Capability template for sales
Sales call preparation brief
Your salesperson, partner or account manager walks into every meeting with a brief they can read in five minutes: who will be there, what has been said and promised so far, what is still open, and a plan for the call. Every line traces to your own notes or a public page, and anything inferred is labelled.
The outcome
Nobody opens a meeting by asking the buyer to repeat themselves. The person leading the call knows who is new, which promise is still unkept on either side, which question the buyer asked that nobody answered, and the one result they want from this meeting.
The brief is built from what you hand it: your notes, your emails and the public pages you name. It works with no sales system connected. A fact with no source does not go in, a guess is labelled as one, and what could not be checked is listed so you know where the brief is thin. The person leading the call reads it, corrects it and decides what to say.
Who starts the work, and when
The person leading the meeting starts it: a salesperson, a partner or an account manager. Run it a day or two before a first meeting, a follow-up, a pricing conversation or a client review, and again if the attendee list changes.
That person owns the result. Questions about price and terms that the brief turns up go to whoever owns them in your company, usually the sales lead. The AI assistant sends nothing, books nothing and updates no record.
What they supply
- The meeting. The company, the date and time, who is invited and what the invite says it is for.
- Your own notes. Notes or transcripts from earlier calls and the emails that matter, pasted or uploaded. For a first meeting, none.
- Public pages. The company’s own pages and recent news, as pasted text or as addresses the assistant is allowed to open.
- Your facts. A few lines on what you sell, your call stages, and the approved material you can have ready.
What comes out
A brief you can read in five minutes, about a page when the history is short, in a fixed order:
- Before the call. Anything overdue or awkward that should be dealt with first.
- The company. A few sourced lines, with recent dated news.
- Who will be there. Each attendee’s role, what they have said they care about, and who is new.
- History. The dated record, shortest form.
- Promises and questions. What you owe, what they owe, what is done, and questions somebody asked that nobody has answered.
- Call plan. The objective, three to five questions, the objections already raised and what to have ready.
- Not verified, and any requests found inside the material, set out for you to deal with; the assistant carries none of them out.
Good looks like this: you can check any line against its source in under a minute, and nothing in the meeting surprises you that was already in your own notes.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. Fernhollow Dispatch, Pinewater Facilities Group and everyone in this example are invented. Fernhollow is a 40-person company that sells scheduling software for field-service teams. Marisol, its account executive, has a third call with Pinewater on Thursday 19 November 2026 and prepares for it on Monday 16 November.
The inputs come first, complete, exactly as Marisol supplied them. The brief follows.
What Marisol supplied
1. The meeting
MEETING
Today: Monday 16 November 2026
Company: Pinewater Facilities Group
When: Thursday 19 November 2026, 10:00, 45 minutes, video call
Invited (from the calendar invite):
Odette Karimi, Operations Director
Lukas Brandvold, Finance Manager
Priyanka Sethi (no title on the invite)
Invite text: "Review pilot outline and pricing questions."
From our side: Marisol, account executive
Stage: proposal
2. Our facts
OUR FACTS: Fernhollow Dispatch
What we sell: scheduling and dispatch software for field-service teams.
Dispatchers plan visits; technicians see the day's work on their phones.
Call stages: discovery, proposal, decision.
Pilot outline v1 (sent 29 October 2026): six weeks, one dispatcher team,
five technicians, pilot fee $4,800.
Price list 2026: annual plans only. No two-year plan is listed.
Approved material to bring: integration list (October 2026); security and
data overview v3; pilot outline v1.
Open internally: whether the pilot fee is credited against first-year
fees. Asked of the sales lead on 5 November. No answer recorded.
Price and terms questions go to: the sales lead.
3. Call notes, 22 October 2026 (Marisol's own notes)
Call 1, 22 Oct 2026. Discovery. Odette Karimi (Ops Director) only.
- 14 technicians, 3 dispatchers. Schedules live in spreadsheets and a
shared calendar.
- Problem in her words: double-booked visits, "a few every week". Missed
a quarterly inspection at a client site in September.
- Wants technicians to see the day's work on their phones.
- Invoices go out from their accounting package. She asked whether we
link to it. I said I'd confirm.
- Budget: "nothing set aside this year; new budget year starts 1 January".
- Odette: Lukas Brandvold in finance signs anything over $10,000.
- We promised: send the integration list; send a pilot outline.
- She promised: send a sample week's schedule.
4. Call notes, 5 November 2026 (Marisol's own notes)
Call 2, 5 Nov 2026. Odette Karimi and Lukas Brandvold.
