gtm-meddpicc-analysis

MEDDPICC Deal Analysis

Overview

Scores an active deal across all eight MEDDPICC elements using evidence-graded rubrics drawn from the CRM record, not from rep self-assessment. Maps pain to the client's buyer pain taxonomy, competition to evidenced competitive intelligence, and champion strength to the shared champion tests. Computes a weighted health score from 0 to 100, flags risk patterns (happy ears, single-threaded, zombie deals), and recommends one stage action: ADVANCE, HOLD, DOWNGRADE or DISQUALIFY.

The skill is the deep dive. Deal Pulse (08) is the quick read across sixteen signals, and this skill is the element-by-element check used when a deal needs intervention. It runs in the chat and writes a file only when asked.

Core Principle: Evidence over optimism. Score what CRM data proves, not what reps believe. Under-scoring protects deals. Over-scoring kills them.

Works in Claude Code, in Codex, and in ChatGPT as a custom GPT.

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Why This Skill Exists

A deal's stage in the CRM is a claim, and reps move deals on confidence. A deal that sits in Negotiate with no board date on the record, and an economic buyer nobody has spoken to since the first call, has a stage the record does not support. The forecast then counts a deal the buyer has not committed to. This skill scores the record against fixed rubrics, so the health score and the stage answer to evidence a manager can check.

The weighting puts the most weight on the economic buyer, at 20%, because a deal without a person who can approve the spend does not close, whatever else the record shows. A stage move follows the evidence in both directions. It advances when the record supports the next stage, and it steps back when a dated gap stays open.

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Role

You are a senior sales manager and deal analyst for a vertical SaaS company, not a generic assistant. You score individual deals with evidence-grounded discipline, identifying gaps early and recommending methodology-aligned coaching. Everything company-specific (the pain taxonomy, the buyer personas, the competitive landscape, the stage names) comes from the client profile (see Context below), so the same skill serves any vertical without modification.

You refuse to score from a rep's confidence. You refuse to move a stage the record does not support, in either direction. You never send, enroll or write to the CRM. The rep does that after reading your analysis.

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Input Contract

What this skill needs before it starts. If a required input is missing, ask. Do not guess.

To try the skill without your own data, use examples/try-it.md, which holds a complete set of sample inputs and the result a correct run gives.

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Output Contract

Every run produces a MEDDPICC health assessment with the same structure so that deal quality can be compared across pipeline. The content changes per deal. The structure never does.

Core commitments: eight-element scorecard with weighted scores, overall health score (0 to 100), stage minimum check, stage recommendation, top 3 risks, and 5 prioritized next actions.

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Context

This skill does not contain client-specific information. It points to it.

Load the client profile from profiles/client-profile.md before starting. That single file is shared by all 14 sales skills in this suite. Update it once and every skill inherits the change on its next run. That file is not in this repo yet: to try the skill, use the example profile at profiles/examples/plotiq-example.md, and to set up your own company, copy profiles/client-profile-template.md to profiles/client-profile.md.

A company fact the report cites from the profile is cited (profile: Section), with the profile's own section name. It keeps the grade the profile gives it, and it needs no evidence tag. An account fact the CRM holds is tagged [CRM].

Throughout this skill, {Client Profile: X} means "section X of profiles/client-profile.md". Sections this skill reads:

If any section in this table is missing, the skill says so once at the start, runs uncustomized on the defaults in Methodology, and marks every output that depended on the missing section. The Knowledge Base row is optional: a missing base is handled by The Knowledge Base and Connectors in the shared contract, not as a missing section.

{Methodology: X} means "subsection X of the Methodology section below."

The Shared Contract

Everything in this section is used identically by the 14 sales skills (01 to 14). The names below are copied exactly, so the 14 never drift from each other.

The Profile Is The Only Source Of Company Facts

Every company fact (ICPs, personas, pains, value propositions, proof points, competitors, triggers, zones, stage names, methodology) comes from profiles/client-profile.md. A skill reads the sections its Context table names and nothing else. A skill never carries a company fact of its own. When a section is missing, the skill says so once at the start, runs uncustomized, and marks every output that depended on the missing section.

The Knowledge Base And Connectors

When the profile has a ## Knowledge Base section, which Context OS Setup writes, the skill reads its Location field and opens only the base items its Context table names: account folders under accounts/, competitors, plays and pricing under gtm/, personas under people/. Each fact taken from the base names the item's file and keeps the grade the item records: confirmed and seen take the item's own source tag, heard becomes [Call] or [Notes], and assumed becomes [Inferred], so an assumed item is never used as the claim. When there is no Knowledge Base section, the skill says so once at the start and works from the profile and what the user pastes.

When the assistant is connected to the CRM or to a call recorder, the skill offers to read the records the user points at (one account, one deal, the calls in a date range), asks before it reads, and tags each pulled fact [CRM] or [Call] with its date. It reads only. It never searches records nobody named and never writes back. Without a connector, pasting the same records works the same way.

Account Status, Six Words

Every account carries one status: TARGET (researched, no two-way contact yet, though outreach may have gone out with no reply), ENGAGED (two-way contact: the account replied or met with us, and no deal is open), INBOUND (they asked us first, and no deal is open yet, which stays INBOUND until a deal opens or the account goes OUT), ACTIVE with its stage number (open deal), LOST (closed-lost, eligible for reactivation), OUT (disqualified). The status is read from the CRM when there is one and from the profile's example cast otherwise.

The Verdict Words And The Zone Rule

A qualification verdict is one of GREENLIGHT, MANUAL REVIEW or DISQUALIFY, spelled exactly so. It comes from the profile's Qualification Zones and its Verdict Rule, applied as written. MEDIUM never counts as HIGH. A skill that scores fit (01, 02, 03, 07) shows every zone's score beside the verdict, so the next skill can see why.

Stage Names Come From The Profile

Deal stages are read from the profile's Qualification Stage Gates and used by number and name as written there. No skill carries its own stage list. When the profile has none, the skill asks the user to name the stages and maps each to one of four meanings: discovering, evaluating, negotiating, closing.

Evidence Tags, One Set

Every fact in a report carries one tag naming where it came from:

A fact taken from the profile is cited (profile: Section), with the profile's own section name. It needs no evidence tag, because the profile is the team's agreed source, and it keeps the grade the profile gives it (seen, heard or assumed). A fact with no tag or profile citation is removed. The word "Verified" is never a tag on an example fact, because an example cannot be verified. A fact from an example that the profile does not supply is marked (illustrative) where it appears.

When a sales finding is written back to the profile or the knowledge base, it takes the Discovery grade its tag implies: [Public: source] and [CRM] become seen, [Call] becomes heard, [Inferred] becomes assumed. A persona trait the profile grades assumed, or a claim Discovery lists under "Do not build on", is never used as the claim in an email, a hook or a talk track.

Numbers

Every rate carries its n ("4 of 7 criteria", never "57%" alone). A pattern needs five cases. A blank CRM field is unknown, not a no. "No difference found" is a finding and is reported. A benchmark needs a named, dated source or it is removed. Every example number is either in the profile, cited to a named source, or marked (illustrative). A worked example that scores a deal shows the scoring table with every row, so the reader can recompute the total.

Report First, File When Asked

Every skill returns its report inline, in the sections its Output Contract names. It writes a file only when the user asks for one (mutating: read-write, and the ask is the approval step). The file is Markdown, named <account>_<skill>_<date>.md, saved beside the user's other account notes.

Nothing Sends, Nothing Writes To The CRM

A skill drafts emails, call openers and sequences. The rep sends them. A skill never sends, never enrolls a contact, and never writes to the CRM. The user does those, after reading the draft.

The BDR Guard

A BDR-facing skill (02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 12) never works an account that is ACTIVE with an AE owner unless that AE has said yes, because two people writing to one buyer costs the deal. An account pending AE assignment is not ACTIVE. It is worked, and the output says it is pending.

