These 12 Claude skills for sales cover the jobs reps repeat every week: account research, list building, CRM hygiene, call prep, follow-ups and objection prep. Each one is a short SKILL.md file with its trigger, its steps and the tools it needs, written so Claude asks before it spends credits or writes to your CRM.
Copy a skill, change the details in brackets, save it in a folder with the same name and upload it. Every skill names the MCP connectors it calls, so you can see which data it touches before you turn it on.
How to use these Claude skills for sales
Claude skills are folders of instructions that Claude loads only when a request matches them, so you stop pasting the same long prompt into every chat. Anthropic describes them as “folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude loads dynamically” (What are Skills?).
Until a skill is triggered, only its name and description sit in Claude’s context, about 100 tokens per skill according to Anthropic’s Agent Skills overview. That is why the description has to say both what the skill does and when to use it.
Install a skill in Claude
- Turn on code execution. On Free, Pro and Max, go to Settings, then Capabilities, and enable “Code execution and file creation”.
- Save the skill as
SKILL.mdinside a folder with the same name as the skill, for exampleaccount-brief/SKILL.md, and zip the folder. - Go to Customize, then Skills, click “+”, then “+ Create skill” and “Upload a skill”.
- Ask for it by name the first time: “Use my account-brief skill for harborviewsoftware.com.”
On Team and Enterprise, an Owner enables Skills and code execution in Organization settings, under Plugins & skills, and can provision skills for everyone (Using Skills in Claude).
Use the same skill in Claude Code
In Claude Code, save the file as .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md in a project, or ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md for all your projects. You can run it with /<name> or let Claude load it when the request matches (Claude Code skills docs). Skills do not sync between claude.ai, the API and Claude Code, so add each one where you use it.
Rules every skill below follows
name: lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, 64 characters at most, and never the words “claude” or “anthropic”.description: what the skill does and when to use it, kept under 200 characters so it uploads in claude.ai.- Connect the tools first. Each skill lists the MCP connectors it calls; our walkthrough of prospecting in Claude shows how to add Scalelist.
Research skills
Research skills give you facts with links before you reach out, and they never spend credits on contact details.
1. Account brief
name: account-brief
description: One-page brief on a target account before a first call or email. Use when asked to research, brief me on or prep for a company name or domain.
—
Steps:
1. Read the company website and news from the last 90 days with web search. Keep a link for every fact.
2. Using Scalelist, count the sales, operations and finance leaders at the domain (0 credits). Pull at most 5 of them (1 credit each).
3. Using HubSpot, check for a company record, open deals and the last activity.
4. Write the brief: what they sell, to whom, 3 recent facts with links, the likely buyer and a backup, one reason to reach out now.
Rules: write "unknown" instead of guessing. Do not find emails or mobiles here.
Tools: web search, Scalelist MCP, HubSpot MCP (read only).
- Trigger: “Brief me on harborviewsoftware.com before Thursday’s call.”
- Tools and cost: web search, Scalelist (5 credits at most), HubSpot read access.
- Why it works: the brief separates facts with links from guesses, so nothing unsourced ends up in your first line.
2. Trigger event scan
name: trigger-scan
description: Weekly scan of a target account list for new trigger events such as funding, new leaders and expansion. Use when asked what changed at my accounts.
—
Steps:
1. Read the attached account list (company, domain, owner).
2. For each account, search the web for news from the last 7 days: funding, a new executive, a new location, an acquisition, a hiring push.
3. Keep only events with a dated source link. Drop rumors and undated pages.
4. Return a table: Company | Event | Date | Link | Suggested first line. Newest first.
Rules: no event without a link. Contact no one. No Scalelist credits.
Tools: web search.
- Trigger: “What changed at my 40 accounts this week?”
- Tools and cost: web search only; no credits.
- When to use it: every Monday before you plan the week. Our list of sales trigger events explains which events are worth acting on.
List-building skills
List-building skills turn a sentence into named people with verified contact details, and they size every search before they pull anyone.
3. ICP to call list
name: icp-to-list
description: Turns a one-sentence ICP into a sized, deduplicated lead list with a credit cap. Use when asked to find, build or pull a list of people.
—
Steps:
1. Restate the sentence as titles, industry, company size and location. Wait for my OK.
2. Using Scalelist, count the matches (0 credits). If over 5,000, suggest one narrower version.
3. Pull a sample of 5 people (5 credits) and ask: are these the right people?
4. On "go", pull the batch size I give, one person per company, and skip the domains in my exclusion list.
5. Find emails with one bulk job (1 credit per email found). Show Valid, Risky and Not found.
Rules: stop and ask before 300 credits. Never fill a blank with a guess.
Tools: Scalelist MCP.
