| name | call-prep |
| description | Pre-call preparation brief — agenda, attendee context, recommended talking points, and questions calibrated to your CS motion and account state. Use 24-48 hours before any customer call: kickoff, QBR, health check, renewal conversation, or ad-hoc check-in. Pairs with account-research for full context.
|
| argument-hint | [account name] [call type: kickoff | qbr | health | renewal | check-in | custom] |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| deployment_target | plugin |
/call-prep
[PROPOSED]
Use When
- 24-48 hours before any customer call: kickoff, QBR, health check, renewal, escalation, check-in
- Account has active risk signals and you need a structured brief before engaging
- Executive sponsor is attending and preparation needs to be higher-fidelity than usual
- Renewal is within 90 days and you need value alignment framing before the commercial conversation
Do NOT Use For
- Post-call logging or follow-up drafting — use post-call workflow instead
- Renewal commercial prep (pricing, negotiation) — use /csm:renewal-readiness
- Account deep-dive research without a call scheduled — use /csm:account-research
- Kickoff calls where no account context exists in session yet — run
/csm:account-research first to populate session context, then call-prep
- Routine check-ins with nothing substantive to discuss — recommend async instead
Typical Activation
"/csm:call-prep Acme Corp qbr"
"/csm:call-prep Acme Corp renewal"
"/csm:call-prep Acme Corp kickoff"
"Prep me for my call with [customer] tomorrow"
"Build a brief for my health check with [account]"
Produce a focused pre-call brief: what to cover, who's attending, what to listen
for, and what to leave the call having accomplished.
Pre-flight
Read ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-customer-success/csm/CLAUDE.md and
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-customer-success/company-profile.md.
If either is missing or contains [PLACEHOLDER] markers, stop and prompt for
/csm:cold-start-interview.
Note from config:
- CS motion — shapes how directive vs. collaborative the agenda framing is
- Health model — determines which signals to surface before the call
- Playbook sources — pull call-specific templates if configured
- Escalation matrix — know the routing before the call if risk signals are present
G-code dependency: All G-code guardrails referenced in this skill (G1–G9) are defined in the CLAUDE.md config loaded above. If Pre-flight halts or config is missing, G-codes are undefined — do not proceed with partial config.
Reasoning Protocol
Before generating output, apply these primers:
-
CLASSIFY: What type of call prep request is this?
- Discovery / Kickoff: First or early-stage call — sparse historical data, goal is success criteria alignment and relationship establishment
- QBR / Executive Business Review: Periodic value review with executive audience — requires metrics against success criteria, forward-looking priorities
- Health Check / At-Risk: Triggered by a health signal — usage drop, NPS decline, support spike, or champion departure; shorter format, diagnostic focus
- Renewal Conversation: Within 90 days of renewal — commercial context present but CSM role is value alignment and objection surfacing, not close
- Escalation / Recovery: Active or recently resolved escalation — trust is damaged; goal is confidence restoration and remediation confirmation
- Routine Check-in: Regular cadence call with no major trigger — risk of perfunctory meeting; may recommend async instead
-
CONSTRAINTS: What limits the solution space?
- Which data sources are available? (CRM, CS platform, call recordings, documents) — fewer than 3 of 4 = low-confidence brief, flag explicitly
- Is the attendee list confirmed or assumed? Unconfirmed attendees cap the brief's value
- What was the outcome of the last call? Open action items carry forward — never drop them silently
- Is there an active escalation or competitive signal that changes the entire call framing?
- G4: Do not recommend escalation without a named escalation path configured in the escalation matrix
- G5: Internal data (health scores, ARR, expansion signals) must never appear in customer-facing output
- G7: Flag any data older than 30 days with source date and staleness indicator
-
EXPERT CHECK: What would a veteran CSM verify first?
- Are the success criteria being referenced still the criteria the customer cares about, or have priorities shifted since they were set?
- Is the right stakeholder on this call? Missing executive sponsor on a QBR or missing economic buyer on a renewal changes the call's ceiling
- Has anything been promised to this customer (in escalation, prior calls, or success plans) that hasn't been delivered yet?
-
ANTI-PATTERNS: Common mistakes to avoid:
- :x: Building the brief around product usage metrics instead of business outcomes the customer's executive sponsor cares about
- :x: Leading a health check or escalation call with platform data instead of opening with curiosity and listening
- :x: Including expansion signals, health scores, or internal stakeholder assessments in any material that could reach the customer
- :x: Preparing a full brief for a routine check-in when there's nothing substantive to discuss — recommend async instead
- :x: Producing renewal prep that crosses into pricing, discount, or negotiation territory — that's AE/AM scope
After execution, verify:
- Does every talking point reference account-specific context, not generic advice?
- Is the internal/external boundary respected — no health scores, expansion tags, or relationship assessments in customer-visible content?
- Does the brief identify the single most important thing to accomplish on this call?