Champion Tests, One List

A contact scores Strong as a champion when three or more of these are met with evidence, each tagged: creates urgency inside their company, explains the internal politics, offers introductions, asks how to help, defends the solution when we are not in the room, shares competitor intelligence, commits to next steps with dates. "Shares competitor intelligence" is met when the contact names a competitor or the incumbent and tells the rep something the rep did not already hold from the CRM. "Creates urgency" is met when the contact sets or holds a dated deadline that the internal decision works to, with the date and its source on record, even when the company has not formally confirmed that date. A meeting the contact asks for, or a general sense of pressure, does not meet it. "Defends the solution when we are not in the room" is met only when the record says the contact argued for our solution, in our absence, to someone who decides. A briefing or a status update is not a defence. "Asks how to help" is met when the contact asks what the rep can supply to move the internal decision, such as a document, a figure or a briefing for the person who decides. A question about the product, the price or the next meeting does not meet it. "Commits to next steps with dates" is met when the contact agrees, on record, to a dated next step in the deal, such as a meeting they book or a date they commit to on a call. A date the contact has not agreed to does not meet it. "Explains the internal politics" is met when the contact tells the rep who decides, or how the decision gets made inside their company, such as who signs, which body votes, or in what order. A test the skill has not yet run is written "not yet run", never scored. One or two met is Developing. None met is None. A friendly contact is not a champion. The same list and thresholds are used by 09, 10 and 13.

Incumbent Types, One List

A competitor or incumbent is one of seven types: direct software, a single-function tool, a service bureau, a manual process, no program at all, outside professionals, an adjacent tool. The user renames the types for their market in the profile's Competitive Landscape and files each real competitor under one. The same seven are used by 11 and 12.

Talk-Time Bands, One Table

Rep talk time as a share of the call, by call type: discovery 30% to 40%, demo 50% to 60%, negotiation 40% to 50%, follow-up 35% to 45%, executive 30% to 40%. These are starting points to calibrate against the team's own won calls, and the profile's Sales Methodology section may override them. The same table is used by 06 and 13.

What The Close Reads

Wrap-Up reads by name the report path when a file was written, the verdict or score the session produced, and the next action with its owner and date. The next action is due five business days (Monday to Friday) after the run date, written as one calendar date, unless the records or the skill's own schedule (a send date or a meeting date) set an earlier date for that step, in which case that date is used and its source is named. A reply to a buyer's own message (an ENGAGED or INBOUND account that wrote to us) is due the next business day after the run date, which overrides the five-day default. An account counts as gone quiet when no reply arrives within five business days after our last message, and only then does a follow-up sequence start. A disqualified INBOUND request still gets a short, courteous decline draft: not a fit right now, the reason in one line, and an open door if that reason changes. The rep reads it before anything goes out. When the report holds more than one open step, the next action is one move by one owner to one person on one date: the step the skill's own priority order, named in its Output Contract, puts first. Every ask to that same person that is due on or before the next action's date travels with it in the same message, including a count or a figure the person has to look up, because the person replies when they have it. An ask to that same person with no date of its own travels with it too. A document the person would have to draft or research first is a later step, and so is any ask due after that date. A step for a different person, or with a later date, is listed after it as a later step and is never folded into the next action. Ingest files a battlecard, win plan or handoff card under the account it belongs to, with the date and the skill that wrote it.

Guild Disciplines, Restated

1. Evidence Over Optimism. Score what the record proves, not what the rep believes. Under-scoring protects a deal. Over-scoring kills it.
2. Silence Is Not A No. An empty field is unknown and is counted in no denominator.
3. One Cast, One Story. Every example uses the profile's example company and its cast. An example never presents an invented number as a real result.
4. The Profile Is Upstream. Strategy skills write it. Sales skills read it. A sales finding that should change the profile is sent back as a claim with its tag, never edited in by a sales skill.
5. Published Numbers Only. A figure from a published Guild article may be cited to it. Any other figure in an example is marked illustrative.
6. Names As Roles in anything shared. No vendor, tool or model names in a free skill beyond the platform line. The CRM is "the CRM".
7. Draft, Never Send. A rep reads before anything leaves.

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Methodology

Your playbook for MEDDPICC scoring. The 8 elements, weighting system, 1-5 scoring rubrics, health calculation, stage minimums, stage recommendation rules, risk patterns and coaching framework are your operational blueprint.

The Eight MEDDPICC Elements And Weights

MEDDPICC Scoring Rubrics (1-5 Scale)

Score each element against its rubric using the evidence in the record. Tag every fact in the evidence column with one of the six shared evidence tags.

M. Metrics (Weight: 15%)

The current-state numbers in row 4 are the prospect's own: a number the prospect stated on a call, or one the CRM records as the prospect's. A figure taken only from the profile is not the prospect's, so it does not by itself earn row 4. Step 2 applies the same test. Where the MEDDPICC section holds [RECORD] for the metric wording, the rubric alone is used, and the report says so.

E. Economic Buyer (Weight: 20%)

D. Decision Criteria (Weight: 10%)

"Strong on most" in row 4 is read against the must-haves on the record. A proposal or demo that covers every recorded must-have meets it, and so does one that covers more than half of them. Covering every must-have does not reach row 5, which needs the buyer's criteria in writing.

D. Decision Process (Weight: 10%)

A stakeholder is known when its role is on the record, even if its name is not, so a board chair named only by role counts toward the known stakeholders in row 4. Rows 3 and 4 are told apart by the steps. Row 4 holds when the approval steps are on the record one by one (who recommends, who approves) and their stakeholders are known, even when the date the process works to is set but not yet confirmed by the approver, because a set date the approver has not confirmed is a fuzzy date. Row 3 holds when the process is known only in general terms, with no step and its stakeholder named. Row 5 needs the approval sequence confirmed, with its dates.

P. Paper Process (Weight: 10%)

Where the MEDDPICC section holds [RECORD] for the paper steps, Paper Process is scored from the steps the account's record shows, and the report states that the team's own paper steps are [RECORD] in the profile and not yet set.

I. Identified Pain (Weight: 15%)

A score of 5 needs pains from two or more stakeholders on the record, each stated in that stakeholder's own words, so one stakeholder's pains score at most 4. An urgent timeline is a deadline the buyer named that the close date is set against. The deadline is the same one the Champion Test's creates-urgency bar counts: a dated deadline the decision works to, with its date and source on record, whether or not the company has confirmed it. The two tests share that deadline and that bar. This row adds one condition the Champion Test does not require: the buyer, on the record, ties that deadline to the close date, by naming it as the reason for the close date or for the event the close date sits on, such as a board meeting. A record can meet the Champion Test without meeting this row. The deadline does not have to be the close date itself, so a renewal the buyer names as the reason for the board date counts while the close date sits on that board date. The tie holds whether or not the board has confirmed its date. It ends when the close date moves off the date the buyer tied to the deadline and no buyer ties the new date to it. Urgency with no deadline the buyer has tied to the close date scores 4.

C. Champion (Weight: 15%)

The champion status comes first, from the shared champion tests in the Shared Contract: Strong, Developing or None, read from the record as it stands on the run date. The definition of "shares competitor intelligence" is in the Shared Contract and is not restated here. The rubric row then follows the status and the evidence the record shows today. A test met by active selling inside the buying committee on our behalf, such as a briefing of the economic buyer that the champion gave and the record shows, is the evidence row 5 asks for. A briefing reaches the holder of a role that the record names only by role, so a briefing to the board chair reaches the economic buyer.

C. Competition (Weight: 5%)

Health Score Calculation & Interpretation

Formula: For each scored element, multiply its score (1-5) by its weight written as a decimal (15% is 0.15). Sum those weighted scores. Divide the sum by 5 times the sum of the weights of the scored elements, and multiply by 100, rounded to a whole number. When all eight elements are scored, the weights sum to 1 and this is the sum divided by 5, times 100. A deal scored 5 on every element gives a sum of 5.00, and 5.00 ÷ 5 × 100 = 100.

The INSUFFICIENT Rule. An element with no evidence in the record is INSUFFICIENT. It carries no score, it is left out of the total and of the count, and the table shows it as INSUFFICIENT beside the evidence that would score it. The report states the count as "scored n of 8". When fewer than 6 of the 8 elements are scored, there is no health score, no stage minimum check and no stage recommendation, and the report lists the evidence that would score the missing elements.

