# Case study shortlist: interview questions from closed-won customers

Source: https://mcpforgtm.com/recipes/case-study-shortlist (StackMCP, independent directory of official MCP servers)

## Goal

Marketers who want a shortlist of closed-won customers for case study interviews, plus the outcomes Gong reports and a page of questions. This is for marketing content. The reference-match recipe finds a customer who looks like one prospect, for a rep to take to the account owner. This one starts from customers you already won and stops at interview questions. HubSpot can be swapped for Salesforce, Gong for Fireflies or Granola, and Notion for Airtable if the shortlist should live in a base.

## Connected tools

- HubSpot: https://mcp.hubspot.com (setup: https://mcpforgtm.com/tools/hubspot)
- Gong: https://mcp.gong.io/mcp (setup: https://mcpforgtm.com/tools/gong)
- Notion: https://mcp.notion.com/mcp (setup: https://mcpforgtm.com/tools/notion)

## Guardrails

- Read only in HubSpot. Don't create or edit records, segments, emails, pages or blog posts.
- Read only in Gong. Use ask_account only on the companies I approve. Don't call ask_deal or generate_brief unless I approve that call on its own.
- Label every Gong answer as a summary, not a quote. Don't add a number the summary did not give.
- Don't contact any customer, and don't draft a note to the account owner. The page is for me.
- Show me the shortlist and the questions before any Notion page exists. Create the page only after I approve it. Don't update, move or trash other pages.

## Steps

1. Find HubSpot deals closed won between {start_date} and {end_date}. Show a table with company, deal name, amount, close date and owner. Group the rows by company and give me the deal total and the company total. Don't change any records.
2. From that table, suggest up to {n} companies for a case study. Prefer different owners, and skip deals under {min_amount}. One company is one Gong ask_account call, which uses Gong credits. Show the list and the call count, and wait for me to confirm it. Don't call Gong yet.
3. After I approve the list, use Gong ask_account once per company. Ask what outcomes and results the customer mentioned, which calls those came from, and what Gong could not find. Label each answer as a summary, not a quote. If ask_account cannot find the account, stop on that company and say so. Don't call ask_deal or generate_brief unless I approve that call on its own.
4. Draft a shortlist here: company, owner, the outcome in Gong's words, and three interview questions that ask the customer to confirm that outcome. Leave out anyone Gong could not tie to a result. These questions are for a case study interview. Don't draft a note to the account owner, and don't contact anyone.
5. Show me the full page, titled {page_title}. After I approve it, create that page in Notion under {parent_page}. Don't change any other page.

## Expected output

Shortlist and interview questions, page not created yet. Example (all names fictional):

```
Closed won in HubSpot, Jul 1 to Sep 30: 11 deals, 9 companies.
Suggested for Gong, after you confirm: 4 companies. That is 4 ask_account calls. generate_brief is not included.

| Company | Owner | Closed won | Amount | Gong summary (not a quote) | On the shortlist? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larkspur Freightworks (fictional) | Priya Raman | Aug 14 | $46K | The ops lead said they hear about a late load before the customer calls. Gong named the Aug 2 call. No percentage. | Yes |
| Mossgate Labs (fictional) | Sam Whitlock | Sep 3 | $28K | Gong could not tie a result to a call. | No. Listed under no outcome found. |
| Quarry Lane Analytics (fictional) | Dana Okafor | Jul 22 | $61K | The security lead said the review finished in one cycle. Gong named the Jul 9 call. No day count. | Yes |
| Fernhill Software (fictional) | Alex Rivera | Sep 18 | $19K | Left off the suggested list. Amount is under the $20K line you set. | Not sent to Gong |

No outcome found: Mossgate Labs. Private calls are excluded, so a missing answer is not proof of a bad result.

Interview questions for Larkspur Freightworks (fictional), for you to ask. Not an email to the owner.
1. What did a late-load report look like before this?
2. Who on the team sees the alert on a normal morning?
3. Which part of that story are you willing to put in a case study, and which number should we leave out?

Page draft (not created yet): 'Case study shortlist: Q3'
Not a reference ask. No prospect. No note to the account owner.
Nothing was created in Notion. No one was contacted.
```

## Watch for

- A Gong summary pasted in as a customer quote: No raw transcripts are returned. Label every outcome as Gong's summary. Before any line is quoted in a case study, open the call in Gong and copy the words yourself. Drop any number the summary did not state.
- A customer with no usable outcome treated as a win story: Private calls are excluded, and some accounts have no recorded calls. If ask_account cannot tie an outcome to a call, or the account name does not match the HubSpot company, leave that customer off the shortlist and list them under no outcome found.
- A Gong call for every closed-won deal: Count companies, not deals. Two wins at one company are one ask_account call. Show the company list and the call count before any Gong call. Briefs cost more per open-ended section, so generate_brief stays out unless you approve that call on its own.
- A closed-won list that is only the deals you can see: The connector follows each user's HubSpot permissions. Compare the total to a HubSpot report for the same dates before any company goes to Gong. A short list may be a permissions gap.