Module 4: Skills -- The VPF Lab

Watch

Skills Overview

Video coming soon -- Max will demo creating and sharing Skills

The Concept

What Are ChatGPT Skills?

Skills are saved, reusable prompts that live in your ChatGPT sidebar. Think of them as one-click shortcuts for tasks you do repeatedly.

Without Skills

Every time you want to draft a recap email, you open your prompting cheat sheet, find the template, copy it, paste it, fill in the variables. That's 2-3 minutes of setup before you even start working.

With Skills

You click "Recap Email" in your Skills panel, fill in the blanks in a simple form, and ChatGPT generates the output using your pre-built instructions. The prompt engineering is done -- you just provide the details.

Setup once, reuse hundreds of times.

Skills vs. Projects: Projects are persistent workspaces (Module 3). Skills are reusable prompt templates that can work inside a Project or on their own. A Project says "who I am and how I work." A Skill says "do this specific thing, this specific way."

Step by Step

Creating a Skill

Skills are available on ChatGPT Business and Enterprise plans. Here's how to create one from scratch.

Open the Skills panel

In ChatGPT, look for "Skills" in the left sidebar (or under your profile menu, depending on your plan). Click "Create a Skill."

Name it clearly

Use a name your team will recognize: "VPT Recap Email", "Client Onboarding Checklist", "Seminar Follow-Up". Avoid vague names like "Email Helper."

Write the Skill instructions

This is the prompt template that runs when someone triggers the Skill. Use the CTCO framework from Module 2: Context, Task, Constraints, Output. Include placeholders in [brackets] for the parts that change each time.

Test it yourself

Run the Skill 2-3 times with different inputs. Does the output match what you'd want? Adjust the instructions until it consistently produces good results.

Share with your team

Once it works, share it with teammates who do the same task. On Business/Enterprise plans, you can share Skills across your workspace so everyone benefits.

VPT Skill Library

Skills Built for VPT

These are the highest-value Skills for VPT based on the tasks your team does most often. Each one includes copy-paste instructions you can use directly.

Advisors

Recap Email

Generates a client follow-up email based on meeting type, key decisions, and next steps. Uses VPT voice and compliance rules.

Trigger: "Write a recap email"

Advisors

Meeting Prep Brief

Creates a 1-page prep doc with conversation starters, key items from last meeting, questions to ask, and a proactive idea.

Trigger: "Prep me for a meeting"

Advisors

Scenario Comparison

Builds a side-by-side analysis table for client decision scenarios (Roth timing, claiming strategies, etc.) with a plain-language summary.

Trigger: "Compare these scenarios"

Ops

Onboarding Checklist

Generates a customized new-client onboarding checklist based on account type and situation. Includes internal steps and client-facing communications.

Trigger: "New client onboarding"

Ops

SOP Builder

Interviews you about a process one question at a time, then writes a complete Standard Operating Procedure document.

Trigger: "Build an SOP for..."

Marketing

Content Extractor

Takes a transcript or meeting summary and extracts LinkedIn post angles, newsletter topics, and client-safe quotes.

Trigger: "Extract content from this"

Marketing

Prospect Research

Researches a prospect and delivers background, likely concerns, personalized conversation starters, and best-fit VPT service.

Trigger: "Research this prospect"

Nick & Tim

Meeting Summary

Turns raw meeting notes into a 3-sentence summary, action items table, follow-up email draft, and calendar items.

Trigger: "Summarize this meeting"

Everyone

Seminar Follow-Up

Drafts personalized follow-up emails for seminar attendees based on their expressed interests and engagement level.

Trigger: "Seminar follow-up for..."

Copy & Paste

Skill Instructions Templates

Copy these directly into ChatGPT when creating each Skill. The bracketed sections are what users fill in each time they trigger the Skill.

Recap Email Skill

# VPT Recap Email Skill You are writing a client follow-up email for VPT Financial (Vantage Point Financial). Meeting type: [What's Possible / Envision / Planning / Review / Strategy Session] Client: [First names only -- no last names] Key decisions: 1. [Decision 1] 2. [Decision 2] 3. [Decision 3] Next steps (and who owns each): - [Action] -- [owner] Rules: - Write in VPT's voice: warm, professional, educational. We're a team with the client. - Under 250 words. - No specific dollar amounts unless the user explicitly included them above. - No investment recommendations or guarantees. - End with the next scheduled touchpoint or "Please don't hesitate to reach out." - Use a warm sign-off, not a formal one.

Meeting Prep Brief Skill

# VPT Meeting Prep Brief Skill I have a [meeting type] tomorrow with [first names]. Here's what I know: - [Key context: age, situation, last meeting summary] - [Outstanding items from last meeting] - [Any life changes or concerns mentioned] Give me a 1-page prep brief with these four sections: 1. Three conversation starters (personal, not just financial) 2. Key items to address from last meeting 3. Questions I should ask 4. One proactive idea to bring to the table Keep it scannable -- I'll review this 10 minutes before the meeting.

