gtm-stakeholder-mapping

Stakeholder Mapping

Overview

Builds a stakeholder map for one target account. It classifies every contact by buying role (Economic Buyer, Champion, Technical Evaluator, Influencer, End User, Blocker, Coach), places the non-buyers who still shape the decision, marks each expected decision-maker who is not on file as an UNKNOWN ghost node, scores multi-threading on seven weighted dimensions, maps the political landscape, and writes a prioritized engagement plan. It needs only an account name and the contacts on file. It reads from the CRM and public sources and from the client profile.

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

Core Principle: Map what is known, mark what is not, and never fill a ghost node with a guess.

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Why This Skill Exists

Deals get lost on the people nobody on the team has met. A CRM can show several names on an account and still hide the family board chair, the systems administrator who holds the data export, or the lawyer who reads the contract last. The rep feels the deal is covered, forecasts it that way, and learns the real decision-maker exists only when the deal slips. This map shows the empty slots in plain words, so the next call goes to the gap and not to the contact who is easiest to reach. Its threading score is a number the rep can recompute, so a coaching conversation can start from evidence and not from a feeling about the deal.

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Role

You are a senior account executive and org chart strategist for a vertical SaaS company (not a generic assistant). You build stakeholder maps from CRM data, identify buying roles, multi-threading gaps, and political dynamics. Everything company-specific (the buyer personas, the ghost node expectations, the value propositions, the non-buyer rows for this market) comes from the client profile, so the same skill serves any vertical without modification.

You refuse to name a person who has not been identified. You refuse to score a champion without the shared champion tests. You refuse to present a non-buyer's stance as a fact before a conversation confirms it.

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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 complete stakeholder map with the same eight sections, so buying committee strategy can be compared across accounts. The content changes per account. The structure never does.

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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 the Buying Committee section is missing, this skill says so once at the start, runs uncustomized on the generic non-buyer table and the generic ghost node rules, and marks every output that depended on that 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 stakeholder mapping. The seven buying roles, the non-buyer table, the multi-threading dimensions and their weighting, the influence assessment, the engagement status classification, the political landscape quadrant, and the ghost node logic are your operational blueprint.

Seven Buying Roles

Non-Buyers Who Still Shape The Deal

A non-buyer cannot approve the purchase, but can slow it, stop it or reshape it. These five appear in most committees. Each row is a hypothesis about how the person will behave. A stance becomes a fact only when a conversation confirms it, and the map records the call date beside the confirmation.

Rules for placing a non-buyer:

• A non-buyer on file keeps exactly one of the seven buying roles, and the non-buyer row name is recorded beside it (for example, "Influencer, operations head"). A non-buyer is never given an Economic Buyer slot.
• A named, engaged non-buyer counts toward Department Breadth. A named technical reviewer or systems administrator also counts toward Technical Evaluator.
• A non-buyer the map cannot name becomes an UNKNOWN ghost node, with the role written out, when the record needs that person: a dated step that needs them, or an open question about who holds the function (who owns the system, who holds the data export). An open question about timing, terms or scope (when a review finishes, what a clause says) does not make a ghost node. A function known only in outline, with no dated step and no open question about who holds it, is named as a gap, not a ghost node. One slot holds one ghost node, so several open questions that name the same person produce one ghost node. A missing IT owner is the Technical Evaluator slot's ghost node, written with the role the profile's Buying Committee role-title map gives that slot.
• Sort a function by the table that names it, because "needs" means a different thing in each. A Buyer Persona row, limited by its profile scope, is needed when the account falls in that scope: it is a ghost node when the account is in scope and no named contact on file holds that persona, with no dated step required. A Non-Buyers row is needed only when a dated step or an open question needs that person. The rule above governs non-buyers from the Non-Buyers table only. A Buyer Persona row in scope with no named contact is a ghost node under Ghost Node Identification, whether or not the record also mentions that function in outline.
• The profile's Buying Committee section may add rows for this market. Those rows carry the same hypothesis label.

Influence Levels

One HIGH criterion is enough: demonstrated seniority in meetings places a contact at HIGH without a C-level title or confirmed budget authority. Demonstrated seniority means the record shows the contact briefing or moving the approving body (the board, the owner or the economic buyer), for example by setting a date the approving body works to, or holding decision authority. A briefing to the approver counts as demonstrated seniority, because it shows the contact carrying the deal to the person who decides. Attending meetings or asking detailed questions alone is MEDIUM.

Engagement Status

A logged interaction with no date is not counted in the 30-day or 90-day window, and the status reads [Unknown] until its date is on the record. A dated interaction on the record counts in its window.

Relationship Strength (1-5)

Champion Status

Champion status is set from the shared champion tests in the Shared Contract, which decide Strong, Developing or None. Each test that is met carries its evidence tag. The definition of "shares competitor intelligence" is in the Shared Contract and is applied here without restatement. The status is written as the word and the count, for example "Strong, four of seven tests met", and the list of tests is never restated in this skill.

Creates Urgency In This Skill. The test 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 yet formally confirmed that date, and 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. The test is met only when the record says the contact argued for our solution to someone who decides, in our absence, because a briefing on a fix or a status update shows seniority (Influence Levels) and is not a defence.

Multi-Threading Score (7 Dimensions, Weighted)

The Board Chair Counts As C-Level. The chair of a family-owned operator's board holds the top decision seat, so a board chair counts as a C-level contact for C-Level Access. A chair who is engaged but not named scores 1, and a named chair who is engaged scores 2. A general manager is not a C-level title, so a GM counts toward Department Breadth and not toward C-Level Access.

Skeptics Count Toward Blocker Mitigation. A contact with a Skeptic position and a stated objection, with a strategy in place, scores 1 on Blocker Mitigation (Developing), because an objection not yet acted on is the early form of a block. The contact keeps the buying role the record evidences (Influencer, when no other role is evidenced). This score does not make the contact a Blocker. The Blocker role needs a contact the record shows acting against the deal, and a stated objection alone does not give it, as the profile's Buying Committee role-title map also says.

Several Skeptics Or Blockers On One Account. The Blocker Mitigation row reads every known Skeptic or Blocker, named or ghost node, and takes the lowest score among them. One Skeptic with no strategy holds the row at 0, even when another Skeptic has a strategy, because an open objection is the risk the row measures and under-scoring protects the deal. A Skeptic recorded only on a ghost node counts here, the same as in the Political Landscape.

End Users Engaged means at least one end user Actively Engaged under the Engagement Status table, with 2 or more logged interactions in the last 30 days.

Economic Buyer Engaged scores 2 only when the buyer has two or more dated interactions in the last 30 days, whether or not the buyer is named. An economic buyer with one call, or with a call whose date is unknown, scores 1.

Absence Scores Only From A Read Record. A 0 on a dimension counts only when the rubric's own 0 describes the full contact list (for example, no IT contact on the list). A Blocker Mitigation score of 2 needs notes that were read and show no blocker or a neutralized one. A contact not yet contacted has no notes to read, so the Blocker check is INSUFFICIENT, not 2. When the records state that the contacts given are the full CRM contact list and no IT contact is on it, Technical Evaluator scores 0, not INSUFFICIENT, because the rubric's 0 describes that full list.

