pipeline

/octave:pipeline - Deal Strategist

Deal-level strategy for live deals. Diagnose stalled deals, plan multi-threading, counter competitive threats, engage executives, and generate deal-specific next steps — all informed by your library's Motion ICP narratives and real conversation data.

Principles

Every output follows the shared principles: presentation principles for visuals (tables, any rendered output), editorial rules for text.

Usage

/octave:pipeline [mode] <account> [--contact <email>] [--competitor <name>]

Modes

/octave:pipeline                                          # Interactive - describe the deal
/octave:pipeline stalled acme.com                         # Deal is stuck
/octave:pipeline multi-thread acme.com                    # Expand to more stakeholders
/octave:pipeline competitive acme.com --competitor "Acme" # Competitor entered the deal
/octave:pipeline executive acme.com                       # Need executive engagement
/octave:pipeline close acme.com                           # Final stage strategy
/octave:pipeline expand acme.com                          # Customer expansion / upsell

Instructions

When the user runs /octave:pipeline:

Step 1: Understand the Deal Situation

If no mode specified, ask:

Tell me about the deal. What's happening?

DEAL CHALLENGES
1. Stalled - Deal has gone quiet or lost momentum
2. Multi-thread - Need to engage more stakeholders
3. Competitive - A competitor has entered or is threatening
4. Executive - Need to get executive buy-in
5. Close - Deal is in final stages, need to close
6. Expand - Existing customer, upsell/cross-sell opportunity

7. Other - Describe the situation

Your choice:

Then gather context:

A few more details:

1. Account: [company name or domain]
2. Primary contact: [name or email, if known]
3. Deal stage: [Where is it in your pipeline?]
4. How long at this stage: [days/weeks]
5. What happened last: [last interaction or event]
6. Any other context: [budget, timeline, blockers]

Step 2: Research the Deal

# Enrich the company
enrich_company({ companyDomain: "<domain>" })

# Qualify the company
qualify_company({ companyDomain: "<domain>" })

# Research the primary contact
enrich_person({
  person: {
    email: "<email>",
    companyDomain: "<domain>"
  }
})

# Qualify the contact
qualify_person({
  person: {
    email: "<email>",
    companyDomain: "<domain>"
  },
  additionalContext: "This is an active deal. Evaluate persona fit and likely buying role."
})

# Check for conversation history
list_events({
  startDate: "<365 days ago>",
  filters: {
    companyDomains: ["<domain>"]
  }
})

# Get findings from past interactions
list_findings({
  query: "objections pain points next steps commitments",
  startDate: "<365 days ago>",
  eventFilters: {
    companyDomains: ["<domain>"]
  }
})

# Match to Motion ICP cell for this deal's persona × segment
list_motions()  # find the Motion for the offering being sold (and motion type, e.g. NET_NEW)
list_motion_icps({ motionOId: "<motion_oId>" })  # see the persona × segment matrix
find_motion_icp({ motionIcpOId: "<motion_icp_oId>", includeLearnings: true })  # full cell narrative + Learning Loop learnings

# If a Custom Motion Playbook (COMPETITIVE / MILESTONE / ACCOUNT / THEMATIC) is more relevant:
list_motion_playbooks({ motionOId: "<motion_oId>" })
get_motion_playbook({ motionPlaybookOId: "<mpb_oId>" })

# Get competitive intel if relevant
search_knowledge_base({
  query: "<competitor name or signals>",
  entityTypes: ["competitor"]
})

# Get proof points for this situation
search_knowledge_base({
  query: "<company industry> <deal stage> results",
  entityTypes: ["proof_point", "reference"]
})

Step 3: Generate Mode-Specific Coaching

Mode: Stalled Deal

See mode-stalled-output.md for the Stalled Deal mode output template.

Mode: Multi-Thread

See mode-multi-thread-output.md for the Multi-Thread mode output template.

Mode: Competitive

See mode-competitive-output.md for the Competitive mode output template.

Mode: Executive Engagement

See mode-executive-output.md for the Executive Engagement mode output template.

Mode: Close / Expand

Generate appropriate coaching for closing or expansion scenarios following the same pattern: diagnosis, strategy, specific actions, messaging, and follow-ups.

Step 4: Offer Follow-Up Actions

Always end with actionable next steps:

What would you like to do next?

1. Draft the recommended email/message
2. Generate full call prep for next meeting
3. Research a specific stakeholder
4. Get competitive intelligence
5. Analyze past conversations for patterns
6. Create a deal-specific one-pager
7. Done

MCP Tools Used

Research

• enrich_company - Account intelligence
• enrich_person - Stakeholder research
• qualify_company - ICP fit assessment
• qualify_person - Persona matching
• find_person - Stakeholder discovery

Intelligence

• list_events - Conversation and deal history
• list_findings - Extracted insights from interactions
• get_event_detail - Deep dive into specific interactions
• search_knowledge_base - Competitors, proof points, references
• list_motions / list_motion_icps / find_motion_icp - Pull the Motion ICP cell for this deal's persona × segment (Strategic narrative, Pains and consequences, Benefits and impacts, Methodology, References, plus Learning Loop learnings)
• list_motion_playbooks / get_motion_playbook - Pull Custom Motion Playbooks (COMPETITIVE, MILESTONE, ACCOUNT, THEMATIC) when a specific angle fits the deal better than the Default Motion Playbook

Content Generation

• generate_email - Outreach and follow-up drafts
• generate_content - Talk tracks, one-pagers, executive messaging
• generate_call_prep - Meeting preparation

Error Handling

No Conversation History:

No previous interactions found with [Company].

I'll base coaching on your library intelligence and general deal patterns. As you log calls and emails, coaching will get more contextual.

Contact Not Found:

Couldn't find [contact] at [Company].

Options:

1. Provide their email or LinkedIn
2. I'll search for stakeholders at the company
3. Proceed with company-level coaching

No Matching Motion ICP:

No Motion ICP cell matches this deal's persona × segment perfectly.

Using closest match: [Motion ICP cell] If this is a recurring scenario, consider creating a Custom Motion Playbook (THEMATIC, MILESTONE, ACCOUNT, or COMPETITIVE) layered on the relevant Motion: /octave:library create motion-playbook

Related Skills

• /octave:deal-coach - Methodology practice and coaching assets (role-play, coaching microsites, decks, quizzes)
• /octave:research - Deep research on any stakeholder
• /octave:battlecard-doc - Full competitive intelligence
• /octave:abm - Complete account plan (broader than deal-level)
• /octave:generate - Quick content generation
• /octave:win-loss-report - Learn from similar deal outcomes
• /octave:call-analyzer - Analyze a specific conversation from this deal