Preparing for Enterprise Sales: Compliance Requirements
Enterprise customers have compliance and security requirements that can add weeks to your sales cycle—or kill deals entirely. Here's how to be prepared.
Common Enterprise Requirements
Enterprise procurement teams evaluate vendors on security, financial stability, and operational maturity. This is part of broader compliance requirements. Working with a fractional CFO can help you prepare the financial documentation enterprise buyers expect. Be ready for these common asks:
SOC 2 Type II Report
The most common security compliance requirement. Most enterprises won't proceed without it.
Security Questionnaire
200-500+ questions about your security practices. SIG, CAIQ, or custom formats.
Insurance Certificates
Cyber liability ($1-5M), E&O, general liability. Minimums vary by customer.
Penetration Test Results
Annual third-party security testing. Share results under NDA.
Business Continuity Plan
Documented disaster recovery and business continuity procedures.
Data Processing Agreement
Legal terms for how you handle customer data, required for GDPR. See our GDPR/CCPA finance guide.
Timeline Impact
Vendor security reviews typically add 2-6 weeks to enterprise sales cycles. Having documentation ready can cut this in half and prevent deals from stalling.
Security Questionnaires
Security questionnaires are the most time-consuming part of enterprise sales. They assess everything from your encryption practices to your employee background check policies.
Common Questionnaire Types
| Type | Questions | Time to Complete |
|---|---|---|
| SIG (Standardized Information Gathering) | 300-800 | 1-2 weeks (first time) |
| CAIQ (CSA) | 300+ | 1-2 weeks |
| Custom | 50-500 | Variable |
Questionnaire Best Practices
- Create a master response database: Reuse answers across questionnaires
- Have SOC 2 ready: Many questions can be answered with "See SOC 2 report"
- Be honest about gaps: Explain compensating controls or roadmap
- Use questionnaire tools: Vanta, Whistic, OneTrust can automate responses
How to Prepare
Enterprise Readiness Checklist
Sales Enablement
Train your sales team on what compliance documentation is available and how to position it. "We have SOC 2 Type II and can share our report" is a powerful answer to security objections.
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