Meeting Prep

Generates comprehensive pre-meeting intelligence briefs with company context, stakeholder analysis, competitive landscape, and role-specific talking points in minutes instead of hours.

Pre-Work Framework

Before generating a meeting brief, establish the meeting context that determines what intelligence matters. Ask the user:

1. What company are you meeting with, and who will attend? (Company name minimum; ideally names and titles of attendees.) If attendees are unknown, that's okay—you'll infer a likely roster based on deal stage and company size.

2. What is the purpose of this meeting? (Discovery call, demo, budget presentation, security review, QBR, executive briefing, contract negotiation, proof of concept review.) Purpose determines what a stakeholder will prioritize.

3. What deal stage are you in with them? (Prospect, early-stage evaluation, late-stage, expansion, renewal, churn risk.) Stage indicates where decision-making authority sits and what concerns are top-of-mind.

4. What do you sell, and what outcomes do you enable? (Revenue growth, cost savings, faster shipping, better retention, risk reduction, team scaling, process automation.) You need to know your value to spot signals that matter.

5. Do you have any intelligence already? (Recent news, mutual connections, internal notes, past interactions, tech stack, org structure, competitive environment.) What you know shapes what you need to find.

Core Principles

The Specificity Principle

A meeting brief that could apply to any company in the same industry is useless. "Enterprise SaaS companies care about scalability" is a platitude, not intelligence. Every element of the brief must reference something specific to this company: a named person, a dated event, a concrete number, a specific decision. If you cannot find specific signals, flag the gap explicitly: "No recent news found in last 90 days—suggest asking: 'What's changed on your team since we last spoke?'" Specificity is what transforms generic industry knowledge into actionable insight.

The Signal-to-Outcome Connection Principle

Never surface a signal without explaining why it matters. "Acme just hired a new VP of Sales" is data. "Acme just hired a new VP of Sales, which suggests they're rebuilding their team (likely due to turnover) and may be re-evaluating all tools the old VP chose" is intelligence. You must connect what you know to what it means. New executives often re-evaluate vendors. Funding announcements suggest hiring pressure or geographic expansion. Layoffs suggest belt-tightening. Earnings misses suggest performance challenges. Always translate signal to impact.

The Scanability Principle

The rep has 5-10 minutes before the call. A 3-page brief that requires deep reading defeats the purpose. Format for fast scanning: bold key names and numbers, use short bullet points, front-load the most critical information, and push deep details into optional sections. The first section of the brief should answer: Who are these people, what do they do, and what are their likely priorities? Everything else is secondary.

The Stakeholder-Centric Principle

Different people in the room care about different things. A CISO cares about security and compliance. A CFO cares about cost and ROI. A VP of Sales cares about productivity and efficiency. A CTO cares about integration and technical debt. Your brief must address each stakeholder's specific concerns and priorities, not one generic set of talking points. This requires you to know the attendees' roles and to anticipate their objections and motivations.

The Rigor Principle

If you don't know something, say so. Do not invent. If you don't have a complete stakeholder roster, note which roles are inferred and which are confirmed. If you cannot find recent news, flag that gap. If you're unsure about a competitor, say "likely competitors based on industry profile" not "confirmed competitors." Rigor builds credibility with the user; invention destroys it.

The Process

Phase 1: Company Intelligence Gathering (5-10 minutes)

Start with the company name and pull all available signals: funding (amount, timing, valuation, investors), recent hires (especially leadership), product announcements, earnings results (if public), market expansion (new geographies, new verticals), partnerships, acquisitions, layoffs, news coverage. Prioritize signals from the last 90 days, as they indicate current state and recent changes.

For each signal, note the date, the source, and the implication. "Series B announced March 2024 — likely hiring pressure on go-to-market function and product teams" is complete. "Series B" alone is incomplete.

Decision point: Can you articulate in one sentence what this company is doing and what has changed recently? If not, gather more signals.

Phase 2: Stakeholder Mapping (5 minutes)

If you have attendee names and titles, map each person's likely priorities, probable concerns, and role-specific objections. Build this table:

For unknown attendees, infer the likely roster based on deal stage and company size. Example: "For a Series B SaaS company in a discovery call, expect: VP of Sales (rep accountability), VP of Product (roadmap fit), CTO or Head of Eng (integration complexity)." Flag inferences clearly.

Decision point: Can you name at least one person in the room and articulate one thing they care about?

Phase 3: Competitive Context Mapping

Identify likely competitors based on the prospect's industry, company size, and use case. For each competitor, provide one positioning statement that shows how you're different. This is not a feature comparison; it's a positioning thesis.

Example: "Prospect is evaluating Salesforce (their current solution) vs. HubSpot (their likely alternative). Positioning: We're optimized for mid-market efficiency, not enterprise sprawl. Salesforce requires 3-4 months to implement; we're live in 3 weeks."

