psp git:20261019.4a9b633A

Immutable. This exact content never changes and is served at /api/v1/blob/bb090809481c317c.

---
name: psp
description: "Builds and scores a Pain Signal Profile (PSP): a public, recent signal, the operational pain it implies, why it is acute now, who feels it, and the buyer's own words. Publishes the locked primary to brand-config.json for the rest of the suite. Also writes an ideal customer profile whose readiness test is a public pain signal. Use when the operator asks to build, score or refresh a PSP, for an ICP or buyer profile, to map signals to pain, pick which signals to hunt, or check PSP status. Not for the value-proposition line (use evp), not for picking who to contact this week (use prospect-list), not for writing the email (use cold-email)."
argument-hint: "[construct | icp | signal-hunt | validate | status | setup]"
allowed-tools: Read Write(./gtm/**) Grep WebFetch Bash(python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/score_psp.py:*)
license: MIT
models: ""

---

# PSP — Pain Signal Profile Builder

A Pain Signal Profile is the link from a **public signal** (something
the prospect verifiably did) to the **felt operational pain** that
signal implies. It's the foundation underneath cold email, outbound
audits, EVPs, content strategy, and sales conversations in the JMC
framework.

## Start here — every invocation

> **Scoring something pasted needs no setup.** If the operator handed you a line, post, draft, or file to score, run the scorer on it first and report the result; missing config only means some checks are skipped, so say which. Offer setup afterwards as the next step. Check whether files exist with Read or Glob, not a shell command.

1. Read `brand-config.json` and `SOUL.md` from the project root. Both
   are shared by every pack in the suite; this pack owns only
   `psp_drafts`, `psp`, `signal_sources`, `research_cadence`, and its
   own sections of [SOUL.md](../../SOUL.md).
2. Either missing, or `operator`/`icp` empty → run the `setup` mode
   first, whatever was asked. Two exceptions: scoring a pasted PSP
   (above), and a request that carries the seller facts itself (work
   from those, then offer setup). Otherwise do not draft a PSP without
   both files (see `AGENTS.md`).
3. Route by `$ARGUMENTS`. If it names a mode, go straight to it. If it
   is empty, run `status`. Otherwise match the request to a row.
4. Read the mode file with the Read tool and follow it.

| You say / argument | Mode file |
|---|---|
| (nothing), `status`, "where do I start", "PSP status" | [modes/status.md](modes/status.md) |
| `setup`, `onboarding`, "set up", "refresh my config" | [modes/setup.md](modes/setup.md) |
| `construct`, "build a PSP for…" | [modes/construct.md](modes/construct.md) |
| `icp`, "ideal customer profile", "buyer profile", "who should we sell to" | [modes/icp.md](modes/icp.md) |
| `signal-hunt`, "what signals should we hunt" | [modes/signal-hunt.md](modes/signal-hunt.md) |
| `validate`, "score this PSP" | no file: run the scorer (below) |

Moved in 0.6: the old sub-skills (`psp-kickoff`, `psp-onboarding`,
`psp-construct`, `psp-signal-hunt`) are these modes. Type
`/psp:psp <mode>`.

Files this pack writes in the operator's project: `brand-config.json`
and `SOUL.md` at the root (shared), and the PSP doc at `gtm/psp.md`.
Create `gtm/` if it is missing.

### Validate

```bash
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/score_psp.py --file gtm/psp.md   # markdown PSP doc
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/score_psp.py --file brand-config.json --json-path psp_drafts.primary
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/score_psp.py --file brand-config.json --json-path psp   # published block
```

`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` is the plugin's install folder; the scorer
sits in its `scripts/`. On a host that doesn't expand the variable
(plain-skills install), use `scripts/score_psp.py` from the pack root. The scorer is stdlib Python — no network,
no key. Add `--json` for one JSON object.

Exit 0 means operational: 70+, the signal is ≤30 days old, and the
pain uses one of the buyer's vocabulary phrases. Exit 1 means fix the
flagged axes first: every reason prints as `- what is wrong → what to
change`. Show the operator every line; do not round a 69 up.

The artifact is one pain brief: the pain sentence in the buyer's words,
plus the phrase lifted from them. A passing run prints it under
`## Pain brief` with `Buyer phrase:`. A persona table (title, company,
cares-about, challenge) is refused with `persona has no pain in the
buyer's language`; a high score whose pain uses none of their phrases is
refused with `pain is not in the buyer's language`. Both exit 1.

## The core stance

A PSP is **not** an ICP, persona, or demographic. Those describe who
the buyer **is**. (The `icp` mode builds an ICP around a PSP, so its
readiness test is a signal; it does not replace the PSP.) A PSP describes:

1. What the buyer **just did** (signal — public, recent, verifiable)
2. What that signal **implies** about their operational reality (pain)
3. **Why now** the pain is acute (timing)
4. **Who feels the pain most** within the company (role)
5. **What language** they use about it internally (vocabulary)

If you can't fill in all five, you don't have a PSP yet.