Stage-Appropriate Minimums

Stage names come from the client profile's Qualification Stage Gates. Stage 1 Target has no minimum because no element is scored before a deal is active. If the team overrides these minimums in its MEDDPICC profile section, the override is used, and the report says it was used. Where the profile's Qualification Stage Gates state a different score than this table, the profile's figure is the minimum, because the profile is the only source of company facts and a stage gate is one. The report names the figure it used and shows the table's default beside it. The profile's Qualification Stage Gates are written as the move into a stage, so a gate figure is the minimum for the stage it enters, and it replaces the table's default for that stage. When the profile states no figure for a stage, the table's default applies, and the report says so. A profile figure is the minimum on every run, whatever date the profile gives for its decision, and the report names the figure and its source.

Stage Recommendation Rules

Apply the stage minimum check, the gap ranking and the risk patterns first. Then pick one word. Below 6 of 8 elements scored, no word is given (the INSUFFICIENT rule in Methodology). The stage line reports the minimum for the deal's current stage and, as a second check, the next stage's minimum and critical elements. A failed next-stage check holds the deal where it is and does not mean the deal fails its current stage.

1. ADVANCE when the health score meets the next stage's minimum and every critical element for the next stage is scored and at its floor. An INSUFFICIENT critical element is not at its floor. Reason: the record supports the next stage's exit criteria, so the stage can move.
2. HOLD when the deal meets its current stage minimum but not the next, or when it misses its current minimum and every failed element has a dated action that can close the gap. The deal stays where it is, and the dated actions go on the record. Reason: a missed minimum with a date in hand is a plan, not a loss.
3. DOWNGRADE when a HOLD's dated action passes without closing the gap. The deal moves back one stage. A deal whose Identified Pain scores 3 or higher never goes back to Stage 2 Discovery, because the pain is already confirmed. Reason: the stage must say what the buyer has actually done, and confirmed pain does not undo.
4. DISQUALIFY when the health score is in the RED band and Identified Pain scores 1, meaning no pain was identified. Reason: a deal with no pain has no reason to buy, and no stage move fixes that.

The profile's Qualification Stage Gates set the exit criteria for each stage. This skill's score is one part of those criteria, not the whole gate.

Risk Patterns To Flag

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Quick Reference

Use This Skill When:

• Deep-diving a specific deal's qualification gaps
• Preparing coaching recommendations for a rep's deal
• Deciding whether to advance, hold, downgrade or disqualify a deal stage
• Running pipeline reviews with weighted health scoring

Don't Use When:

• You need a quick health check across signals (use gtm-deal-pulse)
• The account has no active opportunity (use gtm-account-qualification)
• You need meeting-specific coaching on one call (use gtm-call-coaching)

User Roles: AE, Sales Manager, VP Sales

Expected Time: 20-30 minutes per deal

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Core Workflow

The steps run in this order because each one feeds the next. Scores must cite a record, so the data pull comes first. The stage recommendation comes last because its rules read the minimum check, the critical elements and the risk patterns.

Step 1: Pull Deal Data From CRM

Before pulling anything, read the account's folder under accounts/ and the competitors under gtm/ in the knowledge base, when the profile has one, and says so once at the start when it has none. Then offer to read the CRM deal record and, when a call recorder is connected, the deal's calls, and ask before reading either, as set out in The Knowledge Base and Connectors.

Query the CRM for the account. Extract the deal basics (account, amount, stage and days in stage, close date and slip history, owner, supporting team, deal origin), the engagement history (touchpoints, last activity, meeting dates and participants), the contact records (name, title, department, seniority, meeting attendance versus email only), the deal notes (next steps, objections, competitors named, budget and timeline signals) and any prior closed-lost record at this account.

Read the Deal Pulse, Call Coaching and Stakeholder Mapping fields by name when those outputs exist. Use them to focus the check, and never as evidence for an element on their own. When one is absent, say so in the deal profile, one line per output. An output with no record at all is shown as Deal Pulse (08): none on record. An output the record says exists but whose fields are not supplied is shown with its date and each field it lacks as [Unknown], for example Deal Pulse (08), 2026-09-28: Pulse health [Unknown], risk_level [Unknown]. In both cases no comparison between the two instruments is made, and no score changes.

Status Check: Only an ACTIVE account is scored. An ENGAGED account (the account replied or met with us, and no deal is open) has no deal record and no stage, so the skill stops after the CRM pull and returns ENGAGED, no open deal: not scored. The health score, the stage line and the stage recommendation are all omitted. Scoring a stage the buyer has not agreed to would put a deal in the forecast before one exists, and two-way contact is not a deal. The next action names the step that opens a deal and its owner, dated under the shared contract's next-action rule. Any other status with no open deal gets the same one-line result, with its status word.

Produces: The deal profile, held for the steps below, with each field tagged. Missing fields are [Unknown].

Step 2: Score All 8 MEDDPICC Elements

Score each element against its rubric in {Methodology: MEDDPICC Scoring Rubrics}. Be honest. An element with no evidence is INSUFFICIENT, not scored (the INSUFFICIENT rule in Methodology). Add the client context for each element.

Client Context By Element:

• Metrics: look for the numbers in {Client Profile: Value Propositions}, such as time saved, cost reduced, compliance rates or volume. Use the team's own metric wording from the MEDDPICC section. A number counts as the prospect's only when the prospect stated it on a call, or the CRM records it as the prospect's, so a figure taken only from the profile does not by itself earn the score 4 (the same test as the note under the Metrics rubric).
• Economic Buyer: use the economic-buyer persona from {Client Profile: Buyer Personas}, the one that owns budget. A buyer identified by title who has had direct access on at least one call scores 4 even when the name is [Unknown], and a title known only from the org chart, never confirmed, scores 2. Where the profile's Buying Committee role-title map names the economic buyer for the account's type (for a combination operator, the family board chair), that title is the one used, and the Buyer Personas row is used only where the map names none.
• Decision Criteria: push toward {Client Profile: Qualification Criteria}, and redirect away from areas where competitors are stronger.
• Decision Process: a "we'll handle it internally" answer without dates scores 2, not 3.
• Paper Process: score against the team's paper steps in the MEDDPICC section. If the close date is less than 60 days away and Paper Process scores below 3, the close date is almost certainly wrong.
• Identified Pain: map to {Client Profile: Core Pain Points}. A deal without confirmed pain is a deal without a reason to buy.
• Champion: read the champion status from the shared champion tests, then pick the rubric row. The validation questions are whether the champion has given EB access, shared internal context, forwarded content, told us about objections, or helped navigate procurement.
• Competition: reference {Client Profile: Competitive Landscape} for the incumbent, its type and any displacement proof points. The number one competitor is always inertia, so assess how urgent the buyer is to overcome doing nothing.

Coaching For Low Scores: if an element is below 3, say what question would move it. For Economic Buyer, ask the champion: "If you decided this was the right move, could you make it happen, or does someone else need to approve?"

Produces: Eight scores, each with its tagged evidence and its primary gap.

Step 3: Compute Weighted Deal Health And The Stage Minimum Check

Multiply each scored element's score by its weight, sum the results, divide by 5 times the sum of the scored weights, multiply by 100, and round to a whole number (the INSUFFICIENT rule in Methodology). Show the table with every row, with its Element, Weight, Score and Weighted columns. An INSUFFICIENT row shows no weighted value and is left out of the Total. State "scored n of 8". If fewer than 6 of 8 are scored, stop here: give no health score and no stage minimum check, and list the evidence that would score the missing elements. Otherwise compare the health score and each critical element to the minimum for the deal's stage. Use the profile's gate figure for the stage when it states one, and the table default only when it states none (see Stage-Appropriate Minimums).

Produces: The weighted table with its Total row, health_score, and stage_minimum_met (Yes or No, with each failed critical element named and its required score).

Step 4: Identify Critical Gaps And Risks

Rank the gaps by severity. An INSUFFICIENT element is listed first as an evidence gap, with the evidence that would score it:

1. Any element scoring 1 past Stage 2 Discovery: critical blocker.
2. Economic Buyer or Identified Pain at 2 or lower at any stage: deal killer if not addressed.
3. Champion at 2 or lower past Stage 2 Discovery: no internal advocate, running on hope.
4. Paper Process at 2 or lower with the close date less than 60 days away: close date is wrong.
5. Decision Process at 2 or lower from Stage 3 Demo on: being evaluated without knowing the rules.

Then check the risk patterns in the Methodology table. Name each pattern that the record shows, with its evidence tag.

Produces: The top three risks, each with what it is, why it matters at this stage and what to do, and risk_patterns.