- Trigger: “Build me a list of plant managers at Ohio manufacturers with 201 to 1,000 employees.”
- Tools and cost: Scalelist; about 2 credits per person with an email found, 300 credits at most per run.
- Why it works: the 5-person sample catches a wrong reading for 5 credits instead of 300. For sharper sentences, see how to describe your ICP in one sentence.
4. Buying committee map
name: buying-committee-map
description: Maps the buyers inside up to 10 target accounts and picks 2 contacts per account. Use for account-based lists or "who should I contact at".
—
Steps:
1. For each domain, use Scalelist to list leaders in [the functions you sell to], at most 10 per account (1 credit per person returned).
2. Group people by function and rank them by seniority.
3. Pick a primary and a backup contact per account, with one line on why each owns the problem.
4. Find emails for the picked people only (1 credit per email found). Ask before any mobile (20 credits per mobile found).
Rules: 100 people returned at most per run. Mark titles that do not fit as "skip".
Tools: Scalelist MCP.
- Trigger: “Who should I contact at these 10 accounts?”
- Tools and cost: Scalelist; 100 credits at most for the map, plus 1 per email found for 20 people.
- When to use it: for account-based plays where two well-chosen people beat a list of fifty.
CRM hygiene skills
CRM hygiene skills keep HubSpot clean by checking before they write, and they never overwrite a field that already has a value.
5. CRM dedupe before import
name: crm-dedupe-import
description: Checks a new contact list against HubSpot before import and sorts rows into New, Duplicate and Conflict. Use before adding any list to the CRM.
—
Steps:
1. Normalize the list: lowercase emails, trim spaces, split full names, strip "www." from domains.
2. Using HubSpot, search each row by email. If there is no match, search by last name plus company domain.
3. Label each row New, Duplicate (same person) or Conflict (same email, different name or company).
4. Show the counts and every Conflict row. Wait for approval.
5. On approval: create New contacts, fill only blank fields on Duplicates, skip Conflicts.
Rules: never overwrite a field that has a value. Never delete a record.
Tools: HubSpot MCP.
- Trigger: “Check this trade show list against HubSpot before I import it.”
- Tools and cost: HubSpot read and write; no Scalelist credits.
- Why it works: the second search, by last name plus domain, catches people whose email changed. More on duplicates and CRM data hygiene.
6. Bounced contact refresh
name: contact-refresh
description: Refreshes HubSpot contacts whose emails bounced or who have no phone number. Use when asked to clean, refresh or fix contact data in the CRM.
—
Steps:
1. Using HubSpot, list my contacts marked as bounced or with an empty phone field. 200 at most per run.
2. Send them to Scalelist as one bulk email job with name and company website (1 credit per email found).
3. For the contacts I plan to call, run one bulk phone job after I approve the cap (20 credits per mobile found).
4. Show a table: Old email | New email | Status | Mobile.
5. On approval, update only the changed fields and add the note "Refreshed with Scalelist" and the date.
Rules: if nothing is found, leave the record as is and tag it for review.
Tools: HubSpot MCP, Scalelist MCP.
- Trigger: “Fix the bounced contacts in my territory.”
- Tools and cost: HubSpot, Scalelist; 1 credit per email found, 20 per mobile found, 0 for a miss.
- When to use it: once a month, or before a new sequence. See CRM enrichment for the wider routine.
7. Call notes to CRM
name: call-notes-to-crm
description: Turns rough call notes into a HubSpot note, a next-step task and a suggested deal stage. Use after a call when I paste or dictate notes.
—
Steps:
1. Extract: who was on the call, pains in their own words, budget, timeline, objections, the next step with a date.
2. Using HubSpot, find the contact and the open deal.
3. Draft a note under 120 words, one task with a due date, and a stage suggestion with the reason.
4. Show all three and wait for approval before writing anything.
Rules: quote the prospect; do not turn their words into claims. Leave fields empty when the notes do not say.
Tools: HubSpot MCP; Granola MCP if the meeting was recorded there.
- Trigger: “Log this call: Dana, Northwind, wants pricing for 3 plants by Friday.”
- Tools and cost: HubSpot, optional Granola; no Scalelist credits.
- Why it works: one approval covers the note, the task and the stage, so logging takes one message instead of three screens.
Call prep skills
Call prep skills put everything you need on one card before you dial, and they keep mobile lookups for the people you will actually call.
8. Call prep card
name: call-prep-card
description: A 60-second prep card before a cold or discovery call. Use when I say I am about to call someone or ask to prep a call.
—
Steps:
1. Using HubSpot, pull past emails, notes and the deal stage for the contact.
2. If we met before, ask Granola for the last decisions and open questions.
3. Using Scalelist, search the company domain for the person to confirm the current title (1 credit per person returned).