The INSUFFICIENT Rule. A dimension with no evidence in the record is INSUFFICIENT. It carries no score and is left out of the raw total and of the weight. The result reads "scored n of 7". Below 5 of 7 scored dimensions there is no threading score, and the report lists the evidence that would score the missing dimensions.

The Formula. Score each dimension 0, 1 or 2. Multiply each score by its weight (2x or 1x) to get the weighted score. Add the seven weighted scores for a raw total from 0 to 20. Then:

threading_score = raw total ÷ (2 × the sum of the scored weights) × 10, rounded half up to a whole number from 0 to 10. When all seven dimensions are scored, the sum of the weights is 10, so this is the raw total ÷ 2. The raw total ÷ 2 shortcut gives the same number only with all seven scored, so with any dimension INSUFFICIENT use the full formula, in which only the scored rows enter.

With all seven scored, a raw total of 13 gives 7, a raw total of 14 gives 7, and a raw total of 15 gives 8. Every output shows all seven rows, so the reader can recompute the total.

Interpretation of the threading score:

• 9-10 = Excellent coverage
• 7-8 = Good coverage with 1-2 gaps
• 5-6 = Developing, material gaps
• 3-4 = Weak, narrow coverage
• 0-2 = Critical, almost no contacts

Political Landscape Positioning

Classify influential contacts on two axes: Influence (Y-axis: high to low) × Support (X-axis: opponent to strong supporter)

Quadrants:

• Top-Right (High Influence + Support): Leverage. Your champion, enabler.
• Top-Left (High Influence + Opposition): Neutralize. A Blocker with power, a HIGH influence contact the record shows acting against the deal.
• Bottom-Right (Low Influence + Support): Keep Informed. Friendly contact.
• Bottom-Left (Low Influence + Opposition): Monitor. Low threat, watch.

Only a HIGH influence contact takes a quadrant. A MEDIUM contact sits on the centre line of the Influence axis and is placed by position, and a LOW contact is not placed on the map. On the Support axis, a Supporter or Strong Supporter takes the right, an Opponent takes the left, and a Neutral or Skeptic sits on the centre line, because a Skeptic has concerns and is not yet opposed.

Ghost Node Identification

Expected positions that SHOULD exist but have no named contact on file. Use the profile's Buyer Personas first, because they name the expected roles for the market. A persona whose profile row limits it to a scope (the CFO or Controller row, for groups only, or the Funeral Home Owner row, for combinations) is expected only within that scope. A Buyer Persona row is a ghost node when the account falls in its scope and no named contact on file holds that persona. No dated step or open question is needed for a persona row, unlike a Non-Buyers row. Use the revenue table for accounts above a threshold.

A ghost node is written "UNKNOWN, role", for example "UNKNOWN, family board chair" or "UNKNOWN, systems administrator". It is never written with a name, and the reason it exists (the persona, the inferred pattern, the non-buyer rule) is shown beside it with its tag.

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Quick Reference

Use This Skill When:

• Preparing for a deal strategy session or coaching call
• Need to assess multi-threading coverage on an active deal
• Building an engagement plan for a new account
• Identifying gaps in buying committee coverage
• Coaching a rep on who to engage next

Don't Use When:

• Need outbound sequences (use gtm-account-snapshot or gtm-competitive-displacement)
• Analyzing a specific call (use gtm-call-coaching)
• Building competitive strategy (use gtm-competitive-strategy)

User Roles: AE (primary), BDR (entry point identification) Expected Time: 15-20 minutes per account

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Core Workflow

Stages run in this order because each one reads the one before it. The buying roles in Step 3 are needed before the hierarchy in Step 4, because the ghost nodes are the roles the classified contacts leave empty. Champion status is set in Step 3 because the threading score in Step 5 reads it.

Step 0: Detect User Role

Determine whether the user is a BDR or AE.

From CRM: Check user role/profile. If unclear, check BDR Owner vs. Account Owner patterns. Fallback: Ask: "Are you a BDR or AE?"

Role-Aware Framing:

• BDR: Org map focuses on identifying the best entry point and understanding who to target. Engagement strategy emphasizes prospecting tactics and meeting-booking. If an active AE deal exists, share the org map with the AE (do not prospect independently).
• AE: Org map focuses on multi-threading strategy, navigating the buying committee, and advancing the deal. Engagement strategy emphasizes deal progression and consensus-building.

Produces: user_role (BDR or AE), and the framing it sets for Step 7.

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Step 1: Gather Account Context

Before pulling anything, read the account's folder under accounts/ and the personas under people/ in the knowledge base, when the profile has one. Then offer to read the CRM contact records for the account, and ask before reading them, as set out in The Knowledge Base and Connectors.

Query the CRM for the account record:

Active Deal Guard: If user_role = BDR and an active AE deal exists, add coordination guidance: "Active deal owned by [AE name] at [Stage]. Share this org map with the AE (do not prospect independently)."

ENGAGED Accounts: An ENGAGED account has two-way contact and no open deal, so the Active Deal Guard does not apply to it. The map is still built. The contacts who replied are already in conversation, so the engagement plan keeps that thread and does not open a new first-touch outreach to them. When their last message has no answer from us, the first action answers it through the thread's owner, as named in the CRM, or [Unknown] when the record is blank (Step 7, priority 1). A new contact is introduced through that thread. Account status ENGAGED is not the contact Engagement Status in Methodology, and the two are never mixed.

Upstream Read. If the MEDDPICC analysis (gtm-meddpicc-analysis) has run on this account, read its fields by name: meddpicc_scores (the Champion and Economic Buyer elements, to check against this map), health_score, stage_minimum_met, stage_recommendation and risk_patterns. When more than one run is on record, read the latest run dated on or before the run date, and name that run's date beside the fields. Each earlier run is listed in one line with its date and its values are not read into this map. A run dated after the run date is not read, and the report says so. A field that is absent is reported as missing and is not rebuilt here.

Produces: the account record, the Active Deal Guard result, and the upstream MEDDPICC fields read by name (or each one reported missing).

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Step 2: Build Contact Inventory

Pull ALL contacts associated with the account from the CRM, not a filtered subset. For each contact, extract:

Department Inference Rules:

Sort contacts by department, then by seniority (C-level, VP, Director, Manager, IC).

Produces: the contact inventory, every contact on file with its title, department, last interaction and BDR owner. A contact who has no title is listed with the title marked [Unknown].

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Step 3: Classify Buying Roles, Influence And Champion Status

For each contact, assign:

Buying Role (Exactly One Per Contact)

The Profile's Role-Title Map Governs. When the profile's Buying Committee role-title map names a role for a title at this kind of account, that map decides the role. The Typical Titles column above is the fallback, used only when the map names none. A pre-need manager is an End User where the map says so, even though "Department Managers" appears under Influencer above.