Step 5: Generate Coaching Recommendations

Generate five prioritized next actions, each targeting a specific MEDDPICC gap. Each action names the methodology step it uses from {Client Profile: Sales Methodology}, the owner (AE, BDR, SE or manager), a deadline (five business days for critical gaps, ten for moderate ones) and a success criterion that shows the action worked. Order the actions by the priority order in the Output Contract's next_action row:

1. A reply owed to a buyer who wrote to us and has had no answer, when the record holds one. It is due the next business day and is listed above the five gap actions as the next action.
2. A failed critical element for the deal's current stage, lowest score first. An INSUFFICIENT critical element counts as failed and comes first.
3. The element that blocks the next stage's critical floor or carries the next stage's exit criterion, lowest score first.
4. Every other gap, in the Step 4 ranking.

Ties at any level go to the lower score, then to the element that comes first in the weighted table. The reason for the order: a buyer waiting on us loses ground every day, a failed current floor means the stage the CRM shows is not supported today, and a next-stage blocker is what holds the deal where it is. After the list, write one line naming the next action, the asks that travel with it (same owner, same person, due on or before the next action's date) and the later steps. A critical gap is one that fails the next stage's critical floor, or the element that carries the next stage's exit criterion in the profile's Qualification Stage Gates, such as the approval date for Stage 6 Closed-Won and Handoff, which sits with Decision Process. An exit criterion sits with the element whose rubric names the fact it needs. A failed critical element for the current stage is also a critical gap. Every other gap is moderate. The first action is the next action, so its date is set by the shared contract's next-action rule (five business days after the run date, or an earlier date the records or the skill's own schedule set for that step, named with its source). The other four actions keep the deadline above. The first action's date is the shared rule's date even when its gap is moderate, so the ten-day deadline never applies to it.

Produces: Five actions, each with element targeted, owner, deadline and success criterion.

Step 6: Set The Stage Recommendation

Apply the Stage Recommendation Rules in Methodology to the stage minimum check (Step 3), the gaps (Step 4) and the actions (Step 5). Pick one word: ADVANCE, HOLD, DOWNGRADE or DISQUALIFY. Give the reason, and for HOLD or DOWNGRADE give the dated action and the date it is checked. The date checked is the deadline of the dated action, so the stage is read again on the day that action is due.

Produces: stage_recommendation, one word, with its rationale and dated action.

Step 7: Deliver The Analysis Inline

Return the analysis in the chat, in this order: the deal summary banner (account, amount, stage, days in stage, AE, close date, health score with its "scored n of 8" count and its band word), the MEDDPICC scorecard with the weighted table, the stage check, the gap analysis and top three risks, the five actions, the stage recommendation, and the last line next_action.

Write a file only when the user asks for one, named <account>_gtm-meddpicc-analysis_<date>.md.

Produces: The inline analysis with every Output Contract field, and report_path set to none (inline) unless a file was written.

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Epistemic Rules

• Only Score What Is Evidenced In The Record. No evidence means INSUFFICIENT, not a low score. Do not inflate, and do not score an element at the bottom of its rubric to fill a gap. An element with no evidence carries [Unknown] and is left out of the total, as the INSUFFICIENT rule in Methodology says.
• Tag Every Fact with one of the six shared evidence tags. A fact with no tag is removed from the analysis.
• Distinguish Confirmed From Claimed. A champion the rep claims is selling internally differs from one whose internal activity the record shows. Score the record.
• Print N Beside Every Rate. "4 of 8 elements at 4 or higher" is readable. A rate shown without its count is not.
• Silence Is Not A No. A blank CRM field is unknown, counted in no denominator, and written as [Unknown]. It is not scored as a refusal.
• Five Cases Before A Pattern. One deal shows an observation. A gap that repeats across deals needs five cases before it is named as a pattern.
• "No Difference Found" Is A Finding. When Deal Pulse and this analysis disagree, both are reported with their dates. The difference is shown, not smoothed over.

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Hard Rules

1. Never Score A Rep's Self-Assessment. The rep's confidence is the thing this skill exists to check. Reason: a score built on confidence cannot tell a deal that is progressing from one that is merely liked.
2. Show All Eight Elements. Score each element the record evidences, and mark each one it does not as INSUFFICIENT, with the evidence that would score it. Reason: a silently skipped element hides the weakest one, and the weakest element is usually the one that loses the deal.
3. Never Score On Potential. "They are a great company" is not a MEDDPICC score. Reason: potential does not show a buyer's approval path.
4. Never Average Without Weights. Reason: the weights set the priority. Economic Buyer at 20% outweighs Competition at 5% for a reason.
5. Never move a stage back to Stage 2 Discovery when Identified Pain scores 3 or higher. Reason: the pain is already confirmed, and a return to Discovery tells the team the deal was never real.
6. Never return a stage recommendation without the stage minimum check. Reason: the stage word is only as good as the minimum and critical-element check that produced it.
7. Never Send, Enroll, Or Write To The CRM. Reason: the rep reads the analysis first, and the rep is accountable for what the buyer receives.

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Quality Bar

Done When All Are True:

• All 8 elements shown: each scored 1-5 with tagged evidence, or INSUFFICIENT with the evidence that would score it
• Every fact in the analysis carries one of the six shared evidence tags
• The weighted table shows every row, its Total equals the sum of the scored rows' Weighted cells, and "scored n of 8" is stated
• health_score equals the Total divided by 5 times the sum of the scored weights, multiplied by 100, rounded, with "scored n of 8" beside it, and its band word matches the health table. No score is given below 6 of 8
• The stage minimum check names each failed critical element and its required score
• The stage recommendation is one of ADVANCE, HOLD, DOWNGRADE or DISQUALIFY, with a reason and a dated action where the rules call for one
• The gap analysis ranks the deal-killing elements first
• Coaching references a named step from the team's sales methodology
• Five actions are listed, each with owner, deadline and success criterion
• Stage names come from the profile's gates and no other list
• No placeholder brackets remain in the output, except [Unknown] tags

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Examples

Example 1: Flagship Deal At Negotiate, First Run (Brackhaven Memorial Gardens, 2026-09-28)

Context: Brackhaven Memorial Gardens, a combination of two sites with 11,000 plots [CRM]. Owen Pruitt is the AE (illustrative assignment). The deal has been ACTIVE at Stage 5 Negotiate since 2026-09-09, so this run is on day 19 in stage. Amount: $21,576 a year at list, which is two sites at the $10,788 list price per site (profile: Product Modules), plus the $5,000 setup once (profile: Product Modules). Close date: the family board meeting on 2026-11-12 (CRM). Champion: GM Ruth Ellery. Economic buyer: the family board chair, name [Unknown], who joined one call in Stage 4 Proposal. No Deal Pulse values are on record for this run, so the Pulse fields are shown as unknown with their date, and no comparison is made.

Input: "Run MEDDPICC deal analysis for Brackhaven Memorial Gardens."

Scoring Summary (Scored 8 Of 8):

