The Skills Codes List
Template
Time to fill: 30 to 45 minutes the first time, 5 minutes a month after that
Brain file (your business on one page)
Almost every code reads this first. Without it the AI guesses your prices, your customers and your rules. With it, the same code uses yours, and it tells you what it doesn't know instead of making it up.
Fill it in once, save it as a file, and give it to Claude: add it to a Project's files, or paste it above any prompt. Rough answers are fine. Leave out anything you're not allowed to share.
Download brain-file.md# [Business name]: brain file
<!-- One page. Plain words, your words. If you don't know something yet, put it under Open questions. Never leave a guess in here: the AI will treat it as true. -->
## What we sell
<!-- One line per offer: name, who it's for, price or price range, what's included, what they walk away with. Say whether prices include GST. -->
- [Offer]: [price]. [Who it's for]. [What's included, with limits, e.g. "up to 80 transactions a month"].
## What we don't sell
<!-- Jobs you turn down, things people wrongly assume you do, and who you refer them to. This is what stops the AI writing an ad for something you don't do. -->
- [Thing we don't do]. We refer to [name], [where].
## Who buys
<!-- The situation they're in when they contact you, what they've already tried, what they're worried about. Two to four sentences. -->
## Their words
<!-- Phrases customers actually say or write, copied exactly. Pull them from emails, reviews and enquiries. Five to ten is plenty. -->
- "[exact phrase]"
## How we sound
<!-- Five checkable rules, a sign-off and a never-use list. If you've filled the tone-of-voice template, paste its rules here. -->
1. [Rule you could check, e.g. "Short sentences. Explain jargon the first time."]
Sign-off: [e.g. "Cheers, Mel"]
Never use: [words]
## What we can prove
<!-- Only facts you could show someone: review score and count with the date you checked, years in business, qualifications, named results. For each client result, note whether you have permission to name them. -->
- [Fact] ([where the evidence lives], [checked when]). Permission to name: [yes / no / not asked].
## How we work
<!-- The operational details the AI otherwise invents: hours, how to contact you, response times, payment terms, turnaround times, what happens if someone leaves. Only write what's true today. -->
- Hours and contact: [ ]
- Payment terms: [ ]
- Typical turnaround: [ ]
- If a client leaves or cancels: [ ]
## Red lines
<!-- Never invent, never promise, never send without checking. Include any regulatory limits on what you can advise on. -->
- Never [ ]
- Nothing goes to a client without [name] reading it first.
## Open questions
<!-- Anything you haven't decided or haven't checked. The AI will ask you instead of guessing. -->
- [ ] Codes that use it
- Your one-page brain file
- Break it on purpose
- Brand voice
- Pre-send check
- Proposal writer
- Research a prospect before the call
- Reply to a new enquiry
- Follow up a quote that went quiet
- Ask for a review
- New client welcome pack
- Weekly client update
- The awkward email
- Reply to reviews
- SOP writer
- FAQ from your inbox
- Sort the inbox and draft the replies
- Job ad and screening questions
- Write the policy you keep explaining
- Friday wrap: the week in one page
- Content ideas from real questions
- Content repurposer
- Monthly email from work you already did
- Rewrite a service page in your customers' words
- Launch step 6: Training AI on your business
- Launch step 8: Launch strategy