| name | proposal-strategist |
| description | Builds a three-act proposal narrative with win themes and executive summary from discovery notes.
Use when: deal is qualified (MEDDPICC 20+) and seller needs to write a formal proposal or business case.
Triggers: proposal, write proposal, build proposal, proposal narrative, executive summary, business case,
win themes, three-act proposal, proposal strategy, proposal draft, write the business case.
|
| version | 1.0.0 |
| user-invocable | true |
Proposal Strategist
READINESS GATE: Do not build a proposal until the deal is qualified. Check before proceeding.
DATA RULE: Every claim must trace back to a confirmed discovery quote or verified proof point. Never invent metrics.
DATE RULE: Check currentDate. Output saved as YYYY-MM-DD-proposal-draft.md.
STEP 0 — Readiness Gate
Before building anything, confirm ALL of these are true:
| Gate | Requirement | Status |
|---|
| MEDDPICC Score | 20+ (active opportunity minimum) | Confirmed / Not yet |
| Identified Pain | Confirmed with at least 1 direct quote | Confirmed / Not yet |
| Economic Buyer | Named — who will approve or sign | Confirmed / Not yet |
| Decision Criteria | At least 2-3 criteria articulated by buyer | Confirmed / Not yet |
If any gate is not met — STOP.
Tell the seller: "This deal isn't ready for a proposal yet. The gap is [missing element]. Run /discovery-prep to fill it before the next call."
STEP 1 — Load Deal Context
Read all available files:
accounts/{account}/account-brief.md → full MEDDPICC status, EB, champion, decision criteriaaccounts/{account}/discovery/ → all call notes (pain quotes, metrics they mentioned, language they used)accounts/{account}/meetings/ → meeting briefs and summariesaccounts/{account}/research/ → company overview, tech stack, competitive context.claude/skills/write-outreach/references/proof-points.md → verified proof points to match
Extract from the files:
- 3-5 confirmed pains in the buyer's exact words (direct quotes)
- Decision criteria as they stated them
- Metrics they care about (their numbers, not yours)
- Economic Buyer's name + role + what they care about
- Competitors in the deal (if any)
STEP 2 — Define Win Themes
Build 3-5 win themes. Each theme is:
[Buyer's confirmed pain] + [Your specific capability] + [Proof metric]
And each theme must map to at least one confirmed decision criterion.
| Win Theme | Buyer Pain (quote) | Your Capability | Proof Metric | Decision Criterion |
|---|
| 1 | "[direct quote]" | [specific feature/approach] | [verified metric] | [their criterion] |
| 2 | "[direct quote]" | [specific feature/approach] | [verified metric] | [their criterion] |
| 3 | "[direct quote]" | [specific feature/approach] | [verified metric] | [their criterion] |
Rule: If you can't find a direct quote for a theme, that theme is not confirmed. Remove it.
STEP 3 — Build the Three-Act Narrative
Act I — Understanding Their Situation
Mirror their world back to them. Zero product mentions.
Structure:
- Where they are today (their current state — use their language from discovery)
- What's breaking (the specific pain — use their direct quotes)
- What they've tried (prior solutions that didn't work)
- The cost of continuing this way (implication — their numbers or close estimates)
Quality gate: Re-read Act I. If {{PRODUCT_NAME}} appears anywhere — remove it. Act I is 100% about them.
Act II — The Solution
Map capabilities to confirmed pains. One section per win theme.
Structure per win theme:
- Recap the pain (1 sentence — their words)
- The specific capability that addresses it (feature/approach in plain language)
- How it works (1-2 sentences — concrete, not vague)
- Proof (1 customer example that mirrors their situation — source URL or proof-points.md ref)
Quality gate: Every capability in Act II must map to a confirmed pain from Act I. No orphaned features.
Act III — The Transformed State
Show the specific, quantified future using their own metrics.
Structure:
- [Their metric] changes from [current state] to [future state] — because of [specific capability]
- What becomes possible that isn't possible today (use their future state language from discovery)
- Timeline to value — when do they start seeing results?
Quality gate: Act III must use THEIR metrics (from discovery) not generic industry benchmarks.
Executive Summary (1 page, 5 sentences)
Write exactly 5 sentences:
- Situation: "[Company] is dealing with [specific pain in their words]."
- Cost of nothing: "Left unaddressed, this means [implication — their words or verified estimate]."
- What we do: "{{PRODUCT_NAME}} [specific capability] so that [specific outcome]."
- Proof: "[Customer] solved a similar challenge and achieved [metric] in [timeframe]."
- Next step: "We recommend [specific next step] by [date] to [achieve their goal]."
Quality gate: Read the executive summary aloud. It must stand alone in 90 seconds and make sense to someone who wasn't on any discovery call.
STEP 4 — Save Proposal Draft
Save as: accounts/{account}/meetings/YYYY-MM-DD-proposal-draft.md
Proposal file structure:
# Proposal Draft — {Company}
Prepared: {date}
For: {Economic Buyer name + title}
Prepared by: {{SELLER_NAME}} / {{AE_NAME}}
---
## Executive Summary
[5-sentence structure from Step 3]
---
## Understanding Your Situation (Act I)
[Act I content]
---
## The Solution (Act II)
### Win Theme 1: [theme title]
[Content]
### Win Theme 2: [theme title]
[Content]
### Win Theme 3: [theme title]
[Content]
---
## What Changes (Act III)
[Act III content]
---
## Win Themes Summary
[Table from Step 2]
---
## Recommended Next Step
[Specific CTA with proposed date]
Quality Gates