Onboarding Checklist Skill

# VPT New Client Onboarding Skill New client type: [Individual / Joint / Trust / Business] Client situation: [Brief context -- e.g., "transferring from another advisor, has 3 accounts to move"] Generate a customized onboarding checklist with these sections: 1. Documents we need from them (list each document) 2. Internal steps (account setup, compliance review, CRM entry) 3. Client-facing communications at each stage (welcome email, first check-in, etc.) 4. Timeline with realistic deadlines for each step Format as a checklist the ops team can print and work through. Keep language warm -- this is the client's first impression of how organized we are.

Content Extractor Skill

# VPT Content Extractor Skill Here's a transcript/summary from a session where [Nick/Tim] explained [topic]: [Paste transcript or notes here] Extract: 1. The key insight in one sentence (what would make someone stop scrolling) 2. Three LinkedIn post angles (different hooks, same core idea) 3. One email newsletter topic with a subject line 4. Client-safe quotes or stories (anonymized, no identifying details) Write in VPT's voice -- educational, warm, no jargon. We teach, we don't sell. All content must be compliance-reviewable before publishing. Never reference specific clients, accounts, or dollar amounts.

SOP Builder Skill

# VPT SOP Builder Skill I'm going to describe a process we do at VPT Financial. Interview me about it -- ask me questions one at a time until you have enough detail to write a complete SOP. The process is: [name of process] It happens: [how often / when triggered] Who does it: [role] Rules: - Ask one question at a time. Wait for my answer before asking the next. - After 5-8 questions (or when you have enough), write the full SOP. - Include: purpose, trigger, steps (numbered), who does what, tools used, common mistakes. - Format so it can be printed and pinned near someone's desk.

Team Sharing

Sharing Skills Across VPT

The real value of Skills is when the whole team uses the same ones. One person builds it, everyone benefits.

How to Share

On ChatGPT Business and Enterprise plans, you can share Skills with your workspace. When you create or edit a Skill, look for the "Share" or "Publish to workspace" option. Once shared, teammates see it in their Skills panel and can use it immediately.

If someone on the team has a particularly good Skill, they can share it and everyone's output improves overnight. This is how AI adoption scales -- not through individual learning, but through shared tools.

Default Approach

"Everyone should learn to write their own prompts and customize ChatGPT for their workflow."

VPT-Specific Approach

On a 15-person team, you don't need 15 prompt engineers. You need 2-3 people who build great Skills and share them with everyone else. The advisors shouldn't be spending time crafting prompts -- they should be clicking "Recap Email," filling in 4 fields, and getting back to clients. The marketing and ops team can build and refine the Skills that advisors use. This is the same leverage model VPT already uses: specialists build the tools, advisors use them.

Maintenance

Keeping Skills Sharp

Skills need occasional updates -- just like any other tool in your workflow.

When to Update a Skill

Output quality drops or feels generic
VPT's process or terminology changes
Team members consistently edit the same part of the output
Compliance requirements change
You discover a better way to phrase the instructions

Skill Owner Recommendations

Recap Email, Meeting Prep, Scenario: Nick or Tim (advisory workflows)
Onboarding, SOP Builder: Ops team lead
Content Extractor, Prospect Research: Marketing lead
Meeting Summary, Seminar Follow-Up: Executive assistant

Each Skill should have one owner who maintains and improves it over time.

Advanced

Building Your Own Skills

Once you're comfortable with the pre-built Skills, here's how to create new ones for tasks specific to your role.

The Skill-Worthy Test

Not every prompt needs to be a Skill. A task is Skill-worthy when:

You do it at least weekly -- if it's once a quarter, just use a prompt
The structure stays the same -- only the details change each time
Multiple people do the same task -- so sharing creates team-wide value
Getting it wrong matters -- compliance-sensitive or client-facing output

Anatomy of a Great Skill

Every well-built Skill has these components:

Context

Who is using this, what company, what domain? "You are writing for a financial advisor at VPT Financial..."

Variables

The parts that change each time, in [brackets]. Keep these to 3-5 fields -- more than that and people won't use it.

Rules

Hard constraints: word limits, compliance guardrails, tone requirements, what to never include.

Format

Exactly how the output should be structured: bullet points, numbered lists, sections, tables.

Next Steps

Your Action Plan

Here's the recommended order for getting the most out of ChatGPT at VPT.

Week	What to Do	Module
Week 1	Pick the right model for each task. Use 5.3 for daily work, 5.4 for analysis only.	ChatGPT 101
Week 2	Use CTCO framework on every prompt. Try 3 role-specific templates from Module 2.	Prompting
Week 3	Create your first Project. Paste the VPT instructions template. Set up Memory.	Projects
Week 4	Set up 2-3 shared Skills from the VPT Skill Library. Identify one new Skill your role needs.	Skills

The goal isn't to use ChatGPT more. It's to use it consistently well so it becomes a reliable part of your workflow -- not a toy you open when you're curious, but a tool you reach for automatically because it saves real time on real work.

Final Compliance Reminder

As you build Skills and Projects, keep these non-negotiables in mind:

Never include client PII (full names, SSNs, account numbers) in any prompt, Skill, Project, or Memory
Never let ChatGPT make investment recommendations -- it generates drafts, you make decisions
Always review AI-generated content before sending to clients
When in doubt about compliance, ask Grace or your compliance contact before sending

Projects & Memory All Modules