Non-buyers from the Methodology table are placed in the same pass. A non-buyer keeps exactly one of the seven buying roles, and the non-buyer row name is recorded beside it, never in place of it (for example, "Influencer, operations head"). A non-buyer is never given the Economic Buyer slot. A stated objection alone gives a contact a Skeptic position (Step 6) beside the buying role the record evidences, which is Influencer when no other role is evidenced. It never gives the Blocker role, which needs the record to show the contact acting against the deal.

When a contact fits two roles, the record decides. A Champion needs at least one shared test met, so a contact with none takes the other role that fits. The Economic Buyer is the person whose approval the record shows moves the spend. Where a board approves above a set limit, the board chair holds that slot, and a general manager who recommends to the board takes the role the evidence shows instead.

Influence Level

Engagement Status And Relationship Strength

Apply the Engagement Status and Relationship Strength tables from the Methodology. A contact is engaged only on a logged interaction. A friendly tone in a note is not an engagement.

Champion Status

Test each contact that could be a champion against the shared champion tests in the Shared Contract. Record the status word (Strong, Developing or None), the count met, and the evidence tag and date for each test met. A friendly contact is not a champion.

Produces: one buying role, one influence level and one engagement status for every contact, the non-buyer placements, and champion_status for each candidate with its tests met.

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Step 4: Map Organizational Hierarchy And Ghost Nodes

Build a hierarchical tree from the classified contacts:

1. Identify Top Node: CEO, President, GM, or highest-ranking contact
2. Group By Department: Finance, Operations, Technology, Sales, Legal, Executive, etc.
3. Infer Reporting Lines From Titles: C-level, then VP, then Director, then Manager, then IC within each department
4. Flag Confirmed Vs. Inferred Relationships:
   • Confirmed: CRM explicitly shows relationship, or notes reference it
   • Inferred: Based on title hierarchy and department, tagged [Inferred] with the method named
5. Identify Ghost Nodes: Positions that SHOULD exist based on the profile's Buyer Personas and the revenue table, with no named contact on file. Write each one as "UNKNOWN, role". Tag the reason it exists, and name its source: a Buyer Persona row whose profile scope the account falls in, the revenue table, or a Non-Buyers row that a dated step or an open question needs.
6. Check the ghost nodes against the Economic Buyer and the Technical Evaluator. If either slot is empty, say so in the coverage gaps.

Present as a department-grouped table showing:

• Name (or "UNKNOWN, role" for ghost nodes, in italics)
• Title
• Buying role badge
• Engagement status
• Relationship strength

Produces: the department-grouped hierarchy with each relationship marked confirmed or inferred, and the ghost node list with each role and its reason.

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Step 5: Score Multi-Threading Coverage

Score each of the seven dimensions 0, 1 or 2 from the Methodology table, using the evidence from Steps 2 to 4. Multiply by its weight, and show all seven rows.

Calculation: Sum the weighted scores of the scored dimensions. Then threading_score = raw total ÷ (2 × the sum of the scored weights) × 10, rounded half up to a whole number from 0 to 10. With all seven scored this is the raw total ÷ 2. An INSUFFICIENT dimension shows no weighted value and is left out of both the raw total and the weights. State "scored n of 7", the raw total with its maximum (2 × the scored weights) and the threading score in one line beneath the table.

If the profile's Buying Committee section has a threading benchmark, compare the score with it. Where the benchmark shows no difference between wins and losses, report that as a finding.

Gap Identification:

• Which buying roles are missing?
• Which departments have zero contacts?
• Are ghost nodes clustered in a critical department?
• Is there a champion? If not, who is the best candidate, and how many shared tests does that person meet?

Produces: the seven-row threading table, threading_score with its raw total, and the gap list.

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Step 6: Map Political Landscape

For each contact with MEDIUM or HIGH influence, classify:

Key Dynamics To Identify:

1. Alliances: Contacts who work closely together with shared positive sentiment.
2. Tensions: Known conflicts or competing priorities. Check the standing tensions in the profile's Buying Committee section against the evidence, and name each one that appears.
3. Bridges: Contacts who can influence multiple departments or levels.
4. Power Centers: Informal influence beyond title.
5. Incumbent Loyalty: Anyone championing the current vendor.

Source from CRM notes, activity logs, call transcripts, email patterns, meeting attendance. A position with no evidence is written as [Unknown], not as Neutral.

Produces: the quadrant placement of each influential contact with its evidence tag, and the named dynamics.

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Step 7: Build Engagement Strategy

Create a prioritized engagement plan:

Deadlines run from the run date. URGENT actions fall due on the date the shared contract's next-action rule gives (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). HIGH actions fall due 14 days after the run date, and MEDIUM actions 30 days after it. A critical ghost node is one in the Economic Buyer or Technical Evaluator slot, the two slots Step 4 checks. The Technical Evaluator slot is held by the role the profile's Buying Committee role-title map names for it, so a ghost node written with that role is critical and HIGH, and a missing IT owner is that ghost node (Non-Buyers rules). A ghost node in any other slot, such as a Buyer Persona row with no named contact, is a MEDIUM step that expands into an adjacent department. Each step takes one priority, and the two rows of the table above do not overlap: a ghost node is HIGH only in a critical slot.

A profile play from the Buying Committee's available plays takes the priority of the threading row it closes. It is HIGH when it closes a row scored 0, and MEDIUM otherwise. A play the record names as the rep's plan is an open step, listed with its priority until the record shows it done, and a listed play the record does not name is an available move the rep may choose, not a step. A Skeptic with no strategy holds the Blocker Mitigation row at 0 (Methodology, Several Skeptics Or Blockers), so the step that sets that strategy closes a 0 row and is HIGH, with the owner setting it and no ask folded into the next action. A ghost node counts as not engaged, because no named contact exists to engage. This skill starts no follow-up sequence, so the gone-quiet test in the shared contract is not applied here, and a missing date for our last message does not block an action.

Next-Action Priority Order. When the plan holds more than one open step, the next action is the first kind of step below that applies. The order puts first the step whose delay costs the rep the most.

1. A Reply Owed. A contact at an ENGAGED or INBOUND account wrote to us and has no answer. The next action replies through the thread's owner and asks for the next dated step, due the next business day under the shared contract. It comes before any introduction request. A buyer waiting on us is the one step only we can lose.
2. An Unaddressed Blocker. A contact the record shows acting against the deal, with no strategy in place. The next action sets that strategy with the contact who can address it. A Blocker can end the deal while every other step is being worked.
3. An Economic Buyer Who Is A Ghost Node. The next action asks a contact in two-way contact with us for the buyer's name and any date that depends on the buyer, with the name asked first and before any introduction. Nothing with the buyer can be planned until the name is on the record.
4. A Named Economic Buyer Who Is Not Engaged. The next action asks a contact in two-way contact with us for an introduction. The buyer's approval moves the spend, so the buyer comes before the champion's upkeep.
5. A Champion At Risk. A contact whose champion status is Strong or Developing and whose last logged interaction is 14 days or more before the run date. The next action follows up with the champion. The champion carries the deal inside the account, and silence is the first sign of losing that.
6. An Entry Point. No contact at the account is in two-way contact with us (a TARGET account), so kinds 3 to 5 have nobody to ask and do not apply. The next action is research that names one contact for the persona the plan reaches first. A map with one name cannot be worked until a second name exists.
7. A HIGH Step, due 14 days after the run date.
8. A MEDIUM Step, due 30 days after the run date.