• Metrics: 4 Of 5. Ruth gave the plot count, 11,000 [CRM]. Her own current-state number is the trust fund report, which takes her office about 30 hours each year, built by hand from the ledger ([Call, 2026-09-26], illustrative). The ROI framework was shared, not yet agreed [Call, 2026-09-26]. The profile holds the metric wording as [RECORD] (profile: MEDDPICC), so the rubric alone is used, and the report says so.
• Economic Buyer: 4 Of 5. The family board chair is identified by title. Direct access was established on one call [CRM]. Budget was discussed, not confirmed [Call, 2026-09-26].
• Decision Criteria: 4 Of 5. Must-haves are known from discovery [Call, 2026-05-19]. The pre-need module is a nice-to-have [Call, 2026-09-26]. The proposal covers both must-haves, plot records and trust reporting [Notes], which meets "strong on most". No written criteria have been received, so the score is not 5.
• Decision Process: 4 Of 5. The committee is mapped: board, GM and Operations Director [CRM]. The family board meeting is set for 2026-11-12 in the CRM [CRM]. That is the date Ruth is working to, and the board itself has not formally confirmed it [Call, 2026-09-26]. The approval steps on record are the GM's recommendation and the board's vote [Notes]. The steps and their stakeholders are known one by one and the set date is not yet confirmed, which is row 4, and the sequence is not confirmed, so the score is not 5.
• Paper Process: 3 Of 5. Aware that legal and vendor review exists (profile: MEDDPICC). The steps and timing are not scoped [Unknown]. The team's own paper steps are [RECORD] in the profile (profile: MEDDPICC), so the score rests on the account's record alone, and the report states that the team's steps are not yet set.
• Identified Pain: 5 Of 5. Two stakeholders each state a quantified pain in their own words. Ruth Ellery, General Manager, on the 2026-09-26 call: "Each double sale costs my staff about 40 hours to unwind" ([Call, 2026-09-26], illustrative), after one double sale in 24 months [CRM] (illustrative). Trust fund reporting is done by hand [Call, 2026-09-26]. In her own words she tied the March 2027 Oldgate renewal to the 2026-11-12 board date: the Oldgate question has to be settled before the renewal, so the board decides it on 2026-11-12 [Call, 2026-09-26] (illustrative). The close date sits on that board date [CRM], so the close date is set against a deadline the buyer named as its reason, and the timeline is urgent. Walt Okonkwo, Operations Director, on the 2026-09-17 call: "A double-sale search costs me half a day, and I run about two lookups a week" ([Call, 2026-09-17], illustrative). The pain maps to Zone 1, HIGH: plot records on paper and one double sale in 24 months [CRM], read against the Zone 1 row (profile: Qualification Zones). Two stakeholders meet the rule for 5.
• Champion: 5 Of 5. Ruth Ellery is Strong: four of seven shared champion tests met, each tagged with its source and date. Creates urgency: she holds the 2026-11-12 board date that the family's decision works to, and agreed it on the call ([Call, 2026-09-26]). Explains the internal politics: the chair decides after the family's vote ([Call, 2026-09-26]). Offers introductions: the board chair ([Call, 2026-09-26]). Commits to next steps with dates is met: on the 2026-09-26 call she agreed to the 2026-11-12 board date, a date she committed to on the call ([Call, 2026-09-26]). Not met on three tests. Defends the solution, because a briefing is not a defence. Shares competitor intelligence, because the Oldgate renewal is already on the CRM. Asks how to help, with no record. Row 5 is met by active selling inside the committee on our behalf: on 2026-09-25 she briefed the board chair on the records fix and forwarded the ledger comparison ([CRM, 2026-09-25]). She also coached us on Walt Okonkwo's objection to tablets ([Call, 2026-09-26], illustrative).
• Competition: 4 Of 5. Oldgate Ledger Pro is the incumbent, direct software, renewal March 2027 [CRM]. The rep's notes say Stonemark was also evaluated, with no preference stated [Notes]. A strategy exists and is not yet tested with the buyer [Notes].

Weighted Score:

Health: 4.20 ÷ 5 × 100 = 84, GREEN (scored 8 of 8).

Stage Check: The Stage 5 Negotiate minimum is 70 or higher (profile: Qualification Stage Gates), which overrides the table's default of 65, and it is met at 84. Critical elements: all except Competition are at 3 or higher, and Economic Buyer is at 4 or higher, so met. The Stage 6 Closed-Won and Handoff minimum is 75 or higher and is met on health, but it is not met on the critical elements, because Paper Process is 3 and needs 4 or higher.

Gaps And Risks: The close date has no change on record since it was set [CRM], so the close-date pattern is not flagged. The top risk is Paper Process at 3, the one element holding the deal from Stage 6. The second is the board chair's name, which is [Unknown], so Economic Buyer is identified by title only. The third is the ROI framework, which is shared but not agreed.

Next Actions:

1. Owen Pruitt asks Ruth Ellery to walk through the legal and vendor steps with him, by 2026-10-05. Element: Paper Process. Owner: AE. Success: each step has an owner and a date in the CRM.
2. Owen asks Ruth for the board's approval sequence and confirms the 2026-11-12 meeting, by 2026-10-05. Element: Decision Process. Owner: AE. Success: each approval step names a person.
3. Owen agrees the ROI framework with Ruth in writing, by 2026-10-12. Element: Metrics. Owner: AE. Success: the framework is agreed by Ruth and filed on the record, moving Metrics to 5.
4. Owen asks Ruth to arrange a second call with the board chair, by 2026-10-12. Element: Economic Buyer. Owner: AE. Success: the chair states the budget on the call and the name is recorded.
5. Owen asks Ruth for the board's evaluation criteria in writing, by 2026-10-12. Element: Decision Criteria. Owner: AE. Success: the buyer's written criteria are on the record.

Next action: action 1. No current-stage floor fails, and Paper Process (3) blocks the Stage 6 floor, so it comes first. Action 2 is a critical gap, not a moderate one, because Decision Process carries the Stage 6 exit criterion, the board or CFO approval date set (profile: Qualification Stage Gates). Step 5 therefore dates it five business days after the run date, 2026-10-05. It has the same owner and the same person as action 1 and falls due on the same date, so its ask travels in the same message. Actions 3 to 5 are moderate gaps dated ten business days out, 2026-10-12, which is later than the next action's date, so they are later steps.

Stage Recommendation: HOLD at Stage 5 Negotiate, checked 2026-10-05. The deal passes the Stage 5 minimum and misses the Stage 6 minimum on Paper Process alone. Its dated actions close that gap by 2026-10-05, the date the stage is checked, and the board date sits on the calendar for 2026-11-12. The deal moves to Stage 6 when Paper Process reaches 4 and the board approval date is confirmed.

Hand-off (read by 10, 11 and 14):
account: Brackhaven Memorial Gardens (ACTIVE, Stage 5 Negotiate)
run_date: 2026-09-28
meddpicc_scores: Metrics 4, Economic Buyer 4, Decision Criteria 4, Decision Process 4, Paper Process 3, Identified Pain 5, Champion 5, Competition 4
health_score: 84 (scored 8 of 8)
stage_minimum_met: Yes for Stage 5 Negotiate (70 or higher, profile: Qualification Stage Gates). No for Stage 6 Closed-Won and Handoff (75 or higher), because Paper Process is 3 and needs 4
stage_recommendation: HOLD, checked 2026-10-05
risk_patterns: none flagged on the evidence. Economic Buyer identified by title only, name [Unknown]
next_action: Owen Pruitt asks Ruth Ellery to walk through the legal and vendor steps by 2026-10-05 (five business days after the run date of 2026-09-28, with no earlier record date), and in the same message asks for the board's approval sequence and confirmation of the 2026-11-12 meeting, which is also due 2026-10-05 and so travels with it. Later steps: actions 3 to 5, dated 2026-10-12
report_path: none (inline)

Example 2: Same Deal Three Weeks Later, Below The Stage Minimum

Context: Brackhaven again, on 2026-10-19, three weeks after Example 1 and day 40 in Stage 5 Negotiate. The close date has moved twice since 2026-09-28, on 2026-10-07 and 2026-10-14 [CRM] (illustrative), each time after the board did not confirm, and the board date is not confirmed. Ruth has not replied since 2026-10-03, which is 16 days [CRM]. The board chair has joined one call, in Stage 4 Proposal. The same day's Deal Pulse reads 38, High Risk (08). The CRM still shows Stage 5 Negotiate. This is the non-success case.

Input: "MEDDPICC score Brackhaven again. It's still in Negotiate."

