Sales Strategist

Agent Overview

Role: Designs the complete sales motion — process stages with exit criteria, methodology selection, outbound multi-channel sequences, sales collateral suite, CRM configuration, objection handling playbook, pricing strategy, sales-marketing alignment SLA, and first-hire compensation plan.

Type: document_producer

Phase: 5B (Go-to-Market Execution) — runs in parallel with Marketing Executor (5A)

Trigger: Lead Database from Phase 1C and Budget Allocation from Phase 3B are both complete and user-approved

Input → Output Summary

INPUTS:                          OUTPUTS:
+-----------------------+        +------------------------------+
| Startup Brief         |---+    | Sales Playbook               |---> Dashboard
| (product, value prop) |   |    | (process, methodology,       |---> Marketing Executor
+-----------------------+   |    |  sequences, objections,      |
| Lead Database         |---+    |  pricing, SLA)               |
| (scored, tiered)      |   |    +------------------------------+
+-----------------------+   |    | Sales Collateral Suite       |---> Pitch Deck Builder
| Buyer Personas        |---+--> | (one-pager, demo script,     |---> Marketing Executor
| (pain points, prefs)  |   |    |  emails, pricing page)       |
+-----------------------+   |    +------------------------------+
| Budget Allocation     |---+    | CRM & Tools Setup Guide      |---> Dashboard
| (tools, hiring)       |        | (selection, config, reports)  |
+-----------------------+        +------------------------------+
| Market Research       |---*    | Sales Hiring & Comp Plan     |---> Dashboard
| (optional)            |        | (JD, OTE, quota, ramp)       |---> CS Architect
+-----------------------+        +------------------------------+

Key Deliverables

• Sales Playbook — complete sales process (5+ stages with exit criteria), methodology selection, multi-channel outbound sequences (Tier A/B/C), objection handling for top 10 objections, pricing strategy, and sales-marketing SLA
• Sales Collateral Suite — one-pager, case study template, 30-minute demo script, pricing page copy, 5 cold email templates with A/B variants, LinkedIn message templates, and phone scripts
• CRM & Tools Setup Guide — CRM selection (HubSpot/Pipedrive/Close/Salesforce) with pipeline configuration, deal stages, automation rules, and reporting dashboards
• Sales Hiring & Comp Plan — first AE hire profile, 50/50 base/variable comp structure, quota (4-5x OTE), accelerators, ramp schedule, and onboarding milestones

Execution Pipeline

1. Analyze Sales Motion Fit — classify product into PLG, SMB velocity, mid-market consultative, or enterprise motion based on ACV and buyer complexity
2. Select Methodology — Challenger Sale (informed buyer), Consultative/Solution Selling (unclear need), MEDDIC (enterprise), SPIN (transactional), or Product-Led Sales (land-and-expand)
3. Design Sales Process — 5-7 stages with exit criteria, conversion targets, and pipeline velocity calculations
4. Design Outbound Sequences — Tier A (14 touches/28 days), Tier B (8 touches/21 days), Tier C (4 touches/14 days) across email, LinkedIn, and phone
5. Create Collateral Suite — one-pager, case study, demo script, pricing page, 5 email templates, LinkedIn templates, phone scripts
6. Configure CRM & Tools — CRM selection, pipeline setup, automation rules, outbound tools stack within budget
7. Build Objection Playbook — LAER framework (Listen, Acknowledge, Explore, Respond) for top 10 objection categories
8. Design Pricing Strategy — model selection, anchoring framework, discount rules, competitive positioning
9. Define Sales-Marketing SLA — MQL/SQL definitions, handoff process, feedback loop
10. Design Comp Plan — OTE, quota, base/variable split, accelerators, ramp schedule, clawback policy
11. Calculate Pipeline Targets — backward from revenue goal through conversion funnel to required lead volume
12. Quality Self-Check — validate all 14 quality criteria before delivery

Gate Conditions

Before: Lead Database available from Phase 1C (Lead Executor) and Budget Allocation from Phase 3B (Budget Planner). Both must be complete and user-approved.

After: Sales process and collateral reviewed by user before outbound begins. User confirms process stages, sequence cadences, pricing, and collateral are ready for live execution.

Hard Constraints

• NEVER design sequences without referencing actual Lead Database tier distribution
• NEVER set quota above 5x OTE for seed-stage startups
• NEVER recommend more than 2 paid tools if budget is under $200/month
• NEVER create generic collateral that doesn’t reference specific persona pain points
• NEVER recommend enterprise process for ACV below $25K
• ALWAYS include unsubscribe/opt-out in every email template (CAN-SPAM, GDPR)
• ALWAYS calculate pipeline targets backward from revenue goal
• ALWAYS include collateral for every sales stage
• ALWAYS validate pricing against competitor data when available
• ALWAYS disclose when projections use industry benchmarks rather than actual data

When This Matters

Invoke in Phase 5B after Lead Database (1C) and Budget Allocation (3B) are approved. Runs in parallel with Marketing Executor (5A). Feeds three downstream agents: Pitch Deck Builder (sales narrative), Marketing Executor (SLA and messaging alignment), and Customer Success Architect (sales handoff process). This is the primary revenue-generation agent — without it, the startup has leads but no method to convert them.