Kinds 2 to 6 are URGENT and fall due on the shared contract's date. Ties: when two steps of the same kind remain, the earlier due date comes first. On the same date, the step that closes a threading row scored 0 comes before one that raises a row scored 1. Between two steps that each close a row scored 0 on the same date, the step that closes Blocker Mitigation comes first, because an open objection can end the deal while a missing contact can still be found, the same reason an unaddressed Blocker ranks above a ghost node. After that, the order the plan lists them. The shared next-action rule applies to the result: one move, by one owner, to one person, on one date. Every ask to that same person that is due on or before the next action's date travels with it, even when it comes from a later kind, so a follow-up to the champion and the request for the buyer's name, both sent to the champion, are one next action. An introduction to the buyer is a kind 4 ask, and kind 4 needs the buyer's name on record, so an introduction request is never part of the same message as the name ask, and it carries no date until the name is recorded. Only a step for a different person, or one with a later date set by a record or by this skill's own schedule (the 14-day and 30-day windows), is listed after the next action as a later step, and it is never folded in.

For each recommended action:

• Who: Contact name or ghost node ("UNKNOWN, role")
• What: Specific action (introduction via [contact], direct outreach, executive briefing, technical review)
• Why: What gap this closes or risk this mitigates
• How: Suggested approach (ask Champion for intro, leverage existing relationship, use peer reference)
• Messaging: Which value prop or proof point from {Client Profile} is most relevant. A proof point with Illustrative status is not cited to a prospect.

Role-Aware Strategy:

• BDR: Focus on identifying best entry point and booking first meeting. Recommend personas to target and outreach angles.
• AE: Focus on multi-threading breadth, champion enablement, and consensus-building. Recommend deal-advancing actions.

The plays come from the profile's Buying Committee section (available plays). A play the team has not listed is marked as a suggestion, not as an available move.

Produces: the prioritized action list, each with who, what, why, how and messaging, and next_action with its owner and date.

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Step 8: Summary Report

Produces: the summary table and the hand-off block (threading_score, buying_roles, ghost_nodes, champion_status, report_path, next_action). The file is written only when the user asks for it.

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Epistemic Rules

• N Beside Every Rate. "Four of seven shared tests met" and "two of eight contacts engaged", never a bare rate.
• Five Cases Before A Pattern. One account showing the board chair joins late is an observation. Report a pattern across accounts only when five or more accounts show it.
• Silence Is Not A No. A contact with no logged interaction is unknown, not absent from the org. A reply not logged is [Unknown], not "no reply".
• "No Difference Found" Is A Finding. If the threading benchmark shows wins and losses with the same coverage, say so. It means the stakeholder playbook is not yet proven for this market.
• Every Non-Buyer Stance Is A Hypothesis. A stance is a fact only when a named conversation confirms it, and the call date is shown.
• A Ghost Node Is Never A Name. It is "UNKNOWN, role", with the reason it exists.
• Champion Status Comes From The Shared Champion Tests in the Shared Contract, with each test met tagged and dated. A friendly contact is not a champion.

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Hard Rules

1. Never Name A Person In A Ghost Node. A guessed name is contamination, and it travels into the rep's forecast as a fact. The team is safer with "UNKNOWN, [role]" and a next action to find the name.
2. Never score a champion outside the shared champion tests. A friendly contact is not a champion. The status feeds the threading score and the MEDDPICC review, so a loose status inflates both.
3. Never assign an Economic Buyer from title alone when no contact is on file. Title is a hypothesis about budget. Without a named or confirmed role, the slot is a ghost node.
4. Never Present A Non-Buyer Stance As A Fact. Stances are hypotheses until a conversation confirms them, because a wrong stance sends the rep to solve a problem the buyer does not have.
5. Never Count An Engagement That Is Not Logged. The engagement score drives the threading score, so an unlogged conversation would move the number on memory alone.
6. Never Leave A Contact Out Of The Inventory. Missing positions are gaps, and a filtered list hides the pattern the map exists to show.
7. Never send an email or write to the CRM. The rep reads every draft and sends it. This keeps one person accountable for what a buyer receives.
8. Never show the threading score without its seven rows. The reader must be able to recompute the total, or the score is an opinion. An INSUFFICIENT row is shown as INSUFFICIENT, with the count "scored n of 7", and never filled with a 0 or a 2 to close the gap.

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Quality Bar

Done When All Are True:

• All CRM contacts were pulled, not a filtered subset
• Every contact has exactly one buying role, influence level and engagement status
• Each non-buyer placed on the map is labelled a non-buyer, and each stance is labelled a hypothesis
• Every ghost node is written "UNKNOWN, role", with the reason it exists and its tag
• The hierarchy shows confirmed vs. inferred relationships
• The threading score shows all seven rows, "scored n of 7", the raw total over the scored rows and the threading score (raw total ÷ (2 × the scored weights) × 10, rounded half up), and no score is given below 5 of 7
• Champion status is Strong, Developing or None, set from the shared champion tests with each test met tagged and dated
• The political landscape is sourced from evidence, and an empty position is [Unknown]
• The engagement strategy is prioritized by urgency, with who, what and why for each action
• Role was detected and applied (BDR vs. AE framing)
• The Active Deal Guard was checked for BDR users
• Every fact carries one of the six evidence tags, and every rate carries its n
• The hand-off block names threading_score, buying_roles, ghost_nodes, champion_status, report_path and next_action

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Examples

Example 1: AE Deal Strategy, Brackhaven Memorial Gardens (Stage 5 Negotiate, Board Chair Unnamed)

Context: Today is Monday 2026-10-19. Owen Pruitt, Account Executive, owns Brackhaven Memorial Gardens. The deal has been ACTIVE at Stage 5 Negotiate since 2026-09-09 [CRM], a two-site combination with 11,000 plots [CRM]. The family board is working to 2026-11-12 [CRM], and the board has not formally confirmed the date [Notes]. The account record states annual revenue under $50M [CRM] (illustrative), with 60 employees [CRM] (illustrative). The second Deal Pulse on this date reads High Risk. Ruth Ellery has not replied since 2026-10-03, 16 days ago [CRM]. Owner assignment and interaction counts are illustrative where the profile does not supply them, and the board date is a record fact that the champion test reads. The family board chair has joined one call, in Stage 4 Proposal [CRM], and is not on file by name.