### Every finished doc

A PSP or ICP is read by the operator's team. It carries no config file
names, scorer notes or method rules dressed as facts (a recency window
or trigger list is the operator's call, not a seller fact); every claim
says whether it is a given fact or an inference; and it uses no pronoun
for a named person unless the source gives one.

## The framework

```
Signal      →  Pain          →  Timing       →  Role          →  Vocabulary
(verifiable    (operational    (why now is    (who feels it    (their words,
 thing they    consequence)    acute)          most)            not yours)
 did)
```

### Component 1: Signal

A signal is something the prospect (or their company) did **publicly,
recently, and verifiably**.

**Good signals:**

- Just posted a job for `<role>` on LinkedIn (≤30 days)
- Just announced funding (Series A/B/C, ≤30 days)
- Just shipped a feature / product / pricing change (≤30 days)
- Just hired / promoted a relevant exec (≤30 days)
- Just changed website positioning or hero (≤14 days)
- Just appeared on a relevant podcast / conference / panel
- Just published a content piece on the topic

**Not signals:**

- "Series B company" (state, not action)
- "VP of Marketing" (role, not action)
- "Growing fast" (vague, not verifiable)

### Component 2: Pain

The pain is what the signal **implies** about the prospect's day-to-day
operational reality. It is *always* phrased as a thing the operator
feels, not a thing you sell.

**Examples (signal → pain mapping):**

| Signal | Implied pain |
|---|---|
| Posted "Senior Demand Gen Lead" role 4 days ago | Pipeline gap; existing motion not producing SQLs |
| Announced Series B last month | Pressure to 3x revenue in 18 months while keeping CAC flat |
| Shipped enterprise tier yesterday | Need new sales motion; legacy SDRs not built for $50k+ ACV |
| New CRO hired 6 weeks ago | Re-evaluating GTM stack in next 90 days |
| Pricing page now shows "Contact us" | Moving up-market; existing inbound funnel may not fit |

### Component 3: Timing — why now is acute

The same pain can exist for years; what makes it actionable now? Most
buyer movement happens in a 90-day window after one of three triggers:

- **A new exec joins** (90-day plan in motion)
- **A budget cycle opens** (Q4 planning, fiscal new year)
- **An obvious failure ships** (missed quarter, churn spike, launch flop)

Name which trigger is in play. If none, the PSP isn't time-anchored
and outreach will fall flat.

### Component 4: Role

Within the company, who feels the pain most acutely? Not who *makes
the decision* — who *feels the pain*. Often these differ.

- The CMO **feels** missed-quarter pain
- The Demand Gen Lead **feels** pipeline-gap pain
- The CRO **feels** CAC-payback pain
- The COO **feels** ops-scaling pain

Outreach lands when it reaches the person who **feels** the pain, even
if the buying decision routes elsewhere.

### Component 5: Vocabulary

What language do they use about this pain in private — Slack, internal
docs, hiring posts, AMA Qs? You need their words, not your category
words.

- Don't say "demand generation challenges" → they say "pipeline gap"
- Don't say "buyer enablement" → they say "deals stalling"
- Don't say "GTM efficiency" → they say "we're burning cash"
- Don't say "ICP fit" → they say "we keep closing wrong-fit logos"

The fastest way to find the vocabulary: read their job posts, their
LinkedIn comments, their team's public AMA responses.


## Finish every run with the next step

When a mode ends well (a PSP scores exit 0, or the `psp` block is
published), say the next step in one line: `Next: /evp:evp` to write
the line for this pain. If evp is not installed:
`/plugin install evp@gtm-operator-skills`. On exit 1, the next step is
the fix lines, then score again.

## Works with the suite

This is step 1 of the GTM operator suite (`/plugin marketplace add cmj-hub/gtm-operator-skills`).

- **Reads:** `operator` and `icp` from `brand-config.json` if present (`/gtm:setup` fills them once for the suite).
- **Writes:** `psp_drafts`, `signal_sources`, `research_cadence`, and, once the operator locks a primary PSP, the `psp` block (`signal_anchors`, `primary_pain`, `timing_trigger`, `felt_pain_role`, `vocabulary`). Merge at the field level; never overwrite another pack's keys.
- **Before this:** `/gtm:setup` once, when `operator` or `icp` is empty. Otherwise nothing.
- **After this:** evp (`/evp:evp`) to write the line for this pain; prospect-list (`/prospect-list:who-to-contact`) to find who shows the signal this week; pricing (`/pricing:pricing`) when price is the open question.

If a companion pack is not installed, name it and its install line (`/plugin install <name>@gtm-operator-skills`); do not do its job inline.

Go deeper: the JMC Pain Signal Profiles course (methodology) and Cold Email & Outreach Craft course (sequence design).

## Free hosted version

The same job runs in a browser, no install and no key:
[Pain Signal Profile Extractor](https://jaymountconsulting.com/tools/psp-extractor)