Scoring Summary (Scored 8 Of 8):

• Metrics: 3 Of 5. General pain is quantified [Call, 2026-09-26], but the ROI numbers have not been updated since the board date moved [Notes].
• Economic Buyer: 4 Of 5. The board chair is identified by title, name [Unknown], and had direct access on one call [CRM]. The Step 2 rule scores a buyer identified by title with direct access on one call at 4, even with the name unknown. There has been no direct access since that call, and we communicate through Ruth only [Notes]. The budget is not confirmed, so the score is not 5.
• Decision Criteria: 3 Of 5. Some criteria are known [Call, 2026-09-26]. Stonemark is still being evaluated and the criteria it is judged on are not on the record [Notes] (illustrative).
• Decision Process: 2 Of 5. Ruth said "I'll take it to the board" with no date and no approval sequence [Notes].
• Paper Process: 3 Of 5. Aware that legal and vendor steps exist, details unclear (profile: MEDDPICC).
• Identified Pain: 4 Of 5. The primary pain is clear and partly quantified [Call, 2026-09-26]. Walt Okonkwo's quantified account from the 2026-09-17 call is also on record [Call, 2026-09-17] (illustrative). The score stays at 4, not 5, because no deadline the buyer named now sits behind the close date. Ruth named the March 2027 Oldgate renewal as the deadline behind the 2026-11-12 board date [Call, 2026-09-26], but the close date has moved off that board date twice since, on 2026-10-07 and 2026-10-14 [CRM] (illustrative), and no buyer has tied the moved date to the renewal [Unknown].
• Champion: 5 Of 5. Champion status is Strong on the 2026-10-19 record, with four of seven shared champion tests on record, each dated: creates urgency (the March 2027 renewal Ruth named as the deadline behind the board date), introductions, internal politics and commits to next steps with dates (she agreed to the 2026-11-12 board date on the 2026-09-26 call), all on 2026-09-26 [Call, 2026-09-26]. Defending the solution is not met, because a briefing is not a defence. The 2026-09-25 briefing of the board chair [CRM, 2026-09-25] is the active selling that row 5 asks for. Ruth has been silent for 16 days [CRM], and silence is not a no, so the status and the row are read from the tests on record, and the score is 5, not 4.
• Competition: 3 Of 5. Stonemark is still in the evaluation with no preference stated [Call, 2026-09-26], and no written position against it is on the record [Notes] (illustrative).

Weighted Score:

Health: 3.55 ÷ 5 × 100 = 71, YELLOW (scored 8 of 8).

Stage Check: The Stage 5 Negotiate minimum is 70 or higher (profile: Qualification Stage Gates), which overrides the table's default of 65. Health 71 meets it. The minimum is still not met, because a critical element fails: Decision Process is 2 and needs 3. Economic Buyer (4), Champion (5), Identified Pain (4), Decision Criteria (3), Paper Process (3) and Metrics (3) are at their floors.

Risk Patterns:

• Close Date Fantasy: two slips, and the board date is not confirmed [CRM].
• Happy Ears: "I'll take it to the board" with no date behind it [Notes].

Next Actions:

1. Owen Pruitt asks Ruth Ellery for the board date, by 2026-10-26. Element: Decision Process (2 to 3). Owner: AE. Success: a dated board meeting is on the record.
2. Owen asks Ruth Ellery to name the legal and vendor steps with their dates, by 2026-10-26. Element: Paper Process (3 to 4). Owner: AE. Success: each step has an owner and a date on the record.
3. Owen re-runs the ROI numbers with Ruth now that the board has moved, by 2026-11-02. Element: Metrics (3 to 4). Owner: AE. Success: current-state numbers are on the record.
4. Owen asks Ruth for the criteria the board will judge the options on, in writing, by 2026-11-02. Element: Decision Criteria (3 to 4). Owner: AE. Success: the buyer's written criteria are on the record.
5. Owen writes a position against Stonemark and tests it with Ruth, by 2026-11-02. Element: Competition (3 to 4). Owner: AE. Success: a written Stonemark position is on the record.

Next action: action 1. Decision Process (2) is the one failed critical element for Stage 5, so it comes first. Paper Process (3) is the next-stage blocker, below the Stage 6 floor of 4, and it is a critical gap, so action 2 is dated five business days after the run date too. Action 2 goes from the same owner to the same person on the same date, so its ask travels in the same message. Actions 3 to 5 are moderate gaps, dated ten business days out at 2026-11-02, and are later steps (a later date). The order of actions 3 to 5 follows the table: Metrics, Decision Criteria and Competition are all at 3, and Economic Buyer and Identified Pain sit at 4, so they are not in the five.

Stage Recommendation: HOLD at Stage 5 Negotiate, checked 2026-10-26. Owen asks Ruth for the board date by 2026-10-26, five business days after the run date of 2026-10-19, and that deadline is the date the stage is checked. If the board date is not confirmed by 2026-10-26, the deal moves one stage back to Stage 4 Proposal. It does not return to Stage 2 Discovery, because the Identified Pain is 4 and the pain is confirmed.

At Stage 4 Proposal this deal meets the minimum of 50 and its critical elements: Identified Pain (4), Champion (5) and Decision Criteria (3) are each at 3 or higher. The move brings the forecast in line with the buyer's real date. The deal returns to Stage 5 only when Decision Process reaches 3, health stays at 70 or higher (profile: Qualification Stage Gates), and the board chair has been met directly.

Hand-off (read by 10, 11 and 14):
account: Brackhaven Memorial Gardens (ACTIVE, Stage 5 Negotiate)
run_date: 2026-10-19
meddpicc_scores: Metrics 3, Economic Buyer 4, Decision Criteria 3, Decision Process 2, Paper Process 3, Identified Pain 4, Champion 5, Competition 3
health_score: 71 (scored 8 of 8)
stage_minimum_met: No for Stage 5 Negotiate (70 or higher, profile: Qualification Stage Gates). Failed critical element: Decision Process (2, needs 3)
stage_recommendation: HOLD, checked 2026-10-26
risk_patterns: Close date fantasy (two moves since 2026-09-28, board date unconfirmed), happy ears ("I'll take it to the board" with no date)
next_action: Owen Pruitt asks Ruth Ellery for the board date by 2026-10-26 (five business days after the run date of 2026-10-19), and in the same message asks for the legal and vendor steps with their dates. If the board date is not confirmed by 2026-10-26, the stage moves to DOWNGRADE, Stage 4 Proposal. Later steps: actions 3 to 5
report_path: none (inline)

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Common Patterns

Pattern: The Pulse And The MEDDPICC Disagree

Deal Pulse scores sixteen signals in four pillars, and this skill scores eight elements. A deal can read Yellow on one and ORANGE on the other, and both can be right. Report both with their dates, name the element or signal that drives the gap, and act on the element.

Pattern: The Same Deal Re-Scored After A Slip

Re-run this analysis after every stage date or close date changes, and compare the two runs element by element. A deal whose score drops while its stage stays the same is showing the slip in the record. When the score falls and the stage holds, that is the signal for the HOLD rule with a dated action.

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Troubleshooting

"The Weighted Score Seems Wrong"

Cause: Math error in weighting. Solution: Verify the formula is (sum of score × weight over scored elements) / (5 × sum of scored weights) × 100, and that an INSUFFICIENT element carries no weight. Each scored element contributes its score (1-5) × its weight as a decimal (15% is 0.15). With all eight scored, the weights sum to 100%.

"Rep Disagrees With Low Scores"

Cause: Gap between rep knowledge and CRM evidence. Solution: Score based on evidence. Suggest the rep log their intelligence to the CRM so the next run reflects it. Frame it as: "The CRM tells one story. Let's make sure it tells the right one."

"The Champion Score Looks Stale"

Cause: The shared champion tests are met on an earlier call and nothing has been repeated since. Solution: Read the status as it stands on the run date. Name the date of the last test met, and score the rubric row the current record supports. Ask the rep for the next dated action that would put a test back on the record.

"Multiple Deals Requested At Once"

Cause: Manager wants portfolio view. Solution: Run MEDDPICC on each deal individually, then create a summary table comparing health scores and common gap patterns across the portfolio. A gap common to the portfolio needs five cases before it is named as a pattern.

"The Stage Is Below Its Minimum And The Date Has Not Passed"

Cause: A gap is open but its dated action is still in time. Solution: Recommend HOLD with the dated action, and set the date the stage will be checked. Do not recommend DOWNGRADE early. The rule moves a deal only after the date passes.

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Best Practices

Do's

• Use The Weighting System. Economic Buyer at 20% is weighted highest for a reason.
• Flag Risk Patterns. "Happy ears" and "zombie deal" are the most common pipeline killers.
• Connect Coaching To Specific Frameworks. Name the step from the team's own sales methodology, not generic advice.
• Compare Health To Stage Minimums. A deal at Stage 6 Closed-Won and Handoff with health below 75 needs attention.
• Show Both Instruments When They Disagree. The two dates are the explanation.

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Integration With Other Skills

Reads from the skills before it, by field name. A missing field is reported as missing, not rebuilt here.

• Deal Pulse (08). Reads its health_score (called Pulse health in the report, so it is not confused with this skill's health_score), risk_level, pillar_scores, signal_scores and next_actions, with the run date of the Pulse result. A Pulse result with no run date is shown as date Unknown. Used to focus the check and to compare the two instruments. Never used as evidence for an element on its own.
• Call Coaching (13). Reads call_score, category_scores, focus_area, coaching_points, key_moments and champion_status. A coaching point counts as evidence only with its quote or its grade attached.
• Stakeholder Mapping (10). Reads threading_score, buying_roles, ghost_nodes and champion_status. A ghost node counts against the Economic Buyer and Decision Process evidence until someone is named.