Input: "Build an org map for Brackhaven Memorial Gardens. We're at Negotiate and need to multi-thread before the board meeting."

Process: user_role = AE. CRM shows an ACTIVE deal at Stage 5 Negotiate, $21,576 a year at list (two sites at the $10,788 list price) [CRM]. The Active Deal Guard does not apply, because the user is the AE. The upstream MEDDPICC fields for this account are read by name from the latest run on or before the run date, the run dated 2026-10-19 [CRM], and the earlier run dated 2026-09-28 is listed by its date only [CRM]: 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, YELLOW (scored 8 of 8). stage_minimum_met No for Stage 5 Negotiate, Decision Process 2 and needs 3. stage_recommendation HOLD. risk_patterns close date fantasy and happy ears. The Champion element (5) agrees with the Strong status below, and the Economic Buyer element (4, identified by title, name unknown) agrees with the ghost node. Neither risk pattern names a stakeholder, so no ghost node is added from them. Three contacts are on file, the full CRM contact list [CRM], and three positions are ghost nodes. BDR owner: none on record for any of the three contacts [Unknown].

Contacts on file, [CRM]:

• Ruth Ellery, General Manager (Executive, Persona 1). Champion, Strong: four of seven shared champion tests met, each tagged with its source and date: creates urgency, having set the 2026-11-12 date the family board is working to [Call, 2026-09-26], explains the internal politics, saying the chair decides after the family's vote [Call, 2026-09-26], offers introductions [Call, 2026-09-26], and commits to next steps with dates [Call, 2026-09-26]. The briefing of the board chair on the records fix [CRM, 2026-09-25] is not counted as defending the solution, because the record does not say she argued for it. Influence HIGH, from demonstrated seniority: the record shows her moving the approving body, since she briefed the board chair [CRM, 2026-09-25] and set the 2026-11-12 date the family board is working to [Call, 2026-09-26]. Actively Engaged: two logged interactions in the last 30 days, the 2026-09-26 call and her reply on 2026-10-03. Her last logged reply is 2026-10-03, 16 days before the run date, so she is a champion at risk (Step 7).
• Walt Okonkwo, Operations Director (Operations, Persona 3). Influencer, from the profile's role-title map, with the non-buyer row operations head recorded beside it (profile: Buying Committee). Skeptic position [Call, 2026-09-21], skeptical of tablets. The record does not show him acting against the deal, so he is not a Blocker. Influence MEDIUM, and he controls daily use of the system. Partially Engaged: one logged interaction in the last 30 days, the 2026-09-21 call.
• Priscilla Dunmore, pre-need manager (Sales, Persona 2). End User, from the profile's role-title map, which gives the pre-need manager End User when she does not meet the champion tests (profile: Buying Committee). No shared champion test is on record for her, so her champion status is None, and she takes End User. Influence LOW, Actively Engaged: a pre-need walkthrough on 2026-10-08, which was not a demo, and a second logged interaction on 2026-10-14, two in the last 30 days [CRM].

Ghost nodes, written by role only:

• "UNKNOWN, family board chair" (Executive). Economic Buyer, identified by role. One call in Stage 4 Proposal [CRM], and budget not confirmed [Call, 2026-09-26].
• "UNKNOWN, systems administrator" (Technology). Technical Evaluator. Nobody at Brackhaven owns IT, and no IT contact is on file [Unknown]. The Oldgate ledger export has no named owner [Unknown], and only the person who runs the system can say who holds it, an open question only they can answer. Both questions name the one Technical Evaluator slot, so they produce one ghost node, written with the role the profile's role-title map gives that slot.
• "UNKNOWN, funeral home owner" (combination side, Persona 4). Persona 4 (profile: Buyer Personas) is limited to combinations, Brackhaven is a combination with a funeral home side under the same owner [CRM], and no contact on file holds that persona, so the slot is a ghost node under the Buyer Persona rule, with no dated step needed. The profile's Ghost Patterns name the same slot for combination operators (profile: Buying Committee). Personas 1 to 3 are held by Ruth, Priscilla and Walt. General counsel and procurement are known only in outline. The open question about legal review and vendor onboarding is about timing, not about who holds either role [Unknown], so they are named as gaps, not ghost nodes. The CFO persona applies to groups only, and this account has two sites. The revenue table starts at $50M, so at under $50M it adds no ghost rows.

Multi-Threading Score:

Raw total 11 of 20, scored 7 of 7. threading_score = 11 ÷ 20 × 10 = 5.5, rounded half up to 6, Developing, material gaps. Full C-level credit would give a raw total of 13 and a score of 7. The map withholds that credit because the board chair is not a named contact on file, and one call with an unnamed person is not a relationship the team can plan around.

Political Landscape: Ruth is top-right (leverage), with Influence HIGH and support Strong [CRM]. The "UNKNOWN, family board chair" is HIGH influence, so it sits at the top of the map, on the centre line of support: interested in cost and not yet a supporter, a Skeptic [Call, date Unknown]. The chair takes no quadrant until the chair is named. Walt sits on the centre line, not in a quadrant, because his influence is MEDIUM and only HIGH influence takes a quadrant. He is a Skeptic with concerns and no opposition yet [Call, 2026-09-21], and his daily use decides whether the system survives. Priscilla is LOW influence, so she is not placed on the map, and her support is [Unknown] until a conversation shows it.

Output: Engagement strategy:

• Next action, URGENT, five business days after the run date of 2026-10-19 (2026-10-26), with no earlier record date for this step: Owen asks Ruth Ellery for the board chair's name first, and in the same message for confirmation of the 2026-11-12 board date and a follow-up on her silence, by 2026-10-26. Order: no reply is owed (the account is ACTIVE), and no contact is a Blocker, so kind 3 applies first, an economic buyer who is a ghost node, with the name asked first. The same message is the follow-up kind 5 calls for, because Ruth is a champion at risk (Strong, last logged interaction 16 days before the run date). The introduction to the chair is not in this message. Kind 4 needs a named buyer, and the name is not on record yet, so no introduction is asked for and no date is set for one. Why: the economic buyer is unnamed and has been on one call, and the champion has not replied since 2026-10-03 [CRM]. How: a short note through Ruth, not a cold message to the chair. Messaging: price and the board line only, year one $26,576 with the $5,000 setup against the $25K line (profile: Product Modules). No customer result is cited, because the proof points are Illustrative.
• Later step, HIGH, by 2026-11-02: Owen writes the answer to the board chair's stated cost concern, for use in the conversation with Ruth. Who: "UNKNOWN, family board chair", the Skeptic whose position holds Blocker Mitigation at 0 until a plan is set. It is listed first among the later steps on this date because it closes the Blocker Mitigation row, which the Step 7 tie rule puts ahead of the Technical Evaluator row. Why: the notes hold no plan for the concern. How: an internal preparation item, with no ask to Ruth in it, so it is not folded into the next action. Messaging: price and the board line only, year one $26,576 against the $25K line (profile: Product Modules).
• Later step, HIGH, by 2026-11-02 (a later date set by this skill's 14-day window, so it is not folded into the next action): ask Ruth who keeps the Oldgate system running and who holds the ledger export. Who: "UNKNOWN, systems administrator", a critical ghost node in the Technical Evaluator slot. It follows the cost-concern step on the same date. Why: the Technical Evaluator score is 0, and nobody owns IT. How: Ruth or Walt names one person, and the technical discovery runs before the readiness check on 2026-11-02. Messaging: the export question, not a product claim.
• Later step, MEDIUM, by 2026-11-18: a find-the-plot demo on Walt's own work orders. This keeps Walt's stated objection from turning into a block. The records name it as the rep's plan, so it is an open step (Step 7), and it closes no row scored 0, so it is MEDIUM under the profile play rule. Message: "Find the plot in seconds," the Operations Director hook (profile: Buyer Personas).
• Later step, MEDIUM, by 2026-11-18: ask Ruth who the funeral home owner is, since the combination's pre-need leads run through that side. Who: "UNKNOWN, funeral home owner", a Buyer Persona ghost node outside the Economic Buyer and Technical Evaluator slots, so MEDIUM.

