diff --git a/business-growth/skills/customer-success-manager/scripts/health_score_calculator.py b/business-growth/skills/customer-success-manager/scripts/health_score_calculator.py
index f2b83e9e..a72a5826 100644
--- a/business-growth/skills/customer-success-manager/scripts/health_score_calculator.py
+++ b/business-growth/skills/customer-success-manager/scripts/health_score_calculator.py
@@ -444,6 +444,8 @@ def main() -> None:
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     if args.sample:
+        if args.input_file:
+            print("Warning: --sample specified; ignoring input_file", file=sys.stderr)
         data = SAMPLE_DATA
     else:
         if not args.input_file:
diff --git a/business-growth/skills/revenue-operations/scripts/pipeline_analyzer.py b/business-growth/skills/revenue-operations/scripts/pipeline_analyzer.py
index f482a7e6..96661d8f 100644
--- a/business-growth/skills/revenue-operations/scripts/pipeline_analyzer.py
+++ b/business-growth/skills/revenue-operations/scripts/pipeline_analyzer.py
@@ -458,6 +458,8 @@ SAMPLE_DATA = {
          "value": 120000, "age_days": 30, "close_date": "2026-07-15"},
         {"id": "D-2", "name": "Globex new logo", "stage": "discovery",
          "value": 80000, "age_days": 10, "close_date": "2026-08-01"},
+        # D-3 is intentionally stale (70d old vs 45d average cycle, closing
+        # imminently) so the fixture exercises the at-risk/aging detection.
         {"id": "D-3", "name": "Initech expansion", "stage": "negotiation",
          "value": 200000, "age_days": 70, "close_date": "2026-06-30"},
         {"id": "D-4", "name": "Umbrella upsell", "stage": "closed_won",
@@ -490,6 +492,8 @@ def main() -> None:
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     if args.sample:
+        if args.input:
+            print("Warning: --sample specified; ignoring --input", file=sys.stderr)
         data = SAMPLE_DATA
     else:
         if not args.input:
diff --git a/c-level-advisor/skills/cpo-advisor/scripts/pmf_scorer.py b/c-level-advisor/skills/cpo-advisor/scripts/pmf_scorer.py
index 19d409ca..ece3f593 100644
--- a/c-level-advisor/skills/cpo-advisor/scripts/pmf_scorer.py
+++ b/c-level-advisor/skills/cpo-advisor/scripts/pmf_scorer.py
@@ -563,7 +563,12 @@ def main():
     )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
-    if args.input:
+    if args.sample:
+        # --sample wins over --input, consistent with the other sample-pattern tools.
+        if args.input:
+            print("Warning: --sample specified; ignoring --input", file=sys.stderr)
+        data = sample_data()
+    elif args.input:
         try:
             with open(args.input) as f:
                 data = json.load(f)
@@ -573,8 +578,6 @@ def main():
         except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
             print(f"Error: invalid JSON: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
             sys.exit(1)
-    elif args.sample:
-        data = sample_data()
     else:
         # Notice goes to stderr so `--json` output stays parseable when piped.
         print("No input file provided — running with sample data.\n", file=sys.stderr)
diff --git a/engineering-team/a11y-audit/skills/a11y-audit/scripts/contrast_checker.py b/engineering-team/a11y-audit/skills/a11y-audit/scripts/contrast_checker.py
index edfe2999..c8744ce7 100644
--- a/engineering-team/a11y-audit/skills/a11y-audit/scripts/contrast_checker.py
+++ b/engineering-team/a11y-audit/skills/a11y-audit/scripts/contrast_checker.py
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     parser.add_argument(
         "--sample",
         action="store_true",
-        help="Alias for --demo (repo-wide embedded-sample convention)",
+        help="Run with embedded sample color pairs (alias for --demo)",
     )
     return parser