- Confidence: [High/Medium/Low] because [data source coverage, attendee confirmation status, signal freshness]
Call type detection
If the user provides a call type argument, use it. If not, infer from context:
- Kickoff — first call with a new account; onboarding just started
- QBR (Quarterly Business Review) — periodic value review; typically Q-aligned
- Health check — triggered by health signal; may be Yellow/Red account
- Renewal — within 90 days of renewal date; commercial context present
- Check-in — regular cadence call; no major trigger
- Custom — user describes the call purpose; adapt the brief structure to it
If type cannot be determined: ask one question — "What's the purpose of this call?"
Do not build a generic brief.
Data gathering
Connector error categorization: When a connector call fails, distinguish the error type before proceeding:
- Rate-limited (transient): Connector returns HTTP 429 or equivalent throttle signal. Note the rate limit explicitly in output ("CRM data temporarily rate-limited — retry in 60 seconds recommended") and offer to retry rather than proceeding with degraded output.
- Unavailable (permanent for this session): Connector is not configured, authentication has expired, or service is down. Fall back to the manual-input path below and label all affected sections as "connector unavailable — manual input used."
Do not conflate these — a rate-limited connector will return data shortly; an unavailable connector will not.
Before building the brief, pull what's available.
First, check if an account-research brief exists in this session. If the user
already ran /csm:account-research for this account, use that context instead of
re-pulling from connectors.
If no prior account-research:
Pull from connected integrations (per configured profile):
- CRM: account snapshot, renewal date, ARR, key contacts and their titles
- CS Platform: health score and components, open CTAs
- Call recording: last 1-2 calls — date, attendees, key topics, open action items
- Document storage: most recent success plan or QBR (date + status)
Minimum viable brief (no connectors):
"I don't have live account data. Tell me: Who's on the call? What's the account
health? Any recent context I should know? I'll build the brief from what you share."
Brief structure
Produce in this order. Omit sections with no data rather than filling with placeholders.
Call Prep — [Account Name]
[Call type] · [Date / time if known] · [Duration if known]
Purpose and desired outcome
One sentence: why this call exists.
One sentence: what "a good call" looks like at the end.
Examples by type:
- Kickoff: "Establish shared success criteria, introduce the onboarding plan,
and confirm sponsor engagement — account leaves knowing what happens next."
- QBR: "Demonstrate value delivered against agreed success criteria and align
on next-period priorities — customer leaves feeling forward momentum."
- Health check: "Understand the root cause of [specific signal], agree on a
recovery action, and set a follow-up date — call leaves no ambiguity about
next steps."
- Renewal: "Surface value realized, pre-empt known objections, advance toward
renewal commitment — call ends with a next step, not an open loop."
Who's on the call
| Name | Title | Role in account | Notes |
|---|
| [Name] | [Title] | [Executive sponsor / Champion / End user / Finance contact / Detractor] | [Last contact date / relationship note] |
Flag:
- Any attendee who is new or unrecognized — "This may be your first call with
[name]; intro context before the call if possible."
- Missing executive sponsor: "Executive sponsor [name] is listed but not confirmed
on this call — flag if absent at start."
- High-value attendees who haven't been on a call in >60 days.
Internal attendees (AE, SE, CSM manager) — list separately if provided.
Suggested agenda
Calibrate depth and format to call type and configured CS motion.
For high-touch motion: named agenda items with owner and time box.
For tech-touch motion: three bullet points; the call is shorter.
For hybrid: match the segment this account sits in.
[Call type: Kickoff — example structure]
| Time | Agenda item | Owner |
|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | Introductions and call purpose | CSM |
| 0:05–0:20 | Customer goals and success criteria (draft to validate) | Customer |
| 0:20–0:35 | Onboarding plan walkthrough — milestones, owners, timeline | CSM |
| 0:35–0:45 | Q&A and open items | Both |
| 0:45–0:55 | Next steps — confirmed actions, dates, owners | CSM |
| 0:55–1:00 | Buffer | — |
[Call type: QBR — example structure]
| Time | Agenda item | Owner |
|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | Welcome and framing | CSM |
| 0:05–0:20 | Value delivered — metrics vs. success criteria | CSM |
| 0:20–0:35 | Customer highlights and wins | Customer |
| 0:35–0:45 | Challenges and roadblocks | Both |
| 0:45–0:55 | Next quarter priorities and roadmap alignment | Both |
| 0:55–1:00 | Next steps | CSM |
[Call type: Health check — example structure]
| Time | Agenda item | Owner |
|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | Quick check-in | CSM |
| 0:05–0:15 | Review of specific signal: [signal from health model] | CSM opens |
| 0:15–0:30 | Customer's perspective — what's changed | Customer |
| 0:30–0:40 | Joint recovery plan — specific actions, owners, dates | Both |
| 0:40–0:45 | Confirm follow-up | CSM |
For custom call type: adapt the structure to the described purpose.
Recommended talking points
3-5 specific talking points calibrated to the account's current state and call type.
Not generic. Reference account-specific context where available.
Format:
- [Topic]: [One sentence context] → [Suggested framing or question]
Examples:
- Success criteria progress: "The team hit [metric] last quarter — X% above baseline.