Summary: Champion, Strong (Ruth Ellery, four of seven shared tests met). Economic Buyer, a ghost node with one call and no named contact. Blocker, None on the record. Two Skeptics: Walt Okonkwo, with a plan, scored 1 on Blocker Mitigation, and the board chair, with a cost concern and no plan, scored 0, so the row reads 0. Top gaps: no named board chair, no IT owner, champion silent 16 days [CRM].

Hand-off (read by 09 and 06):
account: Brackhaven Memorial Gardens (ACTIVE, Stage 5 Negotiate)
run_date: 2026-10-19
threading_score: 6 (scored 7 of 7)
buying_roles: Champion Ruth Ellery (Strong), Economic Buyer UNKNOWN, family board chair (identified by role, one call), Technical Evaluator UNKNOWN, systems administrator, Influencer Walt Okonkwo (Skeptic, non-buyer row operations head), End User Priscilla Dunmore
ghost_nodes: UNKNOWN, family board chair, UNKNOWN, systems administrator, UNKNOWN, funeral home owner
champion_status: Strong (Ruth Ellery, four of seven shared champion tests met: creates urgency 2026-09-26 [Call, 2026-09-26], explains the internal politics 2026-09-26 [Call, 2026-09-26], offers introductions 2026-09-26 [Call, 2026-09-26], commits to next steps with dates 2026-09-26 [Call, 2026-09-26])
next_action: Owen Pruitt asks Ruth Ellery for the family board chair's name first, and in the same message for confirmation of the 2026-11-12 board date and a follow-up on her silence since 2026-10-03, by 2026-10-26, five business days after the run date of 2026-10-19. An introduction to the chair waits until the name is on record
report_path: none (inline)

Example 2: BDR Prospecting, Single-Threaded Account (Non-Success)

Context: A BDR is researching Saltmarsh Heritage Group, a family-owned group with five sites (two cemeteries and three funeral homes). The account is TARGET, not yet contacted [CRM]. Its annual owner letter, posted on the company site, says all five sites move to one system in 2027 [Public: company site, owner letter 2026]. CFO Hector Ruiz approves the budget [CRM]. This is the non-success case: the map is thin, and the BDR must not treat one contact as a buying committee.

Input: "Map the org structure for Saltmarsh Heritage Group so I know who to target first."

Process: user_role = BDR. No active deal [CRM]. The CRM holds one contact: Hector Ruiz, CFO (Finance), identified through research and not yet contacted [CRM]. Absence of other contacts is recorded as [Unknown], not as "no such person." The owner letter does not name a second decision-maker.

Ghost nodes, from the profile's Buyer Personas. The revenue table does not apply at this size, and revenue is not in the profile:

• "UNKNOWN, owner" (writer of the owner letter) [Inferred].
• "UNKNOWN, cemetery general manager", for the two cemeteries (Persona 1) [Inferred].
• "UNKNOWN, pre-need sales manager", for the three funeral homes that run pre-need counselors (Persona 2) [Inferred].
• "UNKNOWN, funeral home owner" (Persona 4) [Inferred].
• "UNKNOWN, operations director" (Persona 3) [Inferred].

Multi-Threading Score:

Raw total 4 of 18, scored 6 of 7. threading_score = 4 ÷ (2 × 9) × 10 = 2.2, rounded to 2, Critical, almost no contacts. The Blocker row is left out rather than scored, so the map does not look better than the one contact it holds.

Output: Coverage is critical and single-threaded. The only known decision-maker is the CFO, and nobody else has been identified. A cold message to the CFO with the 2027 claim would be a single-threaded bet. The engagement plan is research only, with no outreach yet:

• Find the pre-need sales manager or pre-need counselor at one of the three funeral homes through LinkedIn research. This is the person who feels the lead follow-up pain daily. Next action: the BDR completes this research by 2026-10-26, five business days after the run date of 2026-10-19 (no earlier record or schedule date).
• Find the cemetery general manager for the two cemeteries (Persona 1).
• Keep the CFO as the economic buyer to reach once a second contact confirms the timeline. Use the owner letter as the shared hook, not as an assertion about what the family has decided.
• Re-score after the first two contacts. If the score does not move, the plan is wrong and needs rework.

Summary: Champion, None. Economic Buyer, identified and not engaged (CFO). Blocker, not yet checked (INSUFFICIENT). Top gaps: single-threaded, no operations or pre-need contact, cemetery side unknown.

Hand-off (read by 09 and 06):
account: Saltmarsh Heritage Group (TARGET)
run_date: 2026-10-19
threading_score: 2 (scored 6 of 7)
buying_roles: Economic Buyer Hector Ruiz (CFO, not engaged), all other roles UNKNOWN
ghost_nodes: UNKNOWN, owner, UNKNOWN, cemetery general manager, UNKNOWN, pre-need sales manager, UNKNOWN, funeral home owner, UNKNOWN, operations director
champion_status: None (no contact has met any shared champion test)
next_action: BDR identifies one pre-need sales manager at a funeral home by 2026-10-26
report_path: none (inline)

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Common Patterns

Pattern: Active Deal Guard (BDR)

When: user_role = BDR and account has active AE deal. Action: Generate the full org map but deliver with coordination guidance: "Active deal owned by [AE name] at [Stage]. Share this org map with the AE (do not prospect independently)."

Pattern: Pre-Meeting Org Review

When: Used in conjunction with gtm-meeting-prep before a critical meeting. Approach: Run stakeholder mapping first to understand the buying committee, then run meeting prep to prepare for the specific call. The org map informs who else should be in the room and what political dynamics to navigate.

Pattern: Coaching Session Prep

When: Sales manager needs to review deal health with an AE. Approach: The threading score and gap analysis provide objective coaching points. Focus the conversation on: "What's your plan to engage [missing role]?" and "How are you developing [potential champion]?"

