Draft a mutual action plan for a live deal
advancedClaude OpusSalesAesalesmutual-action-plandeal-managemententerprise-salesae
Use case
Use this when a deal has progressed past discovery and you need to align with the buyer on what it takes to get to signature. A real MAP is one of the highest-leverage tools an AE has for forecast accuracy and stalled-deal prevention. This prompt produces something you can paste into a shared doc and edit with the buyer in the next call.
The prompt
You are a senior enterprise account executive who has run hundreds of mutual action plans. Draft a MAP for the following live deal. Deal context: - Company:{{company_name}}- Deal size:{{deal_size}}- Current stage:{{current_stage}}(e.g., post-demo, in technical eval, in procurement) - Target close date:{{target_close}}- Decision criteria:{{decision_criteria}}- Known stakeholders:{{stakeholders}}(list with role) - Known risks or unknowns:{{risks}}- Our side resources available:{{our_resources}}(e.g., SE, security team, exec sponsor) Build a MAP with the following structure: 1. Shared goal statement (one sentence both sides will agree to) 2. Milestone table with columns: milestone, their owner, our owner, target date, dependency, status. Cover the path from current stage to signed contract. Typical milestones include: technical validation, security review, reference calls, business case approval, legal review, procurement, signature. 3. Risks and how each is being mitigated (3 to 5 items, specific not generic) 4. Decision criteria checklist tied to specific milestones — make it easy for the buyer to see what evidence each criterion needs 5. A "what would cause us to slip" section — be honest about the 2 or 3 things most likely to push the date 6. Suggested cadence for reviewing the MAP together Tone: collaborative, not pushy. The buyer is co-author, not a target. If a milestone needs information you do not have, mark it [TBD with buyer] rather than inventing a date.
Variables
{{{{company_name}}}}Replace with your {{company name}}{{{{deal_size}}}}Replace with your {{deal size}}{{{{current_stage}}}}Replace with your {{current stage}}{{{{target_close}}}}Replace with your {{target close}}{{{{decision_criteria}}}}Replace with your {{decision criteria}}{{{{stakeholders}}}}Replace with your {{stakeholders}}{{{{risks}}}}Replace with your {{risks}}{{{{our_resources}}}}Replace with your {{our resources}}
Example
Input
company_name: Helix Analytics deal_size: $180K ARR, 2-year term current_stage: post-demo, moving into technical eval target_close: end of Q2 (June 30) decision_criteria: integration with Snowflake and dbt, SOC 2 Type II, sub-200ms query latency on their data volumes stakeholders: Priya Shah (VP Data, economic buyer), Tomas Reyes (Lead Data Engineer, technical champion), Karen Liu (Procurement), CFO (final sign-off) risks: CFO has not been engaged yet, security review queue is 4 weeks, they have a competing internal project that could pull resources our_resources: 1 SE for technical eval, security team for SOC 2 packet, VP Sales as exec sponsor
Output
Shared goal: Validate that our platform meets Helix's performance, integration, and security requirements and execute a 2-year contract by June 30 to align with their fiscal Q3 launch. Milestone plan: | Milestone | Their owner | Our owner | Target date | Dependency | Status | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Technical eval scoping call | Tomas | SE (Mark) | May 15 | Sample data and use case shared | Open | | Performance benchmark on Helix data volumes | Tomas | SE | May 29 | Eval environment provisioned | Open | | Snowflake + dbt integration validation | Tomas | SE | June 5 | Eval extends to prod-like data | Open | | Security packet review (SOC 2 Type II, DPA) | Helix infosec | Our security lead | June 12 | Packet sent week of May 19 | Open | | Reference calls (2 customers in similar stage) | Priya | AE | June 5 | References aligned and intro'd | Open | | Business case + ROI summary to CFO | Priya | AE + Exec sponsor | June 15 | Eval results + reference notes | [TBD with buyer] | | Procurement and legal review | Karen | Our legal | June 22 | Redlines back within 5 business days | Open | | Signature | CFO | VP Sales | June 30 | All above complete | Open | Risks and mitigations: 1. CFO not yet engaged — schedule a 20-minute exec align between our VP Sales and CFO by May 22, framed around business case, not product. 2. Security review queue is 4 weeks — send packet by May 19 and request expedited review tied to fiscal Q3 launch. 3. Competing internal project — explicitly ask Priya in next call whether resourcing is at risk, and document her answer in the MAP. 4. Performance benchmark on real data volumes is the highest technical risk — front-load this milestone, not procurement. Decision criteria checklist: - Snowflake + dbt integration → validated by June 5 milestone - SOC 2 Type II + sub-200ms latency → validated by performance benchmark and security packet - Total cost of ownership → covered in business case before CFO call What would cause us to slip: 1. Security review takes 6 weeks instead of 4 — push close to mid-July 2. CFO not engaged until late June — same risk, no time to handle objections 3. Performance benchmark fails on first pass — adds 2 to 3 weeks for tuning Cadence: 20-minute MAP review every Friday between AE and Tomas. Priya joins every other week. Update doc live during call.
Tips for best results
- 1A MAP works only if the buyer co-edits it. If they will not engage, that is a forecast signal — surface it in your next deal review.
- 2Always include a 'what would cause us to slip' section. Buyers respect honesty about risk, and it gives you cover when something does slip.
- 3Tie procurement and legal milestones to specific business dates (fiscal Q3 launch, board meeting), not vague targets.
- 4If a stakeholder is not yet engaged, name them in the MAP anyway with [TBD] dates. Visibility forces the conversation.
- 5Review the MAP every week with the champion. If the champion stops engaging with it, the deal is at risk regardless of what they say.
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