4. Write the card in under 150 words: who they are, why now, one opener, three discovery questions, the likely objection and a one-line answer.
Rules: write "unknown" for anything you cannot confirm. Do not look up emails or mobiles.
Tools: HubSpot MCP, Granola MCP (optional), Scalelist MCP.
- Trigger: “Prep my 2:30 call with Jordan Reyes, VP of Sales at Brightline Software.”
- Tools and cost: HubSpot, Granola, Scalelist; a credit or two at most.
- Why it works: “unknown” beats a confident wrong fact when the prospect is on the line.
9. Call block sheet
name: call-block-sheet
description: Builds a dialing sheet for a call block with mobiles, local times and a one-line opener per person. Use when I plan a calling session.
—
Steps:
1. Take the list I give (name, company website, city, state).
2. After I approve the cap, find mobiles with one Scalelist bulk phone job (20 credits per mobile found).
3. Add each person's time zone and local time at the start of the block.
4. Order the sheet so every region is called in its business hours: East Coast first in the morning.
5. Add one opener per person tied to their role, and a 15-second voicemail.
Rules: move rows with no mobile to an email-only tab. Skip every number on my do-not-call list.
Tools: Scalelist MCP. Output: a CSV file.
- Trigger: “Build tomorrow’s 9 a.m. call block from these 30 people.”
- Tools and cost: Scalelist; 20 credits per mobile found, 600 credits at most for 30 people.
- When to use it: the night before a call block. Our guide to finding direct phone numbers in Claude covers the enrichment step, and the rules for dialing mobiles are in B2B cold calling laws (not legal advice).
Follow-up skills
Follow-up skills write the next message from what actually happened, and they stop at a draft.
10. Meeting follow-up
name: meeting-follow-up
description: Drafts the follow-up email after a sales meeting from its transcript, with agreed next steps only. Use after a meeting when I ask for the follow-up.
—
Steps:
1. Using Granola, open the meeting transcript and notes.
2. List what was agreed: next step, owner, date, and what the prospect asked to receive.
3. Draft an email under 120 words: a one-line thank-you, the next steps, the promised material, a confirmed date.
4. Show the draft. Do not send it.
Rules: nothing the prospect already knows. No commitments that were not made. If no date was agreed, propose two times.
Tools: Granola MCP.
- Trigger: “Write the follow-up for my Northwind call.”
- Tools and cost: Granola; no credits.
- Why it works: a follow-up that lists next steps gets a yes or a correction, where a long recap gets skimmed. For the after-a-cold-call version, see the follow-up email after a cold call.
11. No-reply nudge
name: no-reply-nudge
description: Writes a follow-up for a prospect who has not replied, built on one new fact. Use when asked to follow up, bump or nudge a quiet thread.
—
Steps:
1. Using HubSpot, read the thread and the date of the last touch. If it was under 3 business days ago, stop and say so.
2. Search the web for one new fact about the account from the last 30 days, with a link.
3. Draft a 40 to 70 word email built on that fact, ending with a question they can answer in one line.
4. If there is no new fact, draft a short close-the-loop email instead.
Rules: never write "just bumping this". Never repeat the last email's pitch.
Tools: HubSpot MCP (read only), web search.
- Trigger: “Nudge Jordan at Brightline, no reply since the 12th.”
- Tools and cost: HubSpot, web search; no credits.
- When to use it: on any thread that has gone quiet after a first touch or a proposal.
Objection prep skill
The objection prep skill turns your real conversations into answers, so the script reflects what buyers actually say.
12. Objection prep
name: objection-prep
description: Prepares answers to the objections a persona raises, from past meetings and call notes. Use before a call block or when asked about objections.
—
Steps:
1. Using Granola, search recent meeting transcripts with [persona] for objections. Also read the call notes in HubSpot.
2. Group them into the top 5, with how often each came up.
3. For each: the objection in the prospect's words, a two-line answer, and one question to ask back.
4. Flag objections that point to a real product gap, for the team rather than the script.
Rules: quote real conversations. Label any answer that did not come from a real call as "suggested".
Tools: Granola MCP, HubSpot MCP (read only).
- Trigger: “What objections do operations directors raise, and how do I answer them?”
- Tools and cost: Granola (the Basic plan covers only the last 30 days of notes), HubSpot; no credits.
- Why it works: answers built from your own calls sound like you. For a starting set, see our 40 sales objections and what to say.