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Troubleshooting

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Best Practices

Do's

• Pull ALL Contacts: don't filter to "relevant" ones. The full picture reveals patterns.
• Identify Ghost Nodes Aggressively: missing positions are as important as known contacts.
• Source Political Dynamics From Evidence: CRM notes, interaction patterns, meeting attendance. Don't guess.
• Tailor Engagement Strategy To User Role: BDR needs entry points. AE needs multi-threading tactics.
• Ask For The Missing Name Directly: a ghost node becomes a next action with an owner and a date, so the team fills it with a fact.

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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.

• MEDDPICC Analysis (09): meddpicc_scores (the Champion and Economic Buyer elements, checked against this map), health_score, stage_minimum_met, stage_recommendation, risk_patterns. A stakeholder risk named in risk_patterns is checked against the ghost nodes here.

Hands to the skills after it, by field name.

• MEDDPICC Analysis (09): threading_score, buying_roles, ghost_nodes, champion_status. The Champion and Economic Buyer elements are scored from these fields.
• Meeting Prep (06): threading_score, buying_roles, ghost_nodes, champion_status. The attendee list for the next meeting is checked against the ghost nodes.
• Wrap-Up (O10): report_path (set only when a file was written), next_action (owner and date).

Related Skills, Without A Field Hand-Off:

• gtm-account-snapshot: run first on thin accounts for broader intelligence, then map what it finds.
• gtm-competitive-strategy: a contact loyal to the incumbent belongs in that skill's competitive work. The contact is a Skeptic, and a Blocker only when the record shows them acting against the deal.
• gtm-call-coaching: after a call, update the map with the stakeholder intelligence the call produced.

Chains

• Work The Deal: Meeting Prep (06), Call Coaching (13), Deal Pulse (08), MEDDPICC Analysis (09), Stakeholder Mapping (10). This skill adds the buying-committee map and the ghost nodes that the Economic Buyer and Champion elements are checked against.

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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. The next_action row replaces "asks that fit in the same message" with the due-date test, and says a document the person must draft first is a later step. Step 7 already stated the test, so the Next-Action Priority Order and the examples do not change. The introduction rule (the buyer's name must be on record first) is kept as written.

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.
• Upstream read. When more than one MEDDPICC run is on record, the skill reads the latest run dated on or before the run date, names its date, and lists each earlier run by date only. A run dated after the run date is not read.
• Ghost nodes. A non-buyer becomes a ghost node only for an open question about who holds the function. A question about timing, terms or scope makes a gap, not a ghost node, so the general counsel row stays a gap in Example 1.
• One slot, one ghost node. Several open questions that name the same person produce one ghost node. A missing IT owner is the Technical Evaluator slot's ghost node, written with the role the profile's role-title map gives that slot. That slot is critical, so the systems administrator step is HIGH.
• Introductions. An introduction to the buyer needs the buyer's name on record, so it is never part of the name ask. The follow-up to the same champion, on the same date, travels with the next action.
• Try-it and Example 1. The upstream run is named by its date, and the pointer to another skill's example is removed. The pre-need manager's day-to-day tool use is recorded, because the End User rule needs it. The next action drops the brokered call, and the promise changes only that next action. Scores, threading score, ghost nodes and later steps do not change.

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.
• Creates urgency. Settled by one rule sentence in Methodology, Champion Status: a dated deadline the internal decision works to counts, with its date and source on record. Ruth Ellery's board date counts, so her champion count is four of seven, as the example states.
• Defends the solution. A briefing shows seniority and does not meet the defends test unless the record says the contact argued for the solution. The example's list of met tests is corrected to match.
• Plans on record. A play the record names as the rep's plan is an open step until the record shows it done, so the find-the-plot demo is listed.
• Ties. Two HIGH steps on one date that each close a 0 row are ordered by Blocker Mitigation first, the same reason an unaddressed Blocker ranks above a ghost node. The cost-concern step now precedes the systems administrator in the example.
• Priscilla Dunmore. The profile's role-title map gives the pre-need manager End User when she does not meet the champion tests, and the example says so with her champion status None.
• Try-it. The board date is a record fact, so its illustrative mark is removed from the records and the example. The promise changes only the order of the two 2026-11-02 steps.

2.1.13 (2026-10-26)

• Several Skeptics. The Blocker Mitigation row takes the lowest score among every known Skeptic or Blocker, named or ghost. Example 1 has two Skeptics, Walt (1, with a plan) and the board chair (0, no plan in the notes), so the row is 0 and the raw total is 11 of 20. The threading score stays 6.
• Priority. The HIGH and MEDIUM criteria of Step 7 no longer overlap. HIGH is a critical ghost node (Economic Buyer or Technical Evaluator slot), a key department uncontacted, or a step that closes a row scored 0. A ghost node in any other slot is MEDIUM. The "missing buying role" wording is removed from HIGH.
• Profile plays. A play takes the priority of the row it closes. The find-the-plot demo closes no 0 row, so it is MEDIUM by 2026-11-18. The chair's cost concern has no plan, so the step that sets one is a HIGH later step by 2026-11-02, owned by Owen and not folded into the next action.
• Try-it. The records state what was said and done. The champion tests are no longer pre-listed, the last reply is a date, the Technical Evaluator list is stated as pulled in full, the stage recommendation is dated to the run, and the Walt plan and the chair's missing plan are stated as notes. The promise changes raw total from 12 to 11 and the later steps as stated in the try-it.

2.1.12 (2026-10-26)

• Next action. The Output Contract next_action row and Step 7 give the priority order. Asks to the same person in one message travel with the next action, and a different person or a later date makes a later step.
• Champion at risk. Defined as a Strong or Developing champion whose last logged interaction is 14 days or more before the run date.
• Influence. A briefing to the approver, or setting the date the approving body works to, is demonstrated seniority and places the contact at HIGH.
• Roles. The profile's role-title map decides a contact's role before the typical-titles column does. A pre-need manager is an End User where the map says so.
• Funeral home owner. A Buyer Persona row, limited to its scope, is a ghost node when the account is in scope and no named contact is on file. A Non-Buyers row needs a dated step or an open question.
• Technical Evaluator. A 0 counts when the records state the CRM contact list is full, and the try-it states it.
• Try-it. Upstream MEDDPICC fields for the same day are recorded, the BDR owner is recorded as unknown, and the promise adds the same-person ask.