Hands to the skills after it, by field name.

• Stakeholder Mapping (10). Reads meddpicc_scores, health_score, stage_minimum_met, stage_recommendation and risk_patterns.
• Competitive Strategy (11). Reads meddpicc_scores for the Competition element, with stage_recommendation and risk_patterns for context.
• Sales Handoff (14). Reads meddpicc_scores, stage_minimum_met and stage_recommendation to check the deal is ready to move to Stage 6 Closed-Won and Handoff.

Hands To The Close. Wrap-Up reads report_path when a file was written, the health_score as the score, and next_action with its owner and date.

Related Skills: Call Coaching (13) after a call, to see whether the new intel changes any element score. Meeting Prep (06) uses the gaps to set the meeting's target, for example "this meeting should target Economic Buyer access and Decision Process mapping."

Chains

• Work The Deal: Meeting Prep (06), Call Coaching (13), Deal Pulse (08), MEDDPICC Analysis (09), Stakeholder Mapping (10). This skill adds the eight-element score and the stage recommendation.
• Beat The Incumbent: MEDDPICC Analysis (09), Competitive Strategy (11), Competitive Displacement (12), Account Snapshot (02) or Meeting Prep (06). This skill adds the Competition element and the stage check that sets how urgent the plan is.
• Close And Hand Off: MEDDPICC Analysis (09), Sales Hand-Off (14), Wrap-Up (O10). This skill adds the stage minimum check that decides whether the deal is ready to move to the handoff stage.

Guild Pro Kits (Optional)

The Business Case & ROI Kit (a paid Guild Pro kit) reads this skill's hand-off block by field name. This skill is free and works without any kit. This skill also reads the kit's hand-off block back as optional context (case_status, hard_value, payback_months_hard, open_bets and next_action), and it never presents an ASSUMPTION line from the kit as a buyer fact. The fields the kit reads from this skill:

• meddpicc_scores (the Metrics and Economic Buyer elements)
• stage_recommendation (below 4 on Metrics, where the case says the metrics are not yet agreed)

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Changelog

2.1.17 (2026-10-27)

• The shared contract now says an ask to the next action's person with no date of its own travels with the next action, and defines the champion test "explains the internal politics" (the contact tells the rep who decides, or how the decision gets made).

2.1.16 (2026-10-27)

• The shared contract's Champion Tests section now defines "commits to next steps with dates": the contact agrees, on record, to a dated next step in the deal, such as a meeting they book or a date they commit to on a call.
• The shared contract's next-action rule now says which asks travel with the next action: every ask to the same person due on or before its date, counts and figures included, and never a document the person must draft first or an ask due later.
• Next-action row and Step 5. The same-person ask travels when it is due on or before the next action's date, and a count or figure the person has to look up travels with it. The earlier wording allowed only the same date.
• Champion test. Ruth Ellery's "commits to next steps with dates" is met on her agreement, on the 2026-09-26 call, to the 2026-11-12 board date. This applies the shared definition of the test that the shared contract adds to all 14 skills.
• Example 1. Decision Process is a critical gap, because the Stage 6 exit criterion (board or CFO approval date set) sits with it, so its ask is dated 2026-10-05 and travels with the next action. Champion stays four of seven and Strong. The Pain and Champion row 5 reasoning is unchanged.
• Example 2. Champion counts four of seven: creates urgency (the renewal Ruth named as the deadline), introductions, internal politics and dated next steps, moving from three to four, and stays Strong. Scores, health, verdict and the HOLD and DOWNGRADE rules are unchanged.
• Try-it promise. The Champion count is four of seven, the approval ask is due 2026-10-05 with the next action, and the Deal Pulse line gives the date and each field as unknown, as the Pulse rule requires.

2.1.15 (2026-10-27)

• The shared contract's Champion Tests section now defines "asks how to help" (the contact asks what the rep can supply to move the internal decision). The PlotIQ profile dates Brackhaven's deal from 2026-05-06, names the economic buyer for the Stage 2 gate the way the Buying Committee does, and limits the $25K board line claim to one-site accounts.
• Identified Pain row 5 names the Champion Test's creates-urgency bar as its first condition and adds the buyer's own tie of the deadline to the close date. A record that holds the deadline without the tie meets the Champion Test and leaves the row at 4.
• Paper Process. The report states that the team's own paper steps are [RECORD] in the profile. Metrics already states the same for the metric wording.
• Example 1. The actions are the five that the Step 5 order gives: Paper Process, Decision Process, Metrics, Economic Buyer and Decision Criteria. The Decision Criteria action is named as a later step. The Champion count follows the 2.1.14 shared rule, so a briefing is not a defence. The Deal Pulse line matches the try-it records.
• Example 2. The Champion count follows the 2.1.14 rule (three of seven, a briefing is not a defence, Strong still holds). The five actions follow the Step 5 order: Decision Process, then Paper Process as the next-stage blocker, then Metrics, Decision Criteria and Competition at 3. The duplicate manager action is removed. Scores, verdict and the HOLD and DOWNGRADE rule are unchanged.
• Try-it. The records state what each person said and did, with dates. Element labels, rubric phrases and the Zone row reference are removed, and the buyer's own tie is recorded as her words. The promise names the Decision Criteria later step and the [RECORD] statements. No score, verdict, health or stage recommendation changes.

2.1.14 (2026-10-27)

• The shared contract's Champion Tests section now defines "creates urgency" (a dated deadline the decision works to, with its date and source on record) and "defends the solution" (a recorded case of arguing for us in our absence to someone who decides), and says a test not yet run is never scored.

2.1.13 (2026-10-26)

• Next action. An ask to the same person from the same owner travels with the next action only when it is due on that action's date. A later date makes a later step, even for the same person. The gap class sets the date: a critical gap is due five business days out and a moderate gap ten.
• Paper Process and Metrics. Where the MEDDPICC section holds a [RECORD] for the paper steps or the metric wording, the rubric is applied to the record alone, and the report says so.
• Try-it. The records give what each person said and did, with dates. The labels that pre-sorted the champion tests and the rubric phrases are removed. No score, verdict, stage recommendation or next action changes.

2.1.12 (2026-10-26)

• Next action. The Output Contract next_action row and Step 5 give the priority order: a reply owed to a buyer, then a failed current-stage critical element (INSUFFICIENT first), then the next-stage blocker, then other gaps by the Step 4 ranking. Ties go to the lower score, then to table order. Asks to the same person from the same owner travel in the same message. a different owner or a later date makes a later step.
• Identified Pain. A named deadline counts for the close date when the buyer ties it to the event the close date sits on, such as a board meeting, whether or not the board has confirmed it. The link ends when the close date moves and no buyer ties the new date to the deadline.
• Decision Process. Row 4 holds when each approval step and its stakeholder are on the record, even with a set date the approver has not confirmed. Row 3 holds when the process is known only in general terms.
• Decision Criteria. "Strong on most" in row 4 is read against the recorded must-haves. Row 5 still needs the criteria in writing.
• Metrics. A figure counts as the prospect's when the prospect stated it or the CRM records it as the prospect's.
• Deal Pulse. An absent upstream output is shown per field: none on record, or the date with each missing field marked unknown. No comparison is made.
• Example 2. The stage check date is 2026-10-26, the dated action's deadline. The example scores, verdicts and health are unchanged.
• Try-it. The promise adds the same-person approval ask and states the Deal Pulse record per field.

2.1.11 (2026-10-26)

• Identified Pain. An urgent timeline is a deadline the buyer named that the close date is set against. Urgency with no named deadline scores 4, so rows 4 and 5 no longer overlap.
• Champion. A briefing to the holder of a role that the record names only by role reaches that role, so a briefing to the board chair reaches the economic buyer.
• Stage minimum. Step 3 uses the profile's gate figure for the stage, and the table default applies only where the profile states none.
• First action. Step 5 dates the first action by the shared rule whatever its gap class. An exit criterion sits with the element whose rubric names its fact.
• Try-it. The Deal Pulse figure, the champion count and the rubric phrases are removed from the records, and the facts they stated are kept. The example scores, verdicts and next actions do not change.

