
• Team members — for each: name, role, 3-sentence bio, key expertise areas
• Contact details — phone, email, website, physical address or city
• Country/city — defaults to Kampala, Uganda if not specified

If any of these are missing, ask for them before proceeding.

Output 1: Written Credentials Document

Generate each section in order. Do not skip sections.

1. Agency Overview and Founding Story

Write 3–4 sentences. Cover: what the agency does, who it serves, when it was founded, and why. Tone must be confident but not boastful — let the facts speak. Reference the founder's background naturally. Do not use superlatives ("the best", "leading", "premier").

Example register: "Meridian Social was founded in 2021 by [Founder Name], a communications professional with eight years' experience across corporate and NGO sectors in Uganda. The agency specialises in social media strategy and content management for small and medium-sized businesses seeking measurable growth. [Agency Name] brings together strategic rigour and practical execution — giving clients senior-level thinking without the overhead of an in-house team."

2. Services Offered

List 4–6 services. For each service:

• Service name (bold)
• One sentence describing what it is
• One sentence on who it is for or what problem it solves

Do not use jargon. Write as if explaining to a capable but non-specialist business owner.

3. Approach and Methodology

Describe how the agency works in 3–4 numbered steps. Each step has a title and 1–2 sentences. Frame this as a repeatable process that gives the client confidence. Reference the RACE framework (Chaffey, 2024) at the appropriate step — typically the planning or strategy phase.

Example step structure:

1. Discovery — ...
2. Strategy — ...
3. Execution — ...
4. Review — ...

4. Client Success Stories (Three)

For each story, use this format:

Client [A/B/C] — [Industry or anonymised descriptor, e.g. "Kampala-based retail brand"]

• Problem: One sentence. Specific challenge.
• Approach: One sentence. What was done.
• Result: One sentence. Specific metric or outcome. Use real numbers from the input. Never write "significant improvement".

5. Team Profiles

For each team member:

[Full Name] [Role/Title] [3-sentence bio: sentence 1 — professional background; sentence 2 — what they bring to clients; sentence 3 — a relevant personal or professional detail that adds colour without being informal.] Expertise: [3–5 key areas, comma-separated]

6. Contact and Next Steps

Include:

• Full contact details as provided
• A short paragraph (2–3 sentences) inviting the prospective client to get in touch. Warm, professional, not pushy.
• A clear call to action: "We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your goals. Kindly reach out via [contact method] to arrange a conversation."

Output 2: 8-Slide Deck Outline

Generate immediately after the written document. Use the exact slide format from CLAUDE.md:

Slide N — [Slide Title] Headline: [The one thing the audience must remember] Bullets:

• [3–5 bullets maximum] Speaker Notes: [What the presenter says — context and depth not shown on the slide] Visual Direction: [Layout, imagery, colour, chart type]

Slide Structure

Slide 1 — Cover Agency name, tagline, presenter name, date. Clean and professional.

Slide 2 — Who We Are Founding story and agency overview. Headline should convey what makes the agency the right partner.

Slide 3 — What We Do Services offered. Group into logical clusters if more than 4.

Slide 4 — How We Work The methodology. 3–4 steps as a visual flow.

Slide 5 — Results We Have Delivered Three case study snapshots — one per client story. Metric-led headline.

Slide 6 — Who We Work With Ideal client profile: sectors, business sizes, maturity. Helps the prospect self-identify.

Slide 7 — What Working With Us Looks Like Onboarding process, communication norms, typical engagement structure. Sets expectations.

Slide 8 — Let's Talk Contact details, next step prompt, Q&A invitation.

Formatting Rules

• Use markdown headings and bold for section titles
• Credentials document: continuous prose with clear section breaks
• Deck outline: strict slide-by-slide format, no deviations
• No bullet points in the prose sections of the credentials document — write in full sentences
• Keep team bios in the specified format; do not pad with vague phrases ("passionate about", "dedicated to")

Social Proof Standards

Social Proof Taxonomy (Bly, 2018)

A credentials document must present all six social proof sources. Organise proof by client type and industry where possible — a financial services prospect is more convinced by financial services social proof than by a general mix across sectors.

Source	What to Include	Placement in Credentials Document
Client testimonials	Named testimonials with photo (where consented), name, title, and organisation. Quote must reference a specific outcome, not general satisfaction.	Section 4 — Client Success Stories; or a dedicated testimonials page
Specific case study results	Numbers, percentages, and currency values from prior engagements. "Significant improvement" is not a result.	Section 4 — one specific metric per story
Crowd proof	Total number of clients served, total campaigns run, total posts published, years in operation. Specific numbers carry more weight than vague claims.	Section 1 — Agency Overview, or a dedicated "By the Numbers" callout
Expert endorsements	Referrals from named professionals, media features, speaking invitations, industry body memberships. Third-party endorsement from a recognised source outweighs ten self-claims.	Section 3 — Approach, or alongside team profiles
Award badges and media features	Platform certifications, industry awards, press mentions (Daily Monitor, NTV, Business Daily, etc.). Display as logos or named references.	Section 1, or a visual "As Seen In / Recognised By" strip
Process credentials	Documented methodology, tools used, quality control steps. Demonstrates that results are reproducible, not accidental.	Section 3 — Approach and Methodology

When compiling the credentials document, verify that evidence exists for at least four of the six sources before finalising. Flag any source with insufficient evidence to the consultant — a credentials document with gaps is better than one with embellished or vague claims.

Brand Asset Scorecard

Killian, B., in Hahn (2003)

Use this 16-criterion scorecard to assess brand health before building a credentials deck. Rate each criterion 1–10. Low scores reveal gaps the credentials should address or acknowledge.

#	Criterion	Score (1–10)	Notes
1	Brand Name
2	Packaging / visual identity
3	Reach and frequency
4	Ad / content quality
5	Promotions and offers
6	Consistency across channels
7	Distribution / availability
8	Newsworthiness
9	Likeability
10	Trade / partner support
11	Sales team capability
12	User / customer profile clarity
13	Product / service performance
14	Repurchasing / retention rate
15	Actionable research / data
16	Perceived value

Scoring: 130–160 = strong brand; 90–129 = functional but gaps present; below 90 = significant brand investment required.

When completing a credentials deck for a prospect client, use this scorecard to identify the brand strengths to emphasise and the gaps to offer as consultancy opportunities.

Persuasion Frameworks

Apply frameworks from references/proposal-frameworks.md when generating this document.

Key principles for credentials documents:

• Credentials are Evidence (E in Sant's NOSE) — they belong after the client's need is established, not as the opener
• Lead with outcomes, not history — the most impressive client result appears first; the founding year is irrelevant to the client's decision (Sant: Primacy Principle)
• The credentials document is Physical Evidence (Hatton) — its quality, design, and accuracy signal the quality of the service it represents
• Eliminate Fluff: every superlative must be supported by a number or a named client result — "world-class" without evidence is noise (Sant: Fluff/Guff/Geek/Weasel Test)
• Frame credentials as proof for a specific outcome the prospective client wants, not as a general catalogue of past activity

Read references/proposal-frameworks.md for the full framework guide.

Quality Criteria

• Agency overview is factual, confident, and free of superlatives or vague claims
• Each client success story contains at least one specific metric (number, percentage, or concrete outcome)
• Team bios are professional and informative; each is distinct in voice and content
• Deck outline follows the exact format specified in CLAUDE.md with no missing fields
• Services are described in plain English a non-specialist business owner would understand
• Methodology references the RACE framework (Chaffey, 2024) at the appropriate step
• Contact and next steps section includes a clear, courteous call to action
• British English spelling throughout; no American variants