Purpose
Turn a dense pricing analysis into a clear, audience-specific briefing — leading with the recommendation, backing it with the two or three numbers that matter, and stripping out the statistical machinery that stalls decisions. Solves the recurring problem where sound pricing work dies in a meeting because the analyst spoke in regression coefficients instead of dollars and decisions.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Summarize a pricing model, margin analysis, or elasticity study for a non-technical audience
- Prepare talking points or a briefing for a pricing decision meeting
- Translate discount, promotion, or list-price findings into recommendations sales or execs will act on
- Turn a spreadsheet of pricing scenarios into a clear "what to do" narrative
- Reframe technical pricing output for an acquisition, deal-desk, or leadership review
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Analysis summary: What was analyzed and the core quantitative findings (numbers, deltas, or scenario outputs)
- Audience: Sales / Acquisitions / Executive / Deal desk — determines framing and depth
- Decision at stake: The specific choice this briefing supports (set list price, approve a discount floor, change a tier, etc.)
- Recommendation: The analyst's actual recommendation, if formed — or ask the skill to derive it from the data
- Key metrics available: Which numbers exist (margin %, revenue impact, elasticity, win rate, ASP, etc.)
- Constraints or sensitivities: Anything political, competitive, or off-limits to say aloud
- Format needed: One-pager / slide talking points / email / meeting script
If the recommendation is not provided, derive the most defensible one from the findings and flag it as the analyst's to confirm. If audience is unclear, default to Executive framing (decision-first, minimal method).
Instructions
Step 1: Extract the Decision-Relevant Signal
Strip the analysis down to what changes the decision.
- Identify the one headline number that most directly answers the decision at stake (e.g., "+3.2 pts of margin," "$1.4M annual revenue at risk," "12% higher win rate at the proposed floor")
- Select 2–3 supporting numbers that make the headline credible — no more
- Set aside method detail (model type, R², confidence intervals, sample size) for an appendix; it does not lead
Step 2: Translate Technical Terms to Plain Language
Convert each statistical or pricing term into stakeholder language.
- Elasticity → "how much volume moves when price moves" (e.g., "a 5% price increase costs us ~2% of units")
- Margin contribution → dollars kept per sale, not a ratio in isolation
- Confidence / significance → "we're confident this holds" vs. "this is directional, not final"
- Price sensitivity by segment → "which customers walk when we raise price, and which don't"
- Replace every percentage with a dollar figure or a plain outcome wherever the audience thinks in dollars (Sales, Acquisitions almost always do)
Step 3: Frame for the Specific Audience
Calibrate emphasis to what the audience controls and cares about.
Sales: Lead with impact on deal-ability and quota — "here's the floor you can go to and still stay approved." Give them a rule of thumb, not a model. Anticipate the "this makes it harder to close" objection with the win-rate or retention counter-number.
Acquisitions: Lead with valuation and deal economics — pricing power, margin durability, expansion headroom. Frame findings as risk and upside to the thesis, not operational tuning.
Executive: Lead with the recommendation and the P&L consequence. One headline number, one risk, one ask. Method is a footnote they'll trust because you did it.
Deal desk: Lead with the rule and the exception path — where discretion applies, where escalation is required.
Step 4: Build the Recommendation Bullets
Write 3–5 recommendation bullets, each in this shape:
- Action (imperative verb) → Expected outcome (a number) → Why / trade-off (one clause)
- Example: "Hold the discount floor at 18% → protects ~$900K in annual margin → costs an estimated 1–2% of borderline deals, which the data shows we win back on renewal."
- Order bullets by decision weight, not by analysis order
Step 5: Preempt the Three Objections
List the three most likely pushbacks for this audience and a one-line, number-backed response to each. This is the difference between a briefing and a briefing that survives the room.
Step 6: Assemble the Briefing
Produce the deliverable in the requested format, always leading with the recommendation, never with the method.
Output Format
- Structure: Recommendation-first — headline and ask up top, supporting numbers next, plain-language insight, objection handling, optional method appendix
- Length: 350–600 words for a one-pager or email; 6–10 talking-point bullets for slide/meeting format
- Format: Structured document with short sections and scannable bullets — not a report, not prose-heavy
- Sections: Headline Recommendation → Why (2–3 numbers, translated) → Recommendation Bullets → Objections & Responses → Method Note (brief, optional)
- Tone: Confident and decision-oriented — plain business English, zero jargon in the body, no hedging in the headline
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] The recommendation appears in the first two sentences — not buried after the analysis
- [ ] No more than 3 supporting numbers carry the argument (count them)
- [ ] Every percentage is paired with a dollar figure or a plain outcome where the audience thinks in dollars
- [ ] No untranslated statistical terms in the body (elasticity, R², significance, coefficient)
- [ ] Recommendation bullets follow Action → Outcome-number → Trade-off structure
- [ ] Exactly three anticipated objections are addressed with number-backed responses
Notes
- The most common failure is leading with how the analysis was done instead of what to do — method belongs in the appendix, always
- For skeptical audiences, one honest "this is directional, not final" builds more trust than overclaiming precision
- If the analyst's recommendation contradicts what the audience wants to hear, keep the headline direct and move the softening into the trade-off clause — do not hedge the recommendation itself
- Reuse the objection-handling block as pre-read Q&A when the briefing goes out ahead of the meeting
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills