How I use a six-layer discovery framework to map CISO, IT, SecOps, and Compliance pains to tailored demos-turning privileged-access challenges into proof-backed buying decisions. Part of my GTM & Sales Engineer journey at Fudo Security.

Why Discovery Wins

Demos win attention. Discovery wins deals.

If I can’t describe the problem in the customer’s words, I’m just touring features.

Week 2 is about building a repeatable discovery system that surfaces risk, friction, and compliance pressure; then maps them to PAM + Zero Trust outcomes.

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The 6-Layer Discovery System

Use these in order. Don’t skip ahead.

1. Catalyst & Context

• What changed? Why now? Who’s accountable?
• What happens if nothing changes in 90 days?

2. Environment Map

• Where do identities live (IdP/AD/AAD)? Which protocols (RDP/SSH/HTTPS)?
• Where is access brokering today (VPN, jump boxes, ZTNA, browser-based)?
• Cloud/OT footprint? Critical apps and data paths?

3. Access Reality (Privileged & Third-Party)

• Who has standing privilege? Any shared or service accounts?
• How are credentials issued/rotated/revoked? Break-glass?
• Vendor access path and approvals? Session recording?

4. Risk & Compliance

• Which frameworks (NIST, HIPAA, PCI, SOX)? Findings from last audit?
• What evidence is hard to produce today (who, did what, when, where)?
• Breach scenarios that keep you up at night?

5. Workflow & Integration Fit

• Required integrations (IdP/MFA, ITSM, SIEM/SOAR, CMDB).
• Who approves? Who monitors? Who reports?
• Constraints: SSO mandates, agentless-only, air-gapped OT, etc.

6. Success Criteria & Impact

• Measurables: time-to-access, approvals, audit evidence, MTTR, #standing privs.
• Non-negotiables vs. nice-to-haves. Decision timeline and stakeholders.

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Persona Question Banks (choose 5–7 each)

CISO / VP Security

• Top privileged-access risks this quarter?
• If you had perfect session visibility tomorrow, what would you measure first?
• What audit evidence is most painful to assemble today?

IT / Platform Owner

• Current path for admin/vendor access to prod? Any shared creds or local admins?
• Where does the workflow break (approvals, revocation, logging)?
• What integrations must work on day one (IdP, ticketing, SIEM)?

SecOps / IR

• When an incident fires, how fast can you reconstruct “who did what, where”?
• Where do PAM logs land, and who queries them?
• What signals would you automate in SOAR?

Compliance / GRC

• Last audit’s repeat findings?
• Evidence you owe monthly/quarterly?
• What would make the next audit boring—in a good way?

Procurement / Finance

• Hard outcomes that justify spend (audit pass, SLA, staff hours saved)?
• Consolidation targets? What replaces what?

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Red Flags & Anti-Patterns

• “We’ll standardize later.”
  • → Later = never; force scope now.
• “Any admin can approve access.”
  • → No accountability; fix approvals.
• “Vendors VPN in with shared creds.”
  • → Shift to brokered, time-boxed, agentless.
• “We don’t record sessions.”
  • → Invisible risk; start with Tier-0/Tier-1 systems.

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10-Minute Pre-Call Checklist

• Review stack (IdP, MFA, VPN/ZTNA, SIEM, ticketing).
• Pull 1–2 breaches or regulatory actions in their sector.
• Draft three hypotheses (pain → impact → likely capability).
• Identify one workflow you must see.

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During the Call (simple timebox)

• 5 min: Catalysts & goals.
• 10 min: Access reality (standing privilege, vendors, break-glass).
• 10 min: Evidence & audit pressure.
• 5 min: Success metrics and next steps.

Take notes in HubSpot/Salesforce with the same headings. Future you will thank you.

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Map Discovery → Demo (Pain → Capability → Proof)

Use their words. Then show their world.

• “Shared admin creds + audit pain.”
  • → Vaulting + rotation + session recording → Show brokered RDP via approval; replay keystrokes; export report.
• “Vendor access chaos.”
  • → Agentless, browser-based third-party access + time-boxed JIT → Show request → approval → ephemeral access → auto-revoke → evidence.
• “Too many standing privileges.”
  • → Just-in-Time / Just-Enough privilege → Show ephemeral elevation with policy and automatic rollback.

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Success-Criteria One-Pager (pasteable)

Goal: <e.g., eliminate shared admin creds; 100% session recording on Tier-1>

Scope: <systems, protocols, users/vendors>

Must