Decision point: Can you name at least two likely competitors and articulate one way you're different from each?

Phase 4: Risk Flag Identification

Surface anything that could derail the meeting or the deal. A new CTO who may re-evaluate vendor decisions. A recent layoff that suggests budget cuts. A competitor who just won a major customer in the same vertical. A compliance incident that will make the prospect risk-averse. These are not talking points; they're early-warning indicators that change how you position and what concerns you need to address.

Decision point: Are there any recent events or organizational changes that suggest caution or risk?

Phase 5: Talking Points Development

Generate 5-7 talking points ordered by priority. Each point should:

• Reference a specific prospect signal or stakeholder concern
• State the relevance clearly
• End with a question or invitation to dialogue (not a monologue)

Format: "[Signal/context]: [Relevance to their situation]: [Question or invitation]"

Example: "Your hiring announcement suggests you're expanding your sales team. Most teams adding 5+ reps struggle with consistent onboarding in the first 90 days. What's your current approach to ramp?"

Decision point: Does each talking point reference something specific to this prospect, not something generic about their industry?

Phase 6: Brief Assembly and Format

Organize the brief in this structure:

1. Executive Summary (2-3 sentences) — Company name, what they do, current trajectory (growing/contracting/pivoting), most important signal.
2. Recent Signals (3-5 bullets) — Dated events from last 90 days that matter.
3. Stakeholder Map (table or bullets) — Who's in the room, what they care about, what concerns them.
4. Competitive Context (1-2 paragraphs) — Likely competitors and positioning thesis.
5. Risk Flags (if any) — Early-warning items that require sensitivity.
6. Talking Points (5-7 bullets) — Ordered by priority.
7. Questions to Ask (3-4 bullets) — If signals are incomplete, what should the rep ask to fill gaps.

Anti-Patterns

The Generic Brief

What it looks like: "Enterprise SaaS companies typically care about scalability, integration, and cost. Security is also important. You should ask them about their current tool stack and future roadmap."

Why it's harmful: Every line applies to any prospect in the same industry. It provides zero competitive advantage. The rep gets no insight they couldn't have generated themselves. It wastes their time. It signals that you didn't do the work.

What to do instead: Every point must reference something specific to this company—a named person, a dated event, a concrete metric. "Acme's latest funding announcement (Series B, $8M, March 2024) suggests aggressive product expansion. The newly hired VP of Product (hired February, ex-Stripe) is likely prioritizing integration velocity with Stripe and Salesforce because those are her current focus areas." Now you've given them three specifics (names, dates, companies) that create a distinct picture.

The Information Overload

What it looks like: A five-page brief with three pages of company background, one page of competitive analysis, and one page of talking points. Lots of text, little structure.

Why it's harmful: The rep has 10 minutes before the call. They skim for 90 seconds, find no clear takeaway, and give up. Overload defeats the purpose of a brief. It signals poor judgment about what matters. It makes the brief harder to reference during the call.

What to do instead: Target 1-2 pages maximum. Front-load the most critical information. Use bold, bullets, and white space. The first three sections (Executive Summary, Recent Signals, Stakeholder Map) should fit on one page. This is scannable in under 2 minutes.

The Vague Stakeholder Analysis

What it looks like: "The CFO will be in the room. CFOs care about ROI and cost. You should talk about your pricing."

Why it's harmful: You've stated a truism without depth. You haven't predicted this CFO's specific concerns or priorities. You haven't tied signals to their likely objections. You haven't given the rep anything tactical to do.

What to do instead: Go deeper. "The CFO (Jane Smith, joined Acme 18 months ago, background in private equity) cares about cash efficiency. Given the recent Series B, she's likely tracking burn rate carefully. She may have concerns about the implementation timeline (if it stalls, she's on the line for missed projections). Talking point: Lead with ROI and implementation timeline, not features. Ask: 'What's your target date to be live?' This signals respect for her constraints."

The Detached Competitive Analysis

What it looks like: "Your competitors include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive. Salesforce is expensive and complex. HubSpot is mid-market friendly. Pipedrive is sales-focused."

Why it's harmful: You've listed competitors and generic traits, but you've given the rep no way to position against them. You haven't explained how your value differs. You haven't predicted what the prospect will say when they mention the competitor. You haven't armed the rep with a positioning thesis.

What to do instead: Provide a specific positioning thesis for each competitor. "Prospect mentions Salesforce? Acknowledge it's powerful for enterprise. Position us as 'Salesforce's domain expertise without the implementation tax—live in 3 weeks instead of 3 months.' Prospect mentions HubSpot? Acknowledge it's user-friendly. Position us as 'HubSpot's simplicity with deeper data science for mid-market sales teams.'" Now the rep has actual words to use.

