01Strategy
Where to play and how to win
- Programs that can buy before full approval
- Which pilots become paying customers first
- A reference story that holds up to scrutiny
Government software, 10 to 30 people, the first sales hire
A pipeline that waits on security approval
The first sales hire can fill the pipeline. Security approval decides when it closes.
An example drawn from companies at this stage, not a client story.
The situation
A strong pipeline stalls in procurement. The clock runs on security sign-off, not outreach.
You might recognize it
- Logos and pilots, but few paying agencies yet.
- Security and compliance roles open beside the first salesperson.
- The founders still run every deal.
The number to watch
Paying agencies, and the date approval clears
Logos are not revenue. Approval decides when the pipeline can close.
How we would run it, end to end
02Design
The operating system behind the number
- Procurement stages with honest timelines
- Compliance evidence packaged for buyers
- The first sales process, written with the founders
03Execution
Run it, measure it, keep what works
- Agency research and outreach, every claim sourced
- A security answer library, kept current
- References from named customers, on the record
- The Monday brief: pipeline by procurement stage and approval milestones
The first 90 days
Weeks 1 to 2
Founders interviewed. Every logo sorted: paying, piloting or neither.
Weeks 3 to 6
Procurement stages and the answer library live.
Weeks 7 to 12
Outreach to programs that can buy now. Milestones tracked weekly.
What Monday looks like
SampleMonday briefWeek 8
The number: Paying agencies, and the date approval clears
What moved
- Two agencies reached contract review. Both can buy under existing authority.
- Security evidence: 4 of 11 control families done. On pace for the review date.
This week
Hold the reference call with the second agency.
What you keep
A public-sector sales process, and references that hold up.
Functions it touches
Sound familiar? Tell us what's stuck and we'll bring what we found.