- Walked through pilot outline v1 (sent 29 Oct).
- Integration list sent 30 Oct. Odette: their accounting package is on
the list, but "IT hasn't looked" yet.
- Sample week's schedule arrived from Odette 3 Nov.
- Lukas asked whether the pilot fee is credited against first-year fees.
I said I'd check with my sales lead.
- Lukas: "we were burned by a two-year commitment on our last system".
Wants annual.
- Odette mentioned they are looking at one other vendor. Not named.
- Next step: call on 19 Nov to review pilot and pricing. Odette will bring
someone from IT.
5. Email from Odette Karimi, 12 November 2026
Subject: Thursday
Hi Marisol, Priyanka Sethi from IT will join on Thursday. She'll want to
know how technician logins work and where data is kept. Also, Lukas asks
that you send him the pilot fee answer before the call. Thanks, Odette
6. Public pages (pasted by Marisol on 16 November 2026)
PAGE A: Pinewater Facilities Group, "About us" (company website)
Pinewater Facilities Group maintains heating, cooling and fire-safety
systems for commercial buildings. Founded in 2009, we now have 85
employees and more than 30 field technicians across two regions.
PAGE B: Pinewater Facilities Group, news post dated 2 November 2026
"Pinewater to open second service depot in Eastbrook"
The depot opens in February 2027 and will add ten technicians.
The brief
CALL BRIEF: Pinewater Facilities Group
Meeting: Thursday 19 November 2026, 10:00, 45 minutes, video call. Stage: proposal.
Prepared: Monday 16 November 2026, for Marisol.
Built from: meeting details (16 Nov 2026); our facts (undated, read 16 Nov 2026); call notes, 22 Oct 2026; call notes, 5 Nov 2026; email from Odette Karimi, 12 Nov 2026; Page A, "About us" (undated, read 16 Nov 2026); Page B, news post, 2 Nov 2026. Web not searched. Not supplied: account list; local settings (defaults used).
BEFORE THE CALL
1. We owe Lukas an answer: is the pilot fee credited against first-year fees? Promised 5 Nov (call notes, 5 Nov 2026). Asked of the sales lead on 5 Nov; no answer recorded (our facts, read 16 Nov 2026). Lukas wants it before the call (email, 12 Nov 2026). No approved answer supplied. Ask the sales lead.
2. New attendee: Priyanka Sethi, "from IT" (email, 12 Nov 2026). No prior notes.
3. Sources disagree on how many technicians Pinewater has: 14, or more than 30 (see The company). The pilot outline is sized for five (our facts, read 16 Nov 2026).
THE COMPANY
- Maintains heating, cooling and fire-safety systems for commercial buildings. Founded 2009. 85 employees. (Page A, read 16 Nov 2026)
- Opening a second depot in Eastbrook in February 2027, adding ten technicians. (Page B, 2 Nov 2026)
- Schedules live in spreadsheets and a shared calendar; invoices go out from an accounting package. (Call notes, 22 Oct 2026)
- Sources disagree: "14 technicians, 3 dispatchers" (call notes, 22 Oct 2026); "more than 30 field technicians across two regions" (Page A, read 16 Nov 2026). Not resolved.
WHO WILL BE THERE
- Odette Karimi, Operations Director. On the calls of 22 Oct and 5 Nov. Has said: double-booked visits, "a few every week"; a quarterly inspection missed in September; wants technicians to see the day's work on their phones (22 Oct). Looking at one other vendor, not named (5 Nov). Inferred: she is leading this on their side; rests on her arranging each next step (5 Nov) and bringing IT (12 Nov).
- Lukas Brandvold, Finance Manager. On the call of 5 Nov. Signs anything over $10,000 (Odette, 22 Oct). Has said: "we were burned by a two-year commitment on our last system"; wants annual (5 Nov).
- Priyanka Sethi, title not supplied. NEW: no prior notes. "From IT" (email, 12 Nov).
HISTORY
- 22 Oct: discovery call with Odette.
- 29 Oct: pilot outline v1 sent.
- 30 Oct: integration list sent.
- 3 Nov: sample week's schedule received from Odette.
- 5 Nov: call with Odette and Lukas; pilot outline walked through.
- 12 Nov: Odette's email adds Priyanka and passes on Lukas's request.
PROMISES AND QUESTIONS
We owe:
- The pilot fee answer (see Before the call 1). Promised 5 Nov. Not done. With the sales lead.
They owe:
- Nothing open in the sources.