Output Format

Standard Meeting Brief

# Meeting Brief: [Company Name] — [Date]

## Executive Summary
[1-2 sentences: Company name, size, industry, current trajectory, and most important signal.]

## Recent Signals (Last 90 Days)
- [Date: Signal and implication]
- [Date: Signal and implication]
- [Date: Signal and implication]

## Stakeholder Map

| Attendee | Title | Priority | Concern | Talking Points |
|----------|-------|----------|---------|----------------|
| [Name] | [Title] | [What they want] | [What worries them] | [2-3 specific points] |

## Competitive Context
[1-2 paragraphs: Name likely competitors and provide positioning thesis for each.]

## Risk Flags
- [Any early-warning items: recent layoffs, new CTO, compliance incident, etc.]

## Talking Points (Prioritized)
1. [Signal/concern]: [Relevance]: [Question]
2. [Signal/concern]: [Relevance]: [Question]
3. [Signal/concern]: [Relevance]: [Question]

## Questions to Ask (If Signals Are Incomplete)
- [Gap 1: What should we ask to fill this gap?]
- [Gap 2: What should we ask to fill this gap?]

Compact Brief (For Time-Constrained Reps)

# [Company Name] — [Date]

**The Deal:** [1 sentence: What they do, current state, most important signal.]

**Who's Here:** [3-4 names/titles with 1 priority each.]

**Key Signals:**
- [Signal 1 + implication]
- [Signal 2 + implication]

**Competitive Positioning:** [1 sentence for each likely competitor.]

**Top 3 Talking Points:**
1. [Signal]: [Relevance]: [Question]
2. [Signal]: [Relevance]: [Question]
3. [Signal]: [Relevance]: [Question]

**Risks:** [Any early-warning items.]

Task-Specific Questions

Mode 1: Discovery Call Brief

When the user is preparing for a first call with a new prospect, ask:

1. What is the company size and industry?
2. Who will be in the room, or who do you expect to see based on the company size?
3. What do you sell, and what outcome matters most to this type of buyer?

Mode 2: Demo or Deep-Dive Brief

When the user is preparing for a product-focused or technical conversation, ask:

1. Who are the technical stakeholders (engineer, CTO, implementation lead)?
2. What is their current tech stack, and what concerns might they have about integration?
3. What is the biggest technical risk or gap you've identified so far?

Mode 3: Executive or QBR Brief

When the user is preparing for a high-stakes conversation with C-level executives, ask:

1. Which executives will attend, and what is their background (previous company, known priorities)?
2. What is the business outcome they care most about (revenue, cost, risk, growth)?
3. What concerns do you anticipate from this executive based on their background?

Quality Checklist

Before sharing a brief with the rep, verify:

• The brief can be fully scanned and understood in under 2 minutes.
• Every signal mentioned is dated and tied to a specific implication (not just "they raised funding").
• Each stakeholder has a name (or a clear role if name is unknown) and a stated priority and concern.
• Competitive analysis is not generic ("HubSpot is user-friendly") but specific to positioning ("We're simpler than HubSpot but more powerful than Pipedrive").
• Talking points reference specific prospect signals, not industry platitudes.
• Risk flags are named explicitly (not "there might be challenges" but "new CTO in October may re-evaluate vendors").
• If attendee names are unknown, they are clearly marked as inferred.
• The brief includes a "questions to ask" section for any intelligence gaps.

Related Skills

Discovery — For running the actual discovery call using frameworks like MEDDIC and BANT to qualify the opportunity and uncover decision-making authority.

Cold Calling — For opening the conversation on an initial cold call and earning the meeting in the first place, including objection handling.

Demo Scripting — For delivering the demo with precision once you understand the prospect's priorities and concerns from this brief.

Account Planning — For mapping the entire account and multi-threaded approach across multiple stakeholders and decision-makers over time.

Example Prompts

1. "Prepare a meeting brief for my call with [Company Name]. Here's what I know: [attendee names, titles, recent news]. I sell [your solution]. What should I focus on?"

2. "I have a demo call with a prospect tomorrow. Create a brief that focuses on technical stakeholders — the CTO and VP of Engineering. What should I know about their likely concerns?"

3. "I'm doing a QBR with an enterprise customer who just announced layoffs. Prepare a brief that surfaces risk and helps me navigate this sensitively."

4. "Generate a brief for this prospect using only the company name: [Company Name]. Give me what you can find, and flag what's missing."

5. "Our prospect just announced a new VP of Sales. How should I adjust my talking points given this leadership change?"

6. "Compare stakeholder priorities between two companies I'm meeting with: [Company 1] and [Company 2]. Are my talking points the same or different?"