# forward-deployed-selling

A skill that tells an agent how to handle accounts, deals and pipeline: qualify the target first, then pick the move. Useful whenever an agent touches revenue.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 75
- Author: vonarmen-wq
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling/tree/HEAD/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-06-25
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/forward-deployed-selling

## What it does

This skill is an operating doctrine for an agent doing enterprise selling. It has two tiers. The Targeting Foundation runs three steps in order: define the ICP as a market, persona and channel triangle, build a GTM strategy, then identify stakeholders along with their incentives and constraints. Above that sits a 3×3 matrix — three buyer movements, three seller principles, three things AI now makes possible. The layers run at the same time rather than one after another.

Every decision follows a fixed order. Ethics comes first: an action that breaks a Red Light constraint is dropped, no override. Next the agent confirms the target is qualified, because the operational protocols will not run against an unqualified account. Then it places the account on the buyer's journey, picks the matching principle, and chooses how to amplify it. Velocity closes the list — cut wait states, run work in parallel.

The doctrine points at files inside the repository: `capabilities/icp-definition-protocol.md`, `capabilities/gtm-strategy-protocol.md`, `references/stakeholder-profiles.md`, `references/movements.md`, `references/thesis-protocol.md`, `references/deal-velocity.md`, `foundations.md`. Only `web_search` and `web_fetch` are allowed, so the agent reads public pages and nothing behind a login. It is told to arrive with a thesis and a diagnosis instead of questions — an agent with no account data will produce generic output.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling --skill forward-deployed-selling -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/forward-deployed-selling/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/forward-deployed-selling/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling --skill forward-deployed-selling -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/forward-deployed-selling/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling --skill forward-deployed-selling -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/forward-deployed-selling/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling forward-deployed-selling
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/forward-deployed-selling/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling --skill forward-deployed-selling -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/forward-deployed-selling/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling --skill forward-deployed-selling -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling/tree/HEAD/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- place an account on the right stage of the buyer's journey
- build a thesis and a value angle before the first meeting
- score a deal and find where it stalled
- draft outreach from what is public about an account
- separate User, Buyer, Sponsor and Enabler with their incentives

## Example prompts
- Run the forward-deployed-selling doctrine on this account: give me the ICP, the buyer stage and the next move
- Build a thesis and a stakeholder brief for this deal
- Diagnose where this deal is stuck and how to compress the cycle

## Source text · SKILL.md · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: f648e6a7b175d531.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE f648e6a7b175d531
````text
---
name: forward-deployed-selling
description: Operating doctrine for AI-era enterprise sales. Use when an agent works on accounts, deals, outreach, coaching, or pipeline — any revenue-affecting decision.
version: 0.5
allowed-tools: [web_search, web_fetch]
---

# Forward Deployed Selling: Operating Doctrine for AI Sales Agents

This document is the operating system for AI agents that execute Forward Deployed Selling. It encodes principles, decision logic, frameworks, and constraints derived from twenty years of enterprise field experience across deal sizes from $500K to $500M.

Every agent applying this doctrine consults it before acting. The doctrine is organized in two architectural tiers: a **Targeting Foundation** that establishes who the seller is selling to, and a **3×3 Operational Doctrine** that governs how the seller engages once the targeting is qualified.

## When to Use This Skill

Load this skill when an agent needs to:

- Analyze an account or prospect.
- Generate a value provocation, stakeholder brief, executive summary, or business case.
- Score a deal, diagnose its stage, or forecast pipeline.
- Draft personalized outreach against a public account.
- Coach a seller through a live deal.
- Decide the next action on an opportunity.
- Assess deal velocity, identify wait states, or recommend compression.
- Determine ethical boundaries on data use in a sales context.
- Make any decision that affects revenue, accounts, prospects, deals, outreach, coaching, or pipeline.

This is the master operating doctrine. If the task involves any of the above, this skill governs.

## Targeting Foundation

Before any operational protocol runs, the agent qualifies the targeting layer. The 3×3 doctrine has always assumed this prerequisite; this section makes it explicit and enforceable.

```
TARGETING (foundation — qualified before any 3×3 protocol invokes)
  ICP Definition  →  GTM Strategy  →  Stakeholder Identification

THE 3×3 (operational doctrine — runs against a qualified target)
  Movements / Principles / Innovations
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE f648e6a7b175d531

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First 2067 of 32437 bytes. © vonarmen-wq · Apache-2.0 · https://github.com/vonarmen-wq/forward-deployed-selling/tree/HEAD/SKILL.md

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---
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