discovery-prep

name	discovery-prep
description	Builds a complete meeting brief before any discovery, intro, or follow-up call. Never walk in blind. Use when: preparing for a discovery call, intro meeting, follow-up, or AE-led meeting. Includes: exec summary, agenda, qualification gap analysis, key questions, objections, proof points. Triggers: prep, meeting prep, discovery prep, prepare for, call prep, before meeting, discovery call, intro meeting, meeting brief, what should I know, going into a call, prep me.
version	1.0.0
user-invocable	true

Discovery Prep

⚠️ DATA RULE: The worst thing that can happen in a meeting is being surprised. Pull everything. Find the latest news. Miss nothing.

⚠️ DATE RULE: Check currentDate. Output file named YYYY-MM-DD-meeting-brief.md. Don't use training knowledge for "latest news" — always pull live data.

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STEP 0 — Confirm Meeting Details

Ask if not provided:

1. Account name + type of meeting (intro / discovery / follow-up / AE-led)
2. Date and time
3. Who's on the call (their side + your side)
4. How did this meeting get booked? What's the context?

---

STEP 1 — Internal Knowledge Refresh

Check all existing intel before going to the web:

CRM (if MCP configured):

• Latest account status, open opportunities, stage
• Contact history and relationship depth
• Previous objections documented
• Internal notes from AE or previous touches

Local files:

• accounts/{account}/account-brief.md → full qualification status
• accounts/{account}/research/ → most recent research file
• accounts/{account}/discovery/ → all prior call notes
• accounts/{account}/meetings/ → prior meeting briefs

Build picture before Step 2:

• What do we know vs. what are we guessing?
• Which {{QUALIFICATION_FRAMEWORK}} elements are confirmed vs. blank?
• What was the goal of the last interaction?

---

STEP 2 — Fresh External Intel (Last 30 Days)

Search for anything published recently about the company or attendees:

Full mode (Bright Data):

mcp__brightdata__search_engine:
1. "{Company} news 2026"
2. "{Company} funding announcement 2026"
3. "{Company} engineering hiring 2026"
4. "{Attendee names} LinkedIn blog post conference 2026"
5. "{{COMPANY_NAME}} {Company industry} case study customer story"
6. "{{COMPANY_NAME}} {their tech stack} replaced migration customer"

Lite mode (WebSearch):

Same queries via WebSearch tool

Goal: Find at least 1 warm-up talking point from the last 30 days. Find at least 1 proof point that specifically matches their industry or tech stack.

---

STEP 2.5 — Draft Upfront Contract Opener

Before building the agenda, draft the upfront contract for this specific call. Reference: references/discovery-frameworks.md Section 4.

Template (fill in before the call):

"[Name], I want to make sure this is a good use of your time. I'll spend [X minutes] understanding [their specific situation based on research]. Then I'll share [specific thing: 1-2 examples / a capability / how similar companies solved this]. At the end, either this makes sense to explore — and we'll agree on a next step — or it doesn't, and we'll both know that. Either outcome is fine. Does that work?"

Fill in before the call:

• Their specific situation: ___
• What you'll share: ___
• Proposed next step if it goes well: ___

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STEP 3 — {{QUALIFICATION_FRAMEWORK}} Gap Analysis

Map current knowledge. Mark each element: ✅ Confirmed | ⬜ Unknown | 🎯 Probe in this meeting | 🚫 Negative signal

Default: MEDDPICC

Letter	Question	Status	What We Know	Goal for This Meeting
M — Metrics	What numbers change if they fix this?
E — Economic Buyer	Who approves budget? On the call?
D — Decision Criteria	How will they evaluate options?
D — Decision Process	What steps to get to yes? Timeline?
P — Paper Process	Procurement/legal/security steps?
I — Identified Pain	What specific pain in their words?
C — Champion	Who advocates internally?
C — Competition	What else are they evaluating?

Goal for this meeting: Fill at least 3 blank elements. Priority: Confirm I (Identified Pain) first. Everything else depends on it.

---

STEP 4 — 3 Whys Status

Why	Status	Evidence
Why Anything (cost of status quo)	✅/⬜
Why {{PRODUCT_NAME}} (capability match)	✅/⬜
Why Now (urgency driver)	✅/⬜

If any Why is ⬜ → it becomes a goal for this meeting.

