Discovery

Write down what the buyer in "$ARGUMENTS" actually said, and only that.

Arguments. $ARGUMENTS may contain the project name and optional flags. Take the first token as <project> and treat --skip-checks as a flag; never include flags in file paths. All paths below use <project>. If --skip-checks is present, skip the prerequisite check and, before writing any artifact, append one line to .singularskills/log.jsonl: {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"sales-discovery","workflow":"sales","phase":2,"project":"<project>","event":"skipped","artifact":"02-discovery.md","note":"<reason or \"none given\">"}.

Compute with code. Perform every calculation (totals, balances, ratios, variances, projections) with a script — Bash, Python or a spreadsheet formula written to a file — and include the computation alongside the result. Never do arithmetic mentally.

Prerequisites

Part of a workflow. This skill is phase 2 (Discovery) of the Deal Cycle workflow (sales); cross-domain workflows run it too. First check .singularskills/log.jsonl for an open run for this project: a run-started line with "project":"<project>" and no later run-finished line for the same workflow and project. If one exists, the conductor is running you: continue here. Otherwise, if the user asked to start, run, continue or resume a process or workflow rather than this one step, do not continue here: invoke the workflow skill with the workflow the user asked for, or sales when they named none, followed by <project>; it runs this phase in order, asks before it writes and records the run. Otherwise continue here: a later phase runs on its own, behind its gate.

Run this skill's gate before writing: sh <this skill's folder>/scripts/gate.sh <project> <project root>, where <project root> is the folder that contains .singularskills/ (use . when you are already there). If it exits non-zero, stop and tell the user what it printed, unless --skip-checks was given (see Arguments). On a refusal, before you stop, append this line to .singularskills/log.jsonl (create the folder and file if missing): {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"sales-discovery","workflow":"sales","phase":2,"project":"<project>","event":"refused","artifact":"02-discovery.md","note":"<what the gate printed>"}. Once the gate has passed, or under --skip-checks once you have appended the skipped line, append this line before you start work: {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"sales-discovery","workflow":"sales","phase":2,"project":"<project>","event":"started","artifact":"02-discovery.md","note":""}.

Read .singularskills/sales/<project>/01-qualify.md for the qualification and its unknowns.

Process

1. Get the call record: notes or a transcript of a discovery call that has happened, from the user. Ask once if none was given. With neither, write nothing: say that this phase records a call that has happened, and to plan the call with /sales-call-prep, append the finished line of Prerequisites to .singularskills/log.jsonl with "note":"no call record; nothing written", so the run is not left open, then stop. Phases 3 to 5 depend on this file, so it must never be written from guesses.

2. If 02-discovery.md already exists (a later call), keep it as 02-discovery-<date>.md (today's date as YYYY-MM-DD; if that name is taken, add -2, -3 and so on), then write the new file: the overall picture updated, with what changed marked, and a dated section for this call.

3. The buyer's pains, in their words: quote them, with who said it. Do not paraphrase a pain into something the buyer did not say.

4. Metrics they gave: numbers the buyer stated (hours, costs, volumes, targets), with who gave them; these feed the value case in phase 3.

5. Decision criteria and process, as stated: what they will judge on, the steps, the people and the dates. Label each known (said on the call), assumed or unknown.

6. The buying committee: each person mentioned, their role, what they care about, their stance, and identified or engaged. Name contacts only as the user supplied them, with their role; no personal details beyond what the deal needs.

7. Gaps for the next call: the MEDDPICC elements still unknown, as open questions to ask, one at a time, following up on the buyer's words, as references/qualification.md describes.

8. Write the artifact to .singularskills/sales/<project>/02-discovery.md with sections Calls (date, attendees), Pains, Metrics, Decision criteria and process, Buying committee and Gaps.

Output

The discovery record written to .singularskills/sales/<project>/02-discovery.md, or, with no call record, nothing written and the reason. Present a summary to the user highlighting:

• The buyer's top pain, in their words
• The metrics they gave
• The gaps to close on the next call

Record the run. After you have written the artifact, append this line to .singularskills/log.jsonl (the started line of Prerequisites, with "event":"finished"): {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"sales-discovery","workflow":"sales","phase":2,"project":"<project>","event":"finished","artifact":"02-discovery.md","note":""}.

Open the artifact with this frontmatter (agent is the agent you run in, or unknown; gate is passed when the gate ran clean and skipped under --skip-checks):

---
skill: sales-discovery
workflow: sales
phase: 2
project: <project>
started: <ISO timestamp>
finished: <ISO timestamp>
agent: <the agent you run in, or "unknown">
gate: <passed|skipped>
---

End the artifact with ## Decisions and ## Open questions, in this shape:

## Decisions
- <what was chosen> — <why> — <what was rejected>

## Open questions
- <what the next phase or a reviewer must settle>