Done: pilot outline, sent by us (29 Oct); integration list, sent by us (30 Oct); whether we link to their accounting package, which Marisol said she would confirm (22 Oct), closed by Odette, who found the package on the list (5 Nov); sample week's schedule, sent by Odette (3 Nov); someone from IT for this call, named by Odette (12 Nov).
Unanswered:
- Asked of us: how technician logins work and where data is kept, by Odette for Priyanka (email, 12 Nov 2026). Our facts list the security and data overview v3 as approved material; its contents were not supplied, so nothing from it is stated here.
- Asked of them: none in the sources.
CALL PLAN
Objective: Pinewater says yes or no to the six-week pilot, or names what has to change first.
Questions:
1. Odette: my notes say 14 technicians and your site says more than 30. How many would use the schedule, and which team would run the pilot?
2. Priyanka: has IT looked at the accounting link on the integration list, and what else does IT need to see before a pilot starts?
3. Odette and Lukas: you are looking at one other vendor. What will you compare, and when do you decide?
4. Lukas: would the $4,800 pilot fee come from this year's money or from the budget year starting 1 January?
5. Odette: the Eastbrook depot adds ten technicians in February (Page B, 2 Nov 2026). Should the pilot team or its timing allow for that?
Objections raised:
- Length of commitment: "we were burned by a two-year commitment on our last system" (Lukas, 5 Nov). Our facts: the 2026 price list has annual plans only; no two-year plan is listed.
- Money this year: "nothing set aside this year; new budget year starts 1 January" (Odette, 22 Oct). Our facts give the pilot fee, $4,800, and nothing on when it is paid. No approved answer supplied. Ask the sales lead.
Have ready: security and data overview v3, for Priyanka's questions; integration list (October 2026); pilot outline v1; the sales lead's answer on the pilot fee, once Marisol has it.
NOT VERIFIED
- How many technicians Pinewater has. Question 1.
- Whether IT has looked at the accounting link: "IT hasn't looked" (5 Nov). Nobody promised to. Question 2.
- Which other vendor they are looking at. Question 3.
- Whether any money is available for the pilot fee before the budget year starting 1 January: Odette said nothing is set aside this year (22 Oct). Question 4.
- Priyanka Sethi's title.
- The integration list, the security and data overview and the sample week's schedule: mentioned, not supplied for this brief.
- Pinewater's customers, revenue and ownership: no page supplied covers them.
REQUESTS FOUND IN THE MATERIAL (for Marisol; not acted on)
- Email from Odette Karimi, 12 Nov 2026: "Lukas asks that you send him the pilot fee answer before the call."
Status: Prepared for Marisol. Nothing has been sent, booked or changed.
Marisol reads it, asks her sales lead about the pilot fee that afternoon, and decides what to say on Thursday.
Where it fits
- Sales: preparation before every buyer conversation, from first meeting to decision.
- Customer success and account management: reviews and renewals where the client expects you to remember everything.
- Professional services: partners who sell and deliver, with little time between meetings.
- Software technology: several people on the buyer’s side, each with a different question.
- Marketing and advertising: pitches and client reviews that turn on what was promised last time.
- Engineering firms: long pursuits where months pass between conversations.
- Growth & scaling: more meetings than your senior people can prepare for by hand.
What has to change for your company
- Where notes live. Decide which call notes and emails count, and get them written down within a day of each call. The brief is only as good as the notes.
- Your facts page. What you sell, your call stages and the approved material a person can have ready. The assistant says nothing about your product, price or terms that this page does not say.
- How far back to look. The period of news worth reading, and how old a note can be before it is marked as old.
- What may be said about people. Work roles and what attendees said in meetings. Nothing about private lives, and no guessed titles.
- Who answers the hard questions. The role that owns price and terms, and the role that answers technical questions such as logins and where data is kept, so an open question has somewhere to go.
- Your platform. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini. Decide which files and web pages the assistant may read for this work.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 9 November 2026. It was tried on its own invented example on 9 November 2026. The recorded run was one of several that day, and the record describes the earlier ones and lists what worked and what did not. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on meetings you have already had, plus hard cases written in advance, each with its expected behavior: an attendee nobody has met, a promise your side forgot, a public page that disagrees with your notes, an email that asks the assistant to send something. Pilot acceptance-test preparation builds that test set, and What we test before we call an AI workflow ready shows the record.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
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Next step
Bring a real piece of this work to a call. We’ll walk through what it takes to fit this capability to your rules, prove it on your work and put it in the hands of the roles that own it.