# Pricing Onboarding

> First-run interactive setup for the pricing skill pack. Walks the operator through brand-config.json (current tiers, ICP, value metric, infrastructure) and the pricing section of SOUL.md (voice + stance on pricing + stories you cite) in ~10 minutes. Refuses to let the operator skip — generic pricing output is worse than no pricing output. Loaded automatically by the main pricing skill when brand-config.json or SOUL.md is missing.

- Skill: `cmj-hub/pricing-onboarding` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cmj-hub/pricing-onboarding`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cmj-hub/pricing-onboarding/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- License: MIT
- Author: cmj-hub (https://skillmd.com/u/cmj-hub)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cmj-hub/pricing-onboarding

---


# Pricing Onboarding — sub-skill

Interactive setup. ~10 minutes. Outputs:

- `brand-config.json` at repo root (or merges into existing one)
- `SOUL.md` at repo root with the pricing section filled in

The skill REFUSES to draft real pricing recommendations until both
files exist with the required pricing fields populated.

## Activation

The main `pricing` skill routes here when:

- `brand-config.json` doesn't exist OR
- `brand-config.json` exists but `pricing.*` is empty OR
- `SOUL.md` doesn't exist OR
- `SOUL.md` exists but the pricing-stance section is empty

## Workflow

### Step 1 — Welcome + scope

Output:

```
Pricing setup — ~10 minutes
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

I'll ask you 12 questions about your current pricing, then create:

  brand-config.json   ← your tiers, value metric, customers, ops
  SOUL.md             ← your voice and stance on pricing decisions

The skill won't draft real pricing recommendations without these
files. Generic pricing copy is worse than none. Ready? (y/n)
```

Wait for confirmation. If `n`, exit with a brief explanation of why
this matters.

### Step 2 — Brand-config questions

Ask in batches of 2-3, not one at a time:

**Batch 1 — Current state (3 questions):**
1. What's your current pricing? (List the tiers + prices + cadence — e.g., "$99/$299/$999 monthly")
2. What's your headline value metric — what scales with customer success? (per-seat / per-API / per-record / per-outcome / hybrid)
3. What's your average ACV today, and is it trending up, down, or flat in the last 6 months?

**Batch 2 — Customers (3 questions):**
4. Who's your primary Pain Signal Profile (PSP)? (1-2 sentences. If you've installed claude-psp, paste the PSP slug.)
5. What's your typical buyer's biggest pricing objection in cycle? (verbatim if you have it)
6. What pricing did you walk away from in the last 6 months that you wish you'd held? (and why did you discount?)

**Batch 3 — Diagnostic surface (3 questions):**
7. Do you know your WTP distribution per PSP — or would the answer to "What would you pay for this?" be different across your buyer segments? (Yes/Best guess/No)
8. Have you ever run a structured WTP survey (Van Westendorp / Gabor-Granger / conjoint) in the last 18 months?
9. What's your current discount policy? (Documented thresholds, or "sales discretion")

**Batch 4 — Reference frames (3 questions):**
10. What does your buyer use INSTEAD if they don't buy from you? (the inertia anchor)
11. What's the highest-priced product or alternative they're already paying for? (anchor candidate)
12. Do you have an outcome guarantee or risk-reversal mechanism today? (e.g., "money-back if X")

### Step 3 — Voice setup (SOUL.md pricing section)

After brand-config is captured, prompt:

```
Now let's capture your pricing voice. 3 short questions:

A. What's your stance on pricing? (1-2 sentences. e.g., "Pricing is
   a discipline, not a strategy. I refuse to lead with cost-plus
   or competitor anchoring.")
B. What 3 phrases would you NEVER use when talking about price?
   (e.g., "investment", "value-add", "best-in-class")
C. What 2-3 stories or receipts do you cite when explaining why
   your price is fair? (Specific receipts: customer X saved Y; team
   Z hit metric W.)
```

### Step 4 — Write the files

Write `brand-config.json` using the schema in
`brand-config.example.json`. Populate the `pricing.*` fields with
the operator's answers. Don't overwrite other sections if they
exist; merge.

Append the pricing-stance section to `SOUL.md` (or create the file
with the pricing-stance section template).

### Step 5 — Confirm + route

Show a summary:

```
✓ brand-config.json written/updated
✓ SOUL.md written/updated

State check:
  ✅ Step 1 — brand-config + SOUL ready
  ✅ Step 2 — Current tiers documented
  ⬜ Step 3 — Pain Signal Profile (recommend: install claude-psp)
  ⬜ Step 4 — WTP discovery (next: /pricing diagnose)
  ...

Recommended next action: Run /pricing diagnose to see where your
margin is leaking before any tier rebuild. (~15 minutes.)

Run it now? (y/n)
```

## Validation rules

Before writing the files, validate:

- All 12 brand-config questions have non-empty answers
- All 3 SOUL questions have non-empty answers  
- Tier prices are real numbers, not placeholders
- WTP "Yes/Best guess/No" answer determines whether to require a
  WTP-source field

If validation fails, loop back to the unanswered question — don't
write half-filled files.

## Self-check

- [ ] `brand-config.json` exists and parses as valid JSON
- [ ] `brand-config.json` has populated `pricing.currentTiers`, `pricing.valueMetric`, `customer.psps[]`
- [ ] `SOUL.md` exists and has the pricing-stance section
- [ ] Operator confirmed both files via `y` response
- [ ] State checklist re-evaluated post-write

## Reference

- `../../brand-config.example.json` — schema for the JSON file
- `../../SOUL.md` — template for the voice file
- `../pricing-kickoff/SKILL.md` — where the operator returns after setup