Critical to the success of any startup is figuring out the most effective sales process. This is typically very iterative, with lots of learnings along the way. However, one aspect of sales, that many B2B SaaS startup founders overlook until it’s too late, and which can grind the whole process to a halt, are inbound third-party cybersecurity assessments.  

When a company is selling software into any reasonably mature business, especially in a highly regulated sector, the vendor will be required to complete a cybersecurity assessment. Without preparation, this can take months and require input from the compliance, legal and security teams. And it must be done for nearly every sale.  

The required assessments have considerable overlap and are often based on the same set of standards, yet they’re all slightly different due to how the standards are interpreted and prioritised. This leads to a huge amount of repetition and redundancy, which not only eats up valuable time, but also slows down the rate at which your team can sell.  

In a world where cybersecurity risk is growing at a rapid pace, supporting regulation has become ever more stringent and common. This puts the onus on all companies to take a proactive approach to cybersecurity.

If companies can do this effectively, they’ll not only streamline their sales processes but, more importantly, build trust and transparency with stakeholders.