evp

EVP — Early Value Proposition Generator

A Claude Code skill that generates Early Value Propositions (EVPs) — the one sentence that answers: "For <ICP> in <pain>, we're the <one team> that does <specific outcome> without <obvious tradeoff>."

Uses the Eugene Schwartz awareness model to produce a different EVP for each tier of your audience — because the line that lands on a solution-aware prospect won't land on someone unaware they have the problem.

Before you write anything (non-negotiable)

Scoring something pasted needs no setup. If the operator handed you a line, post, draft, or file to score, run the scorer on it first and report the result; missing config only means some checks are skipped, so say which. Offer setup afterwards as the next step. Check whether files exist with Read or Glob, not a shell command.

These are the rules in AGENTS.md, restated here because a plugin does not load that file on its own.

1. Load brand-config.json and SOUL.md from the project root. Both are shared by every pack in the suite. If either is missing, or SOUL.md still holds template placeholders (<e.g. ...>, <...>), stop and run the setup mode. Do not draft a "generic" EVP in the meantime.
2. Claim only outcomes on the operator's will-claim list in SOUL.md. Anything outside it gets refused, with the list shown back.
3. Cite proof only from the reservoir in SOUL.md. If no proof fits the tier, say so and leave the slot empty. Never invent a case study, metric, or percentage.
4. ≤22 words. Hard limit, not a target.
5. Tier-fit. Write to the tier the user asked for, else brand-config.primary_outreach_tier. Never a Tier-5 line for a Tier-2 reader.
6. Schwartz tiers only. Unaware / problem-aware / solution-aware / product-aware / most-aware. Do not translate into TOFU/MOFU/BOFU.
7. Banned stand-ins: improve, optimize, enhance, drive growth, predictable, scalable, best-in-class. Replace with a number and a timeframe from the will-claim list.

Routing

Route by $ARGUMENTS. If it names a mode, go straight to it. If it is empty, run status. Otherwise match the request to a row. Read the mode file with the Read tool and follow it. Config or SOUL missing → setup first, except when scoring a pasted line (see above).

Arguments passed to the skill: $ARGUMENTS

The command is /evp:evp <mode>, e.g. /evp:evp craft 3. Moved in 0.7: the old sub-skills (evp-kickoff, evp-onboarding, evp-craft, evp-brief) are these modes.

Files this pack writes in the operator's project: brand-config.json and SOUL.md at the root (shared), and the brief at gtm/evp-brief.md. Create gtm/ if it is missing.

The framework

The EVP shape

For <ICP segment>, in <PSP pain>,
we're the <one team> that does <specific outcome>
without <obvious tradeoff>.

Rules:

• ≤22 words total
• One specific outcome (no "improve" / "optimize" / "enhance")
• One specific tradeoff (no "and more" / etc.)
• The ICP segment named explicitly
• The pain anchored on a real PSP, not a guess

The 5 awareness tiers (Schwartz)

The same product needs different EVPs depending on what the prospect already knows:

Most B2B buyers live in Tiers 2-4. Most operators write EVPs for Tier 5 (their internal product team's view) and wonder why nothing lands.

Where EVPs go

• Cold email — the 3rd line of every signal-anchored opener
• Hero copy — usually a Tier 2 or Tier 3 EVP
• Pricing page — Tier 4 (versus competitors)
• Sales call opener — calibrated to where the prospect is on the tier ladder
• Ad creative — usually Tier 1 or Tier 2 (problem reveal)

Score a line

Score every line before showing it:

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/score_evp.py \
  --evp "<line>" --tier <N> --icp "<icp segment>"

If ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} is not expanded (the pack was installed as plain skills, not as a plugin), use scripts/score_evp.py from the pack root. Exit 0 = score ≥70. Exit 1 prints each reason as - what is wrong → what to change; rewrite and score again. Add --json for one JSON object. The scorer is a floor, not the judge: it cannot tell whether a claim is on the will-claim list, so the craft self-check still applies.

One proposition. Score each line on its own. A draft that holds a list (two or more value_props, headlines, options, pillars, benefits or messages, or two or more bullet lines in a text file) exits 1 with Refusal: a list of value props is not one proposition. A line that scores 70+ prints under # Proposition (proposition in --json); that one line is what ships.

If neither psp nor psp_drafts.primary is in brand-config.json, stop: the psp pack produces it. Point the user to /psp:psp (install with /plugin install psp@gtm-operator-skills). Do not invent the pain or the vocabulary. EVPs without a PSP are guesses.

Finish every run with the next step

When a line passes and the operator locks it as the evp block, end with one line: Next: /cold-email:cold-email for the first touch (or /landing-page:page for the hero, /sales-offer:cold-offer for a give-first offer). If the pack is not installed, give its install line (/plugin install cold-email@gtm-operator-skills).

Works with the suite

This is step 2 of the GTM operator suite (/plugin marketplace add cmj-hub/gtm-operator-skills).

• Reads: psp (fallback psp_drafts.primary), icp, competitors, primary_outreach_tier from brand-config.json if present.
• Writes: evp_drafts, competitors, primary_outreach_tier, and the chosen outreach line as the evp block (tier, primary, outcome, tradeoff, proof). Merge at the field level; never overwrite another pack's keys.
• Before this: psp (/psp:psp), when brand-config.json has no psp block; /gtm:setup once, when operator or icp is empty.
• After this: cold-email (/cold-email:cold-email) for the first touch, landing-page (/landing-page:page) for the hero, sales-offer (/sales-offer:cold-offer) for a give-first offer.

If a companion pack is not installed, name it and its install line (/plugin install <name>@gtm-operator-skills); do not do its job inline.

Human build guide: Early Value Propositions course.

Free hosted version

The same job runs in a browser, no install and no key: EVP Generator