client-discovery

Research source (Exa)

Default: Exa, per .claude/rules/exa-protocol.md (auto-loaded for research, audit, competitor, ICP, AEO, content sourcing, sales prospecting work).

Primary Exa tools for this skill: company_research_exa, web_search_exa.

Use case: pre-call account intel for prospect-prep.

Tool surface during the migration window:

• New plugin (preferred): mcp__plugin_exa_exa__company_research_exa (after claude plugin i exa@claude-plugins-official).
• Legacy MCP (still mounted): mcp__exa__company_research_exa.
• Both backends route to the same Exa API — they don't double-bill.

Citation: every Exa-derived claim uses [VERIFIED: exa_search, {url}, accessed {YYYY-MM-DD}] per .claude/rules/ontology.md.

Quality gate (research outputs): ≥3 sources per major claim, ≥50% [VERIFIED] confidence, date filter for any "recent / latest" claim, no fallback to WebSearch without flagging the data gap.

Worked examples + tool catalog: .claude/skills/meta-skills/exa/.

---

Client discovery

Generate tailored discovery call scripts based on prospect context. Maps research to targeted questions and listening cues for qualification.

---

Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout, locked 2026-06-04)

Output complies with output-tenets.md, output-simplicity.md, outbound-research-hygiene.md. Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]].

Refinements applied: R1 (discovery script is internal rep-facing — inline cites stay for QA), R3 (question framing operator-direct), R9 (verb-led script section names).

---

Process at a glance

INPUT VALIDATION → RESEARCH PROSPECT → GENERATE QUESTIONS → ADD CUES → REVIEW & CHAIN

Three steps:

1. Research prospect website + LinkedIn + sent materials, build opening playbook
2. Generate tailored questions across 8 categories
3. Add listening cues + qualification criteria

Full flowchart, step-by-step runbook, and self-evaluation gate live in the premium reference.

---

Claude Code triggers

Invoke this skill when user says:

• "Discovery call for [company]"
• "Discovery questions for [prospect]"
• "Prepare for discovery with [company]"
• "Qualify this prospect"
• "Discovery prep"

Do NOT invoke when:

• User wants company research only → Use company-context skill
• User wants to create a proposal → Use client-proposals skill
• User wants ICP research for a client → Use icp-behavioural skill

---

Inputs

Required

Input	Description	Source
Company identifier	Website URL, name, or any context	User provides

Optional (improve quality)

Input	How it helps
company-context output	Pre-researched traction and qualification
Funding stage	Sets expectations for budget and scope
Known pain points	Focuses discovery questions
Meeting context	Any prior conversations or emails

If inputs are missing: Ask for company URL or name.

---

Discovery question categories (8 total)

Category	Purpose	Anchor question	Time
Company/product	Stage, GTM motion, marketing function	"How is your marketing function structured today?"	5-7 min
Goals and priorities	Triggers, success metrics, past failures	"What triggered this conversation now?"	5-7 min
ICP and competitive	Buyer personas, competitors	"Who are your top 3 competitors?"	5-7 min
Messaging and positioning	Current frameworks, customer voice	"How would your best customers describe you?"	5-7 min
Website and conversion	Satisfaction, scope, resources	"What's your conversion rate today?"	3-5 min
Content and distribution	Founder time, LinkedIn priority	"How much time can founders dedicate to content?"	3-5 min
Resources and constraints	Budget, team, decision-makers	"What's the budget range you're working with?"	3-5 min
Timeline and next steps	Urgency, process	"When do you need to see results?"	3-5 min

Full question bank by category in the premium reference.

---

Anti-hallucination guardrails

1. Base context on research. Use actual website content, not assumptions.
2. Tailor questions to findings. Reference specific things you observed.
3. Mark assumptions. If inferring from limited data, note explicitly.
4. No invented details. If you can't find funding info, don't make it up.

---

Integration with other skills

Skill	Relationship
company-context	Pre-research prospect before discovery
sales-call-playbook	Generate during-call guide (run immediately after discovery)
client-proposals	Create proposal after discovery call

---

MCP data integration

Level: 0 — Context (heavy pulls)

Inherits from: company-context (if already ran for this company — skip Exa/Firecrawl/Apollo)

Pulls fresh

Source	What to pull	Tool	When
Exa	Prospect company profile	company_research_exa	Always
Firecrawl	Prospect website scrape	firecrawl_scrape	Always
Apollo	Org + key people enrichment	apollo_search_companies, apollo_search_people	Always
YouTube	Prospect YouTube presence/content	get_transcript	If YouTube channel exists
Slack	Prior conversations with prospect	slack_search_public	Always
Granola	Previous meetings with prospect	search_meetings	Always

Fallback (no MCP)

• WebSearch + WebFetch for prospect research
• Manual LinkedIn research for contacts
• Manual conversation history review

---

Final ship gate

Run /premortem --output before ship. See /premortem skill for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template.

Trivial-case escape: ## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs.

---