1 min lesson
Surface it early, route it cleanly
Walk through "Surface it early, route it cleanly" in order, then name the proof that tells you it worked.
Step 1 of 2
Surface it early, route it cleanly
- 1Ask in discovery. "What does your security review process look like?" early, so nothing ambushes you later.
- 2Acknowledge fully. Never wave off a security concern; treat it as the legitimate gate it is.
- 3Route to the right resource. Pull in the sales engineer or security contact for specifics.
- 4Keep momentum. Set the next step before the call ends so the deal doesn't stall in a queue.
Watch out
Late-stage deal death almost always traces back to a security or legal requirement nobody surfaced in discovery. If you find out in week six that their security team mandates a self-hosted setup or a specific data-residency region, you've burned a quarter. Ask the uncomfortable compliance questions on the first or second call, not the last.
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Optional practice
Practice: Surface it early, route it cleanly
QIn a discovery call, a security-conscious engineering manager asks whether their proprietary code will be used to train models. You're not 100% sure of the exact policy details. What do you do?