Giving good context in sales

A model knows how sales works in general. It knows nothing about your account. It has not heard the last call, read the email thread, or seen the pricing your company approved this quarter. Without that material, it writes for an imaginary buyer.

Giving good context means handing the model what a colleague would need before covering one of your calls. That includes the account history, the buyer’s stated priorities in their own words, and current product facts. It also means leaving out material that is stale or that the tool should not hold.

Where it comes up

• A follow-up email after a discovery call

  Paste the relevant parts of your call notes, including the buyer’s exact phrases about their problem and the next step both sides agreed. The follow-up then reflects the real conversation.

• Tailoring a proposal section to one account

  Give the model the buyer’s stated evaluation criteria, the products in scope, and the approved description of each. Without them, the section describes a generic customer and may describe features you do not sell.

• Preparing for a meeting with a new stakeholder

  Summarize the deal so far: who has been involved, what each person cares about, and which concerns remain open. The model can then suggest how to brief the new stakeholder without repeating settled points.

What it looks like at each band

1. E1 · Foundational

   Gives the account name and the task, sometimes with a line about the product. Output is generic and needs heavy rework to fit the deal. Does not yet connect the generic result to the missing account material.

2. E2 · Proficient

   Includes the relevant call notes, the buyer’s stated needs, and approved product facts. Output fits the account with moderate editing. Pastes source material rather than describing it from memory.

3. E3 · Distinguished

   Chooses context for each task with care. Removes outdated pricing and old call notes that would mislead. Marks which facts the buyer confirmed and which are assumptions. Keeps a current account summary ready to paste.

4. E4 · Exceptional

   Maintains shared context the team draws on, such as approved product descriptions, current positioning against named alternatives, and segment profiles. Notices when that material goes out of date and updates it before reps use it.

Common mistakes

• Paraphrasing the buyer instead of quoting them

  Your summary of the buyer’s problem drifts toward what your product solves. Their own words keep the follow-up honest and specific.

• Relying on the model’s knowledge of your product

  The model may describe an old version of your product or confuse it with another. Supply the current, approved description each time a message makes a product claim.

• Pasting an entire email thread

  A long thread buries the current state of the deal under old proposals and side topics. Extract the decisions and open questions, then paste those.

A worked example

A recap email after a second call with an IT manager evaluating a security product.

The full study guide for this skill, for every role, is Giving good context. The other five skills for sales professionals are on the AI skills for sales professionals page. A one-page summary is in the AI context checklist.