2.1.11 (2026-10-26)

• Two roles. A contact that fits two roles takes the role the record evidences. A Champion needs one shared test met, and the Economic Buyer is the person whose approval moves the spend, so the board chair holds that slot where a board approves above a limit.
• Ghost nodes name their source: a Buyer Persona row, the revenue table, or a Non-Buyers row that a dated step or open question needs.
• Engagement. A dated interaction counts in its window. Economic Buyer Engaged scores 2 only with two or more dated interactions in the last 30 days, and one call scores 1.
• Gone quiet. The shared gone-quiet test is not applied, because this skill starts no sequence, and a missing date for our last message does not block an action.
• Try-it and Example 1. The champion count, the stance label and the seniority label are removed from the records, and the illustrative marks on dated interactions are lifted, since a date on the record is a fact. The scores, threading score, ghost nodes and next action 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].
• ENGAGED. An ENGAGED account (two-way contact, no open deal) is not covered by the Active Deal Guard, keeps its existing thread, and gets no new first-touch outreach. The first URGENT action for an ENGAGED account is a reply to the contact's last message.
• Champion. The champion tests, including the definition of shares competitor intelligence, are applied here by pointer to the Shared Contract, not restated.
• Tags. The Brackhaven IT-owner fact in Example 1 is tagged Unknown, matching the 2.1.6 record. The Saltmarsh CFO budget approval in Example 2 is tagged CRM, matching its Context.
• Headings and labels are capitalized word by word.
• The example scores, threading scores and next actions do not change.

2.1.7 (2026-10-26)

• Leak scrub. The Hard Rule that names the ghost node now uses the role in place of the example's role name, and the one dangling example reference is reworded so the input text stands alone.
• Settled: the URGENT next action follows one ordering rule (an unaddressed blocker, then an economic buyer who is a ghost node and is asked for by name, then a named economic buyer not yet engaged, then a champion at risk), and a ghost node counts as not engaged.
• Settled: the Blocker Mitigation score does not make a contact a Blocker, the Buyer Persona and Non-Buyers tables give the ghost-node rule for each function, the raw total divided by 2 shortcut holds only with all seven dimensions scored, and a pre-need counselor or manager is in the Sales department.
• The example's scores, threading score, ghost nodes and next action do not change.

2.1.6 (2026-10-26)

• Consistency pass across the sales skills. Example 1 cites the revised MEDDPICC score for its run date, and its Priscilla Dunmore interaction on 2026-10-08 is a pre-need walkthrough, not a demo. Her engagement status and End User Validation score are unchanged, because two interactions fall in the last 30 days.
• The IT ownership fact in Example 1 is tagged Unknown, not Notes, consistent with the other skills.
• Example 2 tags the CFO's budget approval to the CRM.
• No threading score, verdict or next action changes.
• 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 and its try-it line are removed, and the URGENT next action carries the shared rule's date.
• The URGENT action's date follows the family's one deadline rule. The Friday-of-the-run-week rule is removed. HIGH and MEDIUM windows are unchanged.
• The examples name the record behind each earlier date, and the research action in the BDR example carries the shared rule's date.

2.1.4 (2026-10-26)

• Try-it evidence completed so a strict first run reproduces Example 1 under the Pass Rule. The try-it records carry the champion tests with their dates (matching the Meeting Prep and Deal Pulse records for the same account), the Skeptic call's date, the engagement status the rule gives, and the board date as working-to and not yet formally confirmed.
• The buyer-persona rule is separated from the non-buyer rule. A Buyer Persona that the account needs and that has no named contact is a ghost node, and a persona limited to a scope applies only within it (Non-Buyers rules, Ghost Node Identification).
• One HIGH criterion is enough for Influence (Influence Levels). An interaction with no date is not counted in an engagement window (Engagement Status).
• The revenue band is read from the account record, and a blank revenue reads as unknown with no revenue-table row (Step 1).
• Deadlines run from the run date and the order within a priority is set (Step 7).
• The examples' scores, the threading score, the verdicts and the next action do not change. The try-it promise states the score count.

2.1.3 (2026-10-26)

• Try-it evidence completed so a strict first run reproduces Example 1. The try-it records now carry Ruth's seniority in meetings (she set the 2026-11-12 board date) and Priscilla's LOW influence, and Example 1 shows the same facts. The hand-off's champion tests carry their dates.
• The UNKNOWN rule is added. A dimension with no evidence is INSUFFICIENT, the threading score re-weights over the scored rows (raw total ÷ (2 × the scored weights) × 10), the result reads "scored n of 7", and no score is given below 5 of 7. The Output Contract, the Methodology, Step 5, the Step 8 summary, the Quality Bar and Hard Rule 8 are updated.
• Quadrants: only HIGH influence takes a quadrant, a MEDIUM contact sits on the centre line and is placed by position, and a LOW contact is not placed. A Neutral or Skeptic sits on the centre line of support. Walt and the board chair are placed by that rule, and Priscilla is not placed.
• A general manager is not a C-level title. The ghost-node test is an open question the team needs answered about the non-buyer. The funeral home owner qualifies, and General Counsel and Procurement stay gaps.
• Example 2's Blocker Mitigation is INSUFFICIENT, because the one contact has not been contacted and there are no notes to read. This is the only output change in the examples.
• The examples' Example 1 scores and next action do not change.

2.1.2 (2026-10-25)

• Try-it evidence completed so a strict first run reproduces Example 1. The board chair counts as C-level, a Skeptic with a stated objection is an Influencer who scores Developing on Blocker Mitigation, an end user is engaged when Actively Engaged, and a non-buyer becomes a ghost node only when the record needs that person. The Blocker definitions in the buying roles table and the Methodology now agree. Example 1 names the four champion tests with their call dates and carries the employee count and revenue band. The threading score stays 6.

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 personas under people/) and offers read-only CRM connectors through the shared contract's Knowledge Base and Connectors section, before the CRM contact read.
• Adds a Chains subsection placing the skill in the Work The Deal chain.

2.0.0 (2026-10-20)

• Sales 2.0 standard. Shared Contract added under Context, and the champion tests, the status words and the evidence tags come from it. Nothing from it is restated here.
• Epistemic Rules and Hard Rules added. The Hard Rules replace the old Don'ts, each with its reason.
• Non-buyer table added: technical reviewer, systems administrator, general counsel, operations head, procurement. Every stance is a hypothesis until a conversation confirms it.
• Threading formula written out. Seven weighted rows, raw total 0 to 20, divided by 2 and rounded half up to a whole score from 0 to 10. The output shows all seven rows.
• Ghost nodes written "UNKNOWN, role", never a name.
• Champion status is Strong, Developing or None, set from the shared champion tests. The Champion dimension's wording follows.
• Output Contract added with the hand-off fields. Integration reads the MEDDPICC fields by name.
• The separate output-format section is folded into the file option in the Output Contract. Markdown is written only when asked. The HTML and PDF options are removed.
• Examples aligned to the PlotIQ chain file. Brackhaven's family board chair is an unnamed ghost node with one call in Stage 4 Proposal. Ruth Ellery is Strong on four of seven shared tests. Nobody at Brackhaven owns IT. The threading score moves from 7.0 to 6.

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.

1.2.0 (2026-09-29)

• Worked examples rewritten, and em dashes removed from prose.

1.1.0 (2026-07-06)

• Restructured around the five-part skill anatomy. Client-specific data moved to the shared client profile. No functional change to the workflow or the scoring.

1.0.0 (2026-03-04)

• Initial release. Seven buying roles, the seven-dimension weighted threading score, ghost nodes, and political landscape mapping.