sales-people-ai

What this skill does

# People.ai (Backstory) Platform Help

People.ai rebranded to **Backstory** on April 21, 2026. Same platform, same data infrastructure, new name. This skill uses "People.ai" throughout since that's what most users search for.

## Step 1 — Gather context

If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

1. **Which People.ai capability are you asking about?**
   - A) Activity Capture (auto-logging emails, calls, meetings → CRM)
   - B) Deal Intelligence (risk signals, stakeholder mapping, single-threading detection)
   - C) Pipeline & Forecasting (pipeline health, revenue predictions, coverage analysis)
   - D) MCP Integration (connecting AI agents to People.ai data)
   - E) CRM Sync & Data Quality (Salesforce/Dynamics/Oracle sync issues)
   - F) Pricing, plan selection, or comparison with another tool
   - G) Something else — describe it

2. **Which CRM are you on?**
   - A) Salesforce
   - B) Microsoft Dynamics
   - C) Oracle
   - D) Multiple CRMs

3. **How big is your sales team?**
   - A) Under 20 reps
   - B) 20-100 reps
   - C) 100-500 reps
   - D) 500+ reps

Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2.

## Step 2 — Route or answer directly

| If the question is about... | Route to... |
|---|---|
| Conversation intelligence / call recording / coaching | `/sales-gong [question]` or `/sales-note-taker [question]` |
| Revenue forecasting strategy across tools | `/sales-forecast [question]` |
| Deal health assessment methodology | `/sales-deal-inspect [question]` |
| CRM data quality strategy (not People.ai-specific) | `/sales-data-hygiene [question]` |
| Building outbound sequences | `/sales-cadence [question]` |

When routing, provide the exact command.

## Step 3 — People.ai platform reference

**Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for the full platform reference — modules, integrations, MCP setup, pricing, known issues.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.

## Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Focus on the user's specific situation:

- **Activity Capture setup**: Connect email (Gmail/Outlook) and calendar first — immediate value from auto-logging. Call integrations (Zoom/Teams) come second. Historical data analysis starts on day one (2 years back).
- **Deal Intelligence adoption**: Start with pipeline health dashboards for managers, then roll out risk alerts. Single-threading detection is the highest-signal feature for deal risk.
- **Forecast accuracy**: People.ai improves forecasts by replacing rep-entered data with activity-backed data. It doesn't generate forecast numbers — pair with CRM native forecasting or Clari for roll-ups.
- **MCP integration**: Connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot. Useful for natural language queries against your revenue data. Enterprise tier required.
- **vs Gong**: People.ai captures activity data (emails, meetings, calendar); Gong captures conversation data (call recordings, transcripts). They're complementary, not competing. Many enterprises run both.
- **vs Clari**: Clari focuses on forecast roll-ups and submission workflows; People.ai focuses on the data layer (activity capture + deal intelligence). People.ai feeds Clari — they're often stacked.

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in `references/learnings.md`, append it there.

## Gotchas

- **No call recording or transcription** — People.ai captures activity metadata (who emailed whom, which meetings happened, call duration) but does NOT record or transcribe calls. For call recording, use Gong, Fathom, or another CI tool.
- **Enterprise pricing only** — no public pricing, no free tier, no self-serve signup. Custom quotes based on team size and modules. Budget $50-100+/user/month based on market reports.
- **Salesforce sync delays** — activity data can take 1-2 days to fully process and appear in CRM. Don't expect real-time dashboards for call data.
- **Adoption requires executive sponsorship** — reps see People.ai as "management watching" if not positioned as a productivity tool. Frame as "no more manual CRM logging" not "we're tracking your activity."
- **Multi-CRM complexity** — supporting Salesforce + Dynamics across regions is a strength but adds implementation complexity. Plan for 2-4 week deployment per CRM instance.
- **Data quality depends on email/calendar hygiene** — People.ai can only associate activities with CRM records if contacts exist. Garbage contacts = garbage activity mapping.
- **Backstory rebrand (April 2026)** — all people.ai URLs redirect to backstory.ai. App login remains app.people.ai. Documentation and community content still references "People.ai."

## Related skills

- `/sales-gong` — Gong platform help (conversation intelligence — complementary to People.ai's activity capture)
- `/sales-note-taker` — Comparing AI note-takers or wiring their APIs into CRM/warehouse
- `/sales-forecast` — Revenue forecasting strategy, pipeline coverage, commit validation
- `/sales-deal-inspect` — Deal health assessment, stakeholder mapping, MEDDPICC extraction
- `/sales-data-hygiene` — CRM data quality, deduplication, enrichment strategy
- `/sales-coaching` — Building a sales coaching program, onboarding reps
- `/sales-scratchpad` — Scratchpad platform help (Salesforce-native AI workspace — lighter-weight alternative)
- `/sales-weflow` — Weflow platform help (Salesforce-native revenue AI with activity capture, CI, forecasting)
- `/sales-clari-copilot` — Clari Copilot platform help (conversation intelligence + Clari forecasting)
- `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do`

## Examples

### Example 1: CRM data is stale — reps don't log activities
**User says**: "Our Salesforce data is terrible. Reps don't log emails or meetings. We're evaluating People.ai to fix this."
**Skill does**:
1. Confirms People.ai's core value: automatic activity capture — every email, call, and meeting logged without rep action
2. Explains the deployment path: connect Gmail/Outlook → connect calendar → connect Zoom/Teams → 2 weeks to full visibility
3. Notes that People.ai captures 2 years of historical data on day one
4. Warns about contact matching: People.ai maps activities to CRM records, so contact data must be reasonably clean first
**Result**: Implementation plan with realistic timeline and prerequisites

### Example 2: People.ai vs Gong for a 50-person sales team
**User says**: "We're choosing between People.ai and Gong. 50 reps on Salesforce."
**Skill does**:
1. Clarifies they solve different problems: People.ai = activity data (emails, meetings, calendar); Gong = conversation data (call recordings, transcripts, coaching)
2. Notes many enterprises run both — People.ai feeds the data layer, Gong provides call-level insights
3. If budget allows one: Gong if coaching and call review are the priority; People.ai if CRM data quality and pipeline visibility are the priority
4. Flags pricing: both are enterprise-only with custom quotes
**Result**: Clear decision framework based on primary pain point

### Example 3: Connecting People.ai to Claude via MCP
**User says**: "We have People.ai and want to query our revenue data through Claude."
**Skill does**:
1. Confirms People.ai announced MCP integration in February 2026
2. Explains what it enables: natural language queries against structured CRM + unstructured conversation data
3. Notes enterprise tier is required for MCP access
4. Suggests example queries: "Which deals are single-threaded?" "Which accounts had declining engagement this quarter?"
**Result**: MCP setup guidance with practical query examples

## Troubleshooting

### Activity data not appearing in Salesforce
**Symptom**: Emails and meetings are happening but not showing in CRM
**Solution**: Check email/calendar connections in People.ai admin. Verify the contact exists in Salesforce — People.a