MCP use cases for sales: the tools behind each skill
The most useful MCP use cases for sales need only four sources: a contact data server, your CRM, your meeting notes and web search. Web search is built into Claude; the other three are MCP servers you connect once.
| Skill | Scalelist | HubSpot | Other | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Account brief | Count, up to 5 people | Read | Web search | 5 at most |
| 2. Trigger scan | No | No | Web search | 0 |
| 3. ICP to call list | Count, people, emails | No | None | Cap 300 |
| 4. Buying committee | People, emails | No | None | 120 at most |
| 5. CRM dedupe | No | Read, write | None | 0 |
| 6. Contact refresh | Emails, mobiles | Read, write | None | Per result found |
| 7. Call notes to CRM | No | Read, write | Granola | 0 |
| 8. Call prep card | Title check | Read | Granola | 1 or 2 |
| 9. Call block sheet | Mobiles | No | None | 20 per mobile |
| 10. Meeting follow-up | No | No | Granola | 0 |
| 11. No-reply nudge | No | Read | Web search | 0 |
| 12. Objection prep | No | Read | Granola | 0 |
HubSpot’s server gives read and write access to contacts, companies and deals, and tool availability depends on your HubSpot subscription and permissions (HubSpot MCP docs). Granola’s server searches meeting notes and pulls transcripts (Granola MCP docs). To compare other servers by job, see our list of the best MCP servers for sales and marketing; for how any of them works, read what an MCP server is.
The anatomy of a good sales skill
A good sales skill is short, names its trigger, sizes before it spends and asks before it writes. Here is skill 3, annotated.
Mistakes to avoid with Claude skills for sales
Most Claude skills for sales fail for one of six reasons, and each has a one-line fix.
- A vague description. “Helps with sales” never triggers. Name the task and the words a rep would use.
- One skill for everything. Anthropic’s own advice is “Keep it focused.” Split research, list building and writing into separate skills.
- No cap, no approval. A skill that spends credits or writes to HubSpot without a pause will do it at the worst moment.
- Keys inside the skill. Never put API keys or passwords in a SKILL.md file; connectors handle sign-in (How to create custom Skills).
- Skills from strangers. Anthropic warns that a malicious skill can direct Claude to use tools in ways its description does not show. Read every file before you enable one.
- Letting Claude fill blanks. Every skill here says “unknown” or leaves the cell empty. Keep that rule.
Where Scalelist fits
Scalelist, an AI lead finder, is the data behind skills 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9: real people from a one-sentence search, verified work emails and mobile numbers. You pay only when something is found.
- Sizing a search: 0 credits.
- Each person returned: 1 credit.
- Each email found, labelled Valid or Risky: 1 credit.
- Each mobile found: 20 credits. A miss costs 0.
The Scalelist MCP server connects in Claude with one URL, and its page also ships downloadable skills for targeting and copywriting. To run these skills on a schedule with an approval step, build a small outbound agent in Claude Code. For the bigger picture of where skills fit in list building, read our guide to AI lead generation.
Connect Scalelist to Claude and give your list-building and call prep skills real people, verified emails and mobiles.
Get 20 credits to test itFAQ
What are Claude skills for sales?
Claude skills for sales are reusable instruction folders, each with a SKILL.md file, that teach Claude a sales task such as account research, list building or call prep. Claude loads a skill only when your request matches its description, and the skill can call connected tools such as Scalelist or HubSpot through MCP.
Which Claude plans support skills?
Anthropic’s help center lists skills on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, with code execution turned on. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner enables Skills in Organization settings first. Claude Code, included in paid plans, reads skills from folders on your computer instead of uploads.
What is the difference between a skill and an MCP connector?
A skill is the method: the steps and rules Claude follows. An MCP connector is access: the tools and data Claude can call, such as Scalelist for contacts or HubSpot for records. Most sales skills need both, so connect the servers a skill names before you use it.
Can I use the same skill in Claude and Claude Code?
Yes, but you add it twice. Anthropic says custom skills do not sync across surfaces: upload the ZIP in claude.ai, and save the same SKILL.md under .claude/skills/ in Claude Code. The file format is the same, so one version can serve both.
What are the best MCP use cases for sales?
The most useful MCP use cases for sales are list building from a description, contact enrichment, CRM duplicate checks and updates, call prep from CRM history and meeting notes, and follow-up drafts. Each needs a data source through MCP: a contact data server, the CRM, a notes tool, plus web search.
Are Claude skills safe to use with CRM data?
Yes, when you write or review them yourself and they ask before writing. Anthropic advises using skills only from trusted sources and auditing every file. Keep write steps behind an approval, never delete records in a skill, and let connectors handle sign-in so no keys sit in the skill.
Do these skills cost Scalelist credits?
Only the steps that call Scalelist and find something. Research, CRM, follow-up and objection skills cost nothing on the Scalelist side. List-building and call skills spend 1 credit per person or email found and 20 per mobile found, and every skill here asks before it passes its cap.
