Second step and first checkpoint. Determine the agency's stage 0–5 and where the gap is in the client's economy. The stage governs the depth of all subsequent steps ("the earlier the stage — the less of everything").
Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agency-stages.md (sections 1–5). Input — Company Snapshot
from step 1 (from Notion or from context).
Process
- Stage (cold-audit hypothesis). Match the proxy signals from the Snapshot against the stage table and
cold-audit signals (section 1 of the reference). Determine the most likely stage 0–5 and give
confidence level: low / med / high with 2–4 reasons "why exactly this stage".
- If the signals are contradictory — name two adjacent stages and what would distinguish them.
- ARR is not directly visible → don't invent a number; work with proxies (presence, cases, team, channels, offers).
- Team composition from LinkedIn (section 11 of the Snapshot) — the main proxy for stage: 0 visible Sales/Marketing/SDR/AM = founder-led → Stage 0-1; appearance of separate bizdev roles → 2; heads of functions (Head of Sales/Marketing/CS) → 3-4; C-level with separated functions (CRO/CMO/CCO) + practice leaders → 5. This overrides the site's claims: if the site says "20+ years / 200+ projects", but on LinkedIn there are 1-2 people and the entity is new — the stage is based on the real team, and mark the claim as "founder's personal experience / a different legal entity".
- Headcount as a proxy (entire staff, not just BizDev): up to 5 → 0 · 5–15 → 1 · 15–45 → 2 · 45–140 → 3 · 140–400 → 4 · 400+ → 5. Cross-check via revenue: headcount × $70K ≈ ARR ($60–90K per person corridor for EE IT services). If the stated ARR and headcount give different stages — take the lower one and name the discrepancy in the assumptions: well above $90K/person = US/UK rates or a product share, well below $60K = bench / subcontracting / cheap outstaffing. ⚠️ Thousands of people — this is Stage 5 (a portfolio of practices), not "outside the model". But first check whether it's the correct LinkedIn entity (the same brand/slug) — global groups inflate headcount.
- Growth trend (6m/1y/2y) = momentum: hiring spike → active scaling (more channels can be turned on); flat/decline → caution with investments. Median tenure = team stability (low tenure + fast growth = young org; high tenure = maturity).
- Tie-breaker Stage 0 ↔ 1 (common mistake): presence artifacts (landing page, logo) DO NOT raise the stage — a landing page can exist at 0 too. 6+ vague services = "everything for everyone" (0), not deliberate 2-4 test offers with metrics (1). What decides is traction + team: Stage 1 = 1-2 stable paying clients + 2-3 active channels + ARR >$300K. Otherwise (0 bizdev · delivery = 1-2 engineers · 0 case studies · "everything for everyone") → Stage 0. Don't confuse "new brand with a landing page" with Stage 1.
- SMF lens. Per section 2, identify the most likely gap (L / Cr / $ / #) for this stage and justify it from site signals (e.g.: no case studies with $ → likely Cr/$ gap; empty company page + only Upwork → L gap). Identify the cheapest gap to close first.
- AGA focus. Per section 4, recommend the recommended modules (M1 / M2–M3 / M4 / M5) for the stage. At Stages 4–5 we don't offer AGA: we come in as Fractional CRO, GTM audit, or RevOps for one practice/vertical, and the buyer is the CRO/CMO or practice leader, not the CEO.
- Overshoot/undershoot (quick). Based on the Snapshot, flag 1–2 clear overshoots (material/asset ahead of the stage) and 1–2 undershoots (behind) — the full audit will be in steps 9–11.
- 3 discovery questions. Output 3 questions from section 1 of the guide to confirm the stage with the client.
GATE 1 — checkpoint
Return to the orchestrator a concise block: Stage X (confidence) · SMF gap · AGA focus · 3 questions · key cold-audit assumptions. The orchestrator will show this to the user and wait for confirmation/edits before proceeding. Do not start ICP until the stage is confirmed.
Output (Notion)
Sub-page «02 · Stage Diagnostic»: stage hypothesis + reasons + confidence; SMF gap with
argumentation; AGA focus; quick overshoot/undershoot; 3 discovery questions; "Sources/assumptions" block.
Update client page properties: Stage, Stage confidence, SMF gap, AGA focus,
Status = Diagnosed.
Definition of Done
- Stage 0–5 with confidence level and justification (ARR bracket + headcount aligned).
- SMF gap identified + "close first".
- AGA focus + 1–2 overshoot/undershoot each.
- 3 discovery questions derived for GATE 1.
- Notion updated (sub-page + properties).