POV Brief

---
name: clay-pov-brief
description: "Generate a Clay Sales POV research brief for a target company. Use this skill whenever a company is named and the request is for a POV, research brief, point of view, or meeting prep for outbound. Triggers include build a POV for X, research X for Clay outreach, prep me for X, create a brief on X. The output is a rich markdown document structured as opening hook, Company Objective, GTM Initiatives, Rep-Level Challenges, and How Clay Maps to Their Execution Gaps. Always uses live web research. Never outputs slide content directly — this is the research brief layer."
---

# Clay POV Research Brief Skill

## What this skill produces

A multi-page markdown research brief structured as:

1. **Title + Opening hook** — 1 sharp paragraph: what's the Clay opportunity, why now
2. **Section 1: Company objective** — What the company is trying to become, with specific metrics
3. **Section 2: GTM initiatives driving the sales org right now** — The active plays, confirmed by job postings and exec commentary
4. **Section 3: What a frontline [Company] rep actually feels on Monday morning** — Rep-level operational challenges (NOT executive strategy framing)
5. **Section 4: How Clay maps to [Company]'s specific execution gaps** — Clay capabilities tied 1:1 to the gaps identified above

Every claim should be sourced inline using pill-style citation labels like `(SEC)`, `(Glassdoor)`, `(LinkedIn Jobs)`, `(CEO Blog)`, `(Earnings Call Q3)`.

---

## Research strategy

Before writing a single word, run parallel searches across these source types:

### Source tier 1 — Financial / Strategic intent
- Annual report or 10-K (if public): revenue targets, segment strategy, growth priorities
- Earnings call transcripts: CEO/CFO language on GTM priorities, what's working, what's not
- Investor day / analyst day materials: long-term model, TAM narrative, growth levers
- Press releases: new product launches, partnerships, leadership hires

### Source tier 2 — GTM execution signals
- LinkedIn job postings: AE, SDR, BDR, RevOps, Sales Engineer, Sales Manager roles
  - Pay attention to: geo of roles, segment focus (Enterprise/MM/SMB), named accounts, required tools
- Company careers page: same signal, sometimes more detail on territory structure
- CRO / VP Sales / CEO thought leadership: LinkedIn posts, interviews, podcasts
- Glassdoor reviews (sales-specific): rep experience, quota attainment, tooling complaints, territory quality

### Source tier 3 — Rep-level intelligence
- Glassdoor reviews from AEs/SDRs/BDRs: what's hard day-to-day, what tools they use, territory structure
- G2 / TrustRadius reviews if relevant to understand buyer personas
- News coverage of sales org changes, layoffs, reorgs, hiring surges

### Search queries to run (adapt per company)
- `[Company] annual report 2024 2025 revenue growth strategy`
- `[Company] earnings call transcript CRO CEO sales GTM`
- `[Company] account executive job posting site:linkedin.com OR site:greenhouse.io`
- `[Company] SDR BDR sales development rep job description`
- `[Company] CRO OR "Chief Revenue Officer" OR "VP Sales" interview strategy`
- `[Company] Glassdoor sales rep review quota territory`
- `[Company] sales org expansion hiring 2024 2025`
- `[Company] investor day analyst day presentation`

---

## Writing standards

### Opening hook (1 paragraph, ~100 words)
- Lead with the single most important tension: what's the company trying to do AND why are reps struggling to execute it
- Include 1-2 specific metrics (revenue target, growth rate, quota attainment, headcount) with citations
- End with the Clay connection: what specific capability creates the opening

### Section 1: Company objective
- What is the company trying to become? (not just "grow revenue" — the strategic repositioning)
- Include: revenue targets, named products/segments driving growth, profitability posture
- CEO or CRO direct quotes where available
- 3-4 paragraphs with sub-headers for major themes

### Section 2: GTM initiatives
- 3-5 sub-sections, each with a bold declarative header (e.g., "Enterprise AE hiring is concentrated in net-new logo motion")
- Confirm each initiative with job posting evidence OR exec commentary — not assumptions
- Name specific roles, geos, segments where possible
- Include: outbound motion details, vertical specialization, partner GTM, international expansion, segment shifts

### Section 3: What a frontline rep actually feels on Monday morning ⚠️ CRITICAL
This is the most important section. Frame challenges at the **rep level** — what a rep experiences operationally, not what a CRO debates in a QBR.

**Good framing (rep-level):**
- "A rep covering financial services for the first time doesn't know the right personas AND doesn't have enriched contact data for those verticals"
- "Territory was just redrawn around accounts the rep has never worked — the CRM is empty"
- "Rep is toggling between Salesforce, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, and email sequencer with no integration"

**Bad framing (executive-level — avoid):**
- "Data quality is a challenge for the GTM org"
- "Reps need better account prioritization"
- "The sales org lacks unified data"

Use Glassdoor reviews as the primary source for rep-level texture. Direct quotes from Glassdoor reviewers (AEs, SDRs) are gold.

4-6 sub-sections covering: data/coverage gaps, ICP/persona challenges, territory structure issues, tooling fragmentation, ramp/onboarding friction, competitive displacement challenges.

### Section 4: How Clay maps to execution gaps
- One sub-section per gap identified in Section 3
- Each maps a specific Clay capability to that specific gap
- Include relevant Clay proof points where known: enrichment match rates (80%+ vs 40-50% single provider), Claygent use cases, waterfall enrichment, signal-based workflows
- Reference comparable customer examples where applicable (OpenAI enrichment coverage, Vanta rep productivity, Pump TAM mapping, etc.)

---

## Output format

```markdown
# Clay Sales POV: [Company Name]

[Opening hook paragraph — bold the key tension, cite sources inline]

---

## 1. Company objective: [short declarative subtitle]

[3-4 paragraphs with sub-headers]

---

## 2. GTM initiatives driving the sales org right now

### [Initiative sub-header]
[paragraph]

### [Initiative sub-header]
[paragraph]

[etc.]

---

## 3. What a frontline [Company] rep actually feels on Monday morning

### [Challenge sub-header]
[paragraph with Glassdoor quotes, job posting signals, specific operational details]

[etc.]

---

## 4. How Clay maps to [Company]'s specific execution gaps

### [Gap → Clay capability sub-header]
[paragraph connecting the specific gap to Clay's specific capability, with proof points]

[etc.]
```

---

## Citation style

Inline citations appear as `(Source)` immediately after the claim. Use short, readable labels:
- `(SEC)` — SEC filings / 10-K / 10-Q
- `(Earnings Q3 FY26)` — specific earnings call
- `(Glassdoor)` — Glassdoor review
- `(LinkedIn Jobs)` — LinkedIn job posting
- `(Greenhouse)` — Greenhouse job posting
- `(Company Blog)` — company blog / press release
- `(CEO Name)` — named exec quote from interview/podcast/post
- Source name for news outlets: `(Bloomberg)`, `(TechCrunch)`, `(Business Wire)`

---

## Quality checklist before output

- [ ] Every GTM initiative is confirmed by a job posting OR exec quote — not inferred
- [ ] Every challenge in Section 3 is framed at the rep level (what do they feel on Monday morning)
- [ ] Section 4 maps to Section 3 gaps 1:1 — no generic Clay claims
- [ ] At least one Glassdoor quote from a sales rep in Section 3
- [ ] Opening hook has at least 2 specific metrics with sources
- [ ] No section is purely generic — all content is specific to this company