Lead with this before moving to gaps."
- Usage signal: "Weekly active users dropped 18% last month — ask what changed on
their end before attributing it to product."
- Renewal positioning: "Renewal is in 67 days. This call isn't the commercial
conversation — the goal is alignment, not close. Defer pricing until the sponsor
is engaged."
- Expansion lead (internal, don't raise directly): "Champion mentioned interest
in [feature] on the last call — listen for confirmation and route to AE if validated."
Flag any talking point that references a sensitive topic (executive departure, open
escalation, competitive evaluation) with [review] and a note on whether to raise
it proactively or wait for the customer to open it.
Key questions to ask
3-5 open questions to ask during the call. Not a script — prompts to open the
conversation in the direction that matters.
By call type:
- Kickoff: "What does success look like for you personally, not just the team?"
/ "Who will feel the impact most when this is working?"
- QBR: "What hasn't worked as well as you'd hoped?" / "What decision is this
review helping you make?"
- Health check: "What's changed on your end in the last [timeframe]?" / "What
would need to be true for this to be a non-issue in 30 days?"
- Renewal: "What would make you confident recommending a renewal to your leadership?"
/ "What's your main concern going into renewal?"
What to listen for
2-3 specific signals to track during the call. If heard, note them for post-call
action.
- Risk signals: executive sponsor departure signal, budget freeze language,
competitor mention, "we're evaluating our options"
- Expansion signals: "we're thinking about [use case]", mention of new team
or initiative that could use the product — tag
[early signal — not yet qualified]
- Relationship signals: tone shift vs. previous calls, new decision-maker
introduced without advance notice, team structure change mentioned
Post-call actions (pre-loaded)
Prepare these now so the call ends with immediate follow-through.
| Action | Owner | Due | Notes |
|---|
| Send follow-up email with recap and agreed actions | CSM | Within 24h | Use /csm:account-research --brief to verify action item list |
| Log call in CRM with next activity date | CSM | Same day | — |
| [Context-specific action] | [Owner] | [Date] | — |
If health check or risk call: pre-load the escalation routing per configured matrix.
"If [escalation trigger] is confirmed on this call, route to [person] via [channel]
within [SLA]."
Reviewer note
⚠️ Reviewer note
- Sources: [CRM ✓ live | CRM [configured but unverified] | CS Platform ✓ live | CS Platform [configured but unverified] | Gong ✓ live | Gong [configured but unverified] | prior account-research session | user provided | not connected — conversation context only]
- Data as of: [timestamp per source]
- Flagged for your judgment: [N items marked
[review] inline | none]
- Before the call: [1-2 specific things to confirm — e.g., "verify attendee list is current", "confirm exec sponsor is joining"]
If clean: ⚠️ Reviewer note: data verified · no flags · confirm attendee list before call.
Output
Call preparation brief — single structured markdown document. Sections vary by
detected call type (EBR, renewal, health check, expansion, escalation, kickoff).
All briefs include: account context snapshot, attendee profiles, agenda, key
questions, and suggested next step. See Brief structure section for field-level detail.
Guardrails
Expansion stays internal. Any expansion signal in the call prep is for
internal reference — not a topic to raise with the customer unless the AE or
AM has qualified it.
Health signals inform, not script. If the account is Yellow/Red, the brief
names the signals and suggests questions — it doesn't tell the CSM to "tell
the customer they're at risk." That framing is the CSM's judgment call.
Renewal framing is not a sales script. In a renewal call, the brief
supports the conversation — it doesn't produce a pricing or negotiation script.
For commercial prep, use /csm:renewal-readiness.
No destination check bypass. If any part of this brief is shared externally
(e.g., a pre-read for the customer), the reviewer must remove internal health
scores, stakeholder notes, and any expansion signal tags before sending.
After the brief
"Brief ready. Anything you want to add or adjust before the call?"
If the call is less than 2 hours away: "Need a shorter version? I can trim to
agenda + talking points only."
Post-call: "Want to log action items and send the follow-up? Paste the call notes
and I'll draft the email and CRM update."
Reference Files
The following reference files govern this skill's detailed behavior. They are loaded on-demand when the relevant behavior is being applied — they are not front-loaded into every response.
| File | Purpose |
|---|
references/reasoning-blueprint.md | Problem classification taxonomy, domain heuristics, common failure modes, and expert judgment patterns for this skill |
Security & Permissions
- network_access: outbound_allowlist (CRM, CS platform, call recording tool, document storage per configured integrations)
- filesystem_write: false
- filesystem_read: config files only (~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-customer-success/csm/CLAUDE.md and company-profile.md)
- subprocess_execution: false
- dynamic_code_execution: false
Trust & Verification
- Internal health scores, expansion tags, and stakeholder assessments must not appear in any customer-visible output
- If account-research context exists in the session, use it — do not re-pull from connectors
- If config files are missing or contain [PLACEHOLDER] markers, halt and prompt for /csm:cold-start-interview
- Reviewer note must always be present — flag data freshness and any items requiring CSM judgment