---

STEP 5 — Build the Meeting Brief

Save as: accounts/{account}/meetings/{YYYY-MM-DD}-meeting-brief.md

# Meeting Brief — {Company} {Meeting Type}
**Date/Time:** {date and time}
**Duration:** {duration}
**Type:** Intro / Discovery / Follow-up / AE-led

## Attendees
| Name | Role | Our Side |
|------|------|----------|
| [Their name] | [Title] | {{SELLER_NAME}} / {{AE_NAME}} |

## Executive Summary
[1 paragraph: who they are, where we are in the cycle, top 1-2 signals, meeting goal]

## Hot Signals to Reference (open with one)
1. [Signal 1 — dated, confirmed from research]
2. [Signal 2]

## Meeting Goals
1. Confirm: [{{QUALIFICATION_FRAMEWORK}} element]
2. Confirm: [{{QUALIFICATION_FRAMEWORK}} element]
3. Establish: [Which Why needs to be built]
4. Close with: [Specific CTA]

## Recommended Agenda
| Time | Topic | Owner |
|------|-------|-------|
| 0:00 | Warm up — reference [hot signal] | {{SELLER_NAME}} |
| 0:03 | Purpose framing: "Here's why we asked for this time…" | {{AE_NAME}} |
| 0:08 | Discovery (see questions below) | {{AE_NAME}} |
| 0:25 | Value — 1-2 specific capabilities matched to their pain | {{AE_NAME}} |
| 0:35 | Proof point: [Customer story from live search] | {{AE_NAME}} |
| 0:40 | Objection handling | {{AE_NAME}} |
| 0:50 | Next step | {{AE_NAME}} |

## Discovery Questions ({{QUALIFICATION_FRAMEWORK}}-mapped)

### Pain (I — Identified Pain)
- "Walk me through what [their process] looks like today — step by step."
- "What breaks first when [their scale challenge] happens?"
- "What have you tried to solve this? What worked, what didn't?"

**SPIN Implication questions** (ask after they confirm a problem):
- "If [problem] keeps happening, what does that mean for [their team / their metric]?"
- "What's the downstream impact on [adjacent process] when this breaks?"
- "How often does this happen — and what does each occurrence cost?"

**Sandler Level 2 (business impact) — ask after Level 1 surface pain:**
 "What does that mean for the business? Revenue, cost, or risk?"
 "Is this something leadership has noticed? How does it come up?"


 "How does this affect you personally when it happens?"
 "What would it mean for you and your team if this was solved by [their timeline]?"

 If you've asked 3 questions in a row and they've given short answers, stop and say:



 "If you fixed [pain], what would that mean in hours/dollars/time?"
 "How are you measuring success for [project]?"


 "When a decision like this comes up, who else gets involved?"
 "Who would ultimately sign off on something like this?"


 "If this conversation goes well, what would next steps look like on your end?"
 "Is there a timeline you're working toward?"
 "What does procurement/legal look like for something like this?"


 "What else are you evaluating? What does your stack look like today?"


 "Who on your team would be most involved in evaluating this?"



| Objection | Response |
|-----------|----------|
| "We're happy with [current system]" | "What would have to be true for you to consider alternatives?" |
| "No budget right now" | "Understood — is this a timing question or a priority question?" |
| "We're evaluating X" | "What's your evaluation criteria? We'd love to make sure {{PRODUCTFRAMEWORK}} Pre-Meeting Status
[Copy gap analysis table from Step 3]


→ Run  immediately while context is hot.

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STEP 6 — Day-of Checklist

Print or pin before the call:

• Hot signal to open with: ___
• First discovery question: ___
• Economic buyer name to confirm: ___
• Proof point ready: ___
• CTA to close with: ___
• Next step to propose: ___

---

Quality Gates

• All existing account files read before searching the web
• Fresh external intel checked (at least 1 thing from last 30 days)
• {{QUALIFICATION_FRAMEWORK}} gap analysis complete with goals for each unknown
• At least 3 discovery questions per element you need to fill
• At least 2 objections prepared with responses
• At least 1 proof point from live search matched to their profile
• Sales Motion Route and CTA mapped
• Meeting brief saved to meetings/ with today's date
• Upfront contract drafted (Step 2.5 template filled in)
• At least 2 implication/impact questions in the discovery question set