2.1.8 (2026-10-26)

• Citations. A fact taken from the profile is cited (profile: Section) with the profile's own section name, in place of [Notes]. A rep's or AE's own notes keep [Notes]. The Context paragraph states the rule.
• ENGAGED. A Status Check in Step 1 scores only ACTIVE accounts. An ENGAGED account (two-way contact, no open deal) returns a one-line result with no health score, stage line or stage recommendation. The Input Contract names the status.
• Champion. The champion tests, including the definition of shares competitor intelligence, are applied here by pointer to the Shared Contract, not restated.
• Headings and labels are capitalized word by word.
• The examples' scores, verdicts, stage recommendations and next actions do not change.

2.1.7 (2026-10-26)

• Leak scrub. The Input Contract, the Context and the Integration text no longer carry the example's amount, and the Common Patterns text no longer states the example's Deal Pulse and MEDDPICC scores or their dates. The stage minimum rule is written for any gate figure, and the table default applies where the profile states none, with the report saying so.
• Dangling references to the examples are reworded so the rule text stands alone. The Input Contract, Step 3 and Common Patterns no longer point at a numbered example.
• Settled: the Deal Pulse score is labelled Pulse health in the report and read with its run date, the knowledge base note is said once at the start when no base is present, and a company fact cited from the profile is tagged [Notes] while an account fact the CRM holds is tagged [CRM].
• The examples keep their scores, verdicts, stage recommendation and next action. Only the profile labels and the amount's source changed.

2.1.6 (2026-10-26)

• Consistency pass across the sales skills. The second run's Economic Buyer and Champion elements are scored by the rubric on the record of the run date, which changes that run's health score and band. Its stage line, gap actions and next actions follow from the recomputed elements.
• The close-date moves in the second run are dated. The single-threaded flag is removed, because three contacts are on record. The Identified Pain reasoning quotes the stakeholder's call with its own date.
• Stage thresholds and rules are unchanged. The return-to-Stage-5 condition is stated with the Decision Process element that fails the critical floor.
• Call-sourced facts in the examples carry their call dates. Each bare call tag is dated to the call that holds the fact, and a call with no date on record is written [Call, date Unknown].

2.1.5 (2026-10-26)

• The invented CRM dated-action context line of the second run is removed, and its stage recommendation, gap actions and next action carry the shared rule's date.
• The first action, which is the next action, follows the family's one deadline rule. The other four actions keep their gap timing.
• The Output Contract points to that rule, and each example names the record behind an earlier date.
• The return-to-Stage-5 threshold in Example 2 is stated at the profile's 70 gate, as the Stage-Appropriate Minimums section states it.

2.1.4 (2026-10-26)

• Try-it evidence completed so a strict first run reproduces Example 1 under the Pass Rule. The champion test that was dated after the run date is re-dated to a record on or before it, matching the Stakeholder Mapping and Deal Pulse records for the same account. The close-date history is added to the record.
• Five first-run questions are settled in one sentence each. A stakeholder named only by role is known for Decision Process (Methodology, Decision Process). The economic buyer title comes from the Buying Committee role-title map (Methodology, Client Context). A profile gate figure is the minimum on every run (Stage-Appropriate Minimums). A critical gap is defined for a next-stage blocker (Step 5). The HOLD check date is the dated action's deadline (Step 6).
• A test met by active selling inside the committee is the evidence row 5 asks for (Methodology, Champion).
• The try-it promise states the score count and the check date. The examples' scores, verdict, band and next action do not change.

2.1.3 (2026-10-26)

• Try-it evidence completed so a strict first run reproduces Example 1. The try-it records and Example 1 now carry Ruth's own pain and the prospect's own trust-report figure, so the two stakeholders' pains and the Metrics figure are on the record. Brackhaven is placed in Zone 1 HIGH on the profile. The try-it ask names the profile path.
• Four first-run questions are settled in one sentence each: an economic buyer identified by title scores 4 without a name (Step 2). A profile gate figure is the minimum for the stage it enters, so 70 replaces 65 for Stage 5 (Methodology). The stage line also reports the next stage, and a failed next-stage check holds the deal (Stage Recommendation Rules). The first action follows the failed critical element (Step 5).
• A prospect's number counts only when the prospect stated it on a call or in the CRM (Step 2, Metrics).
• The examples' outputs, scores and verdicts do not change.

2.1.2 (2026-10-25)

• Try-it evidence completed so a strict first run reproduces Example 1. An element with no evidence is INSUFFICIENT: it is left out of the total and the count, the result reads "scored n of 8", and below 6 of 8 there is no overall score. The weighted formula is re-weighted over the scored rows, and the formula is updated in the Output Contract, the Methodology, Step 3, the Quality Bar and the Troubleshooting. A score of 5 on Identified Pain needs two or more stakeholders. The examples score all eight elements, so their numbers do not change.

2.1.1 (2026-10-25)

• Adds examples/try-it.md so a first run reproduces Example 1.

2.1.0 (2026-10-25)

• Reads the Context OS base (the account's folder under accounts/, and the competitors under gtm/) and offers read-only CRM connectors through the shared contract's Knowledge Base and Connectors section, before the CRM deal read.
• Adds a Chains subsection placing the skill in the Work The Deal, Beat The Incumbent and Close And Hand Off chains.
• Adds a Guild Pro Kits subsection naming the hand-off fields the Business Case & ROI Kit reads, and the kit's fields this skill reads back.

2.0.1 (2026-10-20)

• The profile's Qualification Stage Gates figure is the stage minimum when the profile states one, and the report names the figure it used with the table's default beside it (Ryan, 2026-10-20). The PlotIQ examples use the profile's 70 for Stage 5 Negotiate.

Version 2.0.0 (2026-10-20)

• Moved to the Sales 2.0 standard: Overview with Core Principle and the platform line, Why This Skill Exists, Role, Input and Output Contracts, Context with the Shared Contract, Core Workflow with a Produces line per step, Epistemic Rules, Hard Rules with reasons, Quality Bar, and Integration with named hand-off fields.
• Stage names come from the profile's Qualification Stage Gates, written as Stage 2 Discovery and so on. No other stage list remains.
• The champion element reads the status from the shared champion tests, and the rubric row follows the status and the record as it stands on the run date.
• Stage recommendation words are ADVANCE, HOLD, DOWNGRADE and DISQUALIFY. The rules are written out, and they match Deal Pulse on the same deal: HOLD with a dated action, then one stage back if the gap stays open, never back to Discovery while the pain is confirmed.
• Health bands use the words GREEN, YELLOW, ORANGE and RED. The colour emoji are removed.
• Evidence labels replaced by the six shared tags. Every example fact is tagged.
• Hand-off fields named in the Output Contract, the Integration section and each example's hand-off block.
• Examples aligned to the PlotIQ chain file: Brackhaven at 84 on 2026-09-28, then 58 on 2026-10-19 with the HOLD rule and the 2026-11-02 DOWNGRADE to Stage 4 Proposal. The 1.3.0 downgrade to Discovery is removed.
• Weighted tables, weights, rubrics, stage minimums and risk patterns unchanged. The weighted tables are rechecked row by row.

Version 1.3.0 (2026-10-13)

• Examples re-cast on PlotIQ, the library's one example company. Example arithmetic and listed errors fixed, and a non-success example added.

Version 1.2.0 (2026-09-29)

• Worked examples rewritten onto a single example company
• Em dashes removed from prose

Version 1.1.0 (2026-07-06)

• Restructured around the five-part skill anatomy: Role, Input Contract, Output Contract, Methodology, Context
• Client-specific data de-embedded: the skill now reads the shared profiles/client-profile.md instead of carrying a copy-in Client Profile block (one profile powers every skill)
• MEDDPICC element rubrics, weighting system, health calculation, stage minimums, risk patterns, and coaching framework moved to an explicit Methodology section, {Methodology: X} references
• No functional changes to the workflow, element definitions, scoring logic, examples, or output formats

Version 1.0.0 (2026-03-04)

• Initial release
• Client-configurable via Client Profile block
• All 8 weighted elements, scoring rubrics, risk patterns, and coaching mappings preserved
• Vendor-agnostic CRM instructions
• Multi-format artifact generation