Sales Brief
When to use
Run this when the owner wants to know what's selling and what to post about next. It connects the numbers to a concrete two-week content plan without committing to any spend.
Not for: executing or sending anything (use smb-run-campaign); pricing decisions (use smb-price-check); this skill plans content and publishes nothing.
Method
- Pull the data. Recent sales from connected systems, or ask the owner for a period to analyze.
- Rank products. Top sellers by revenue and by units; bottom sellers that are dragging or stale.
- Detect seasonality and trend. Compare against prior periods; flag items rising or fading and any recurring seasonal pattern. Decision point: separate a genuine trend from a one-off spike (a single big order isn't a pattern).
- Turn findings into angles. Which winners to amplify, which slow movers to promote or clear, which stories the data suggests.
- Build a two-week content brief. A dated calendar of post ideas mapped to channels, each with a hook and the product or angle it supports.
- Present for editing. The owner edits; hand off to smb-run-campaign when ready to execute.
Example
Last 30 days: top by revenue = leather wallets ($4,200), top by units = keychains (210); bottom = phone cases (stale 3 months). Trend: wallets up 18% MoM, cases fading — not a one-off. Angles: amplify wallets (gift angle), clear cases with a bundle. Two-week calendar: Mon IG "wallet gifting" hook, Wed email "case + wallet bundle," Fri IG keychain UGC. Handoff: smb-run-campaign to launch the bundle.
Pitfalls
- Reading a single large order as a "trend" and building a campaign on noise.
- Ranking only by revenue and missing a high-unit item worth featuring for reach.
- A content calendar with hooks but no product/angle tied to each post — pretty but empty.
- Drifting into sending or spending; this brief stops at a plan the owner edits.
Output format
- Top/bottom seller tables: product | revenue | units | trend arrow.
- Seasonality note (2-4 sentences).
- Two-week calendar: date | channel | hook | supporting product.
- Handoff line pointing to smb-run-campaign when the owner is ready to execute.
Reference
Ranking framework (rank on more than one axis)
- By revenue — what pays the bills; your headline sellers.
- By units — reach and popularity; a low-price high-unit item is a great content and acquisition hook even if it's not top revenue.
- By margin contribution — margin$ × units; the item that actually funds growth (pull from smb-price-check if available).
- By trend — % change vs. prior period; where momentum is, up or down.
Feature the intersection: a product that's high-units and rising is your best content bet this fortnight.
Trend vs. noise: separation rules
- A single large order is not a trend — strip outliers before ranking.
- Require a pattern across at least 2-3 periods (or same period last year) before calling something "rising" or "fading."
- Watch week-of-month and day-of-week effects; compare like-to-like (last 4 Mondays, not Monday vs. Saturday).
- Distinguish seasonal (repeats yearly), trend (sustained direction), and spike (one-off promotion or event).
Seasonality quick-reference (common SMB patterns)
| Window |
Pattern |
Content angle |
| Jan |
Post-holiday slump; "new year/reset" intent |
Restock, resolutions, clearance |
| Feb |
Valentine's |
Gifting, bundles |
| Mar-Apr |
Spring pickup; tax refunds hit |
New arrivals, treat-yourself |
| May-Jun |
Mother's/Father's Day, grads, weddings |
Occasion gifting |
| Jul-Aug |
Summer slowdown (many retail) |
Re-engagement, cold-brew/seasonal SKUs |
| Sep |
Back-to-school; fall reset |
Routine, replenishment |
| Nov-Dec |
BFCM + holiday peak — bulk of many SMBs' year |
Gift guides, urgency, VIP early access |
| Note: service and B2B businesses often invert this (busy summer, slow December). |
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From findings to content angles
- Amplify winners — feature the top rising seller with a fresh hook (gifting, use-case, UGC).
- Clear slow movers — bundle a stale item with a winner, or a limited clearance (check margin before discounting).
- Tell the data's story — "customers who buy X also buy Y" → cross-sell post.
- Reach play — feature the high-unit low-price item to pull new eyeballs.
Two-week content calendar template
| Date |
Channel |
Hook |
Supporting product/angle |
Goal |
| Mon |
IG |
benefit-led |
top rising seller |
awareness |
| Wed |
Email |
offer/bundle |
winner + slow-mover |
conversion |
| Fri |
IG |
UGC / social proof |
high-unit item |
reach |
| (repeat wk 2 with fresh hooks) |
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| Cadence rule of thumb: 3-4 touches/week is sustainable for a solo owner; every post ties to a product or angle or it's cut. |
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Channel fit
- Email — best for conversion and existing customers; offers, bundles.
- Instagram/TikTok — awareness, visual products, UGC and behind-the-scenes.
- Google Business / local — discovery for brick-and-mortar; hours, new arrivals.
Match the product to where its buyers already are, not to every channel at once.
Boundary
This skill plans content and publishes nothing. It commits no spend and sends nothing to customers. When the owner is ready to execute, hand off to smb-run-campaign, which gates every customer-facing and money step.
1---2name: smb-sales-brief3description: Surface top and bottom sellers plus seasonality, then produce a two-week content brief mapped to channels.4---56# Sales Brief78## When to use9Run this when the owner wants to know what's selling and what to post about next. It connects the numbers to a concrete two-week content plan without committing to any spend.1011**Not for:** executing or sending anything (use smb-run-campaign); pricing decisions (use smb-price-check); this skill plans content and publishes nothing.1213## Method141. **Pull the data.** Recent sales from connected systems, or ask the owner for a period to analyze.152. **Rank products.** Top sellers by revenue and by units; bottom sellers that are dragging or stale.163. **Detect seasonality and trend.** Compare against prior periods; flag items rising or fading and any recurring seasonal pattern. Decision point: separate a genuine trend from a one-off spike (a single big order isn't a pattern).174. **Turn findings into angles.** Which winners to amplify, which slow movers to promote or clear, which stories the data suggests.185. **Build a two-week content brief.** A dated calendar of post ideas mapped to channels, each with a hook and the product or angle it supports.196. **Present for editing.** The owner edits; hand off to smb-run-campaign when ready to execute.2021## Example22Last 30 days: top by revenue = leather wallets ($4,200), top by units = keychains (210); bottom = phone cases (stale 3 months). Trend: wallets up 18% MoM, cases fading — not a one-off. Angles: amplify wallets (gift angle), clear cases with a bundle. Two-week calendar: Mon IG "wallet gifting" hook, Wed email "case + wallet bundle," Fri IG keychain UGC. Handoff: smb-run-campaign to launch the bundle.2324## Pitfalls25- Reading a single large order as a "trend" and building a campaign on noise.26- Ranking only by revenue and missing a high-unit item worth featuring for reach.27- A content calendar with hooks but no product/angle tied to each post — pretty but empty.28- Drifting into sending or spending; this brief stops at a plan the owner edits.2930## Output format31- **Top/bottom seller tables:** product | revenue | units | trend arrow.32- **Seasonality note** (2-4 sentences).33- **Two-week calendar:** date | channel | hook | supporting product.34- **Handoff line** pointing to smb-run-campaign when the owner is ready to execute.3536## Reference3738### Ranking framework (rank on more than one axis)39- **By revenue** — what pays the bills; your headline sellers.40- **By units** — reach and popularity; a low-price high-unit item is a great content and acquisition hook even if it's not top revenue.41- **By margin contribution** — margin$ × units; the item that actually funds growth (pull from smb-price-check if available).42- **By trend** — % change vs. prior period; where momentum is, up or down.43Feature the intersection: a product that's high-units *and* rising is your best content bet this fortnight.4445### Trend vs. noise: separation rules46- A single large order is **not** a trend — strip outliers before ranking.47- Require a pattern across **at least 2-3 periods** (or same period last year) before calling something "rising" or "fading."48- Watch **week-of-month and day-of-week** effects; compare like-to-like (last 4 Mondays, not Monday vs. Saturday).49- Distinguish **seasonal** (repeats yearly), **trend** (sustained direction), and **spike** (one-off promotion or event).5051### Seasonality quick-reference (common SMB patterns)52| Window | Pattern | Content angle |53|--------|---------|---------------|54| Jan | Post-holiday slump; "new year/reset" intent | Restock, resolutions, clearance |55| Feb | Valentine's | Gifting, bundles |56| Mar-Apr | Spring pickup; tax refunds hit | New arrivals, treat-yourself |57| May-Jun | Mother's/Father's Day, grads, weddings | Occasion gifting |58| Jul-Aug | Summer slowdown (many retail) | Re-engagement, cold-brew/seasonal SKUs |59| Sep | Back-to-school; fall reset | Routine, replenishment |60| Nov-Dec | BFCM + holiday peak — bulk of many SMBs' year | Gift guides, urgency, VIP early access |61Note: service and B2B businesses often invert this (busy summer, slow December).6263### From findings to content angles64- **Amplify winners** — feature the top rising seller with a fresh hook (gifting, use-case, UGC).65- **Clear slow movers** — bundle a stale item with a winner, or a limited clearance (check margin before discounting).66- **Tell the data's story** — "customers who buy X also buy Y" → cross-sell post.67- **Reach play** — feature the high-unit low-price item to pull new eyeballs.6869### Two-week content calendar template70| Date | Channel | Hook | Supporting product/angle | Goal |71|------|---------|------|--------------------------|------|72| Mon | IG | benefit-led | top rising seller | awareness |73| Wed | Email | offer/bundle | winner + slow-mover | conversion |74| Fri | IG | UGC / social proof | high-unit item | reach |75| (repeat wk 2 with fresh hooks) | | | | |76Cadence rule of thumb: 3-4 touches/week is sustainable for a solo owner; every post ties to a product or angle or it's cut.7778### Channel fit79- **Email** — best for conversion and existing customers; offers, bundles.80- **Instagram/TikTok** — awareness, visual products, UGC and behind-the-scenes.81- **Google Business / local** — discovery for brick-and-mortar; hours, new arrivals.82Match the product to where its buyers already are, not to every channel at once.8384### Boundary85This skill plans content and publishes nothing. It commits no spend and sends nothing to customers. When the owner is ready to execute, hand off to smb-run-campaign, which gates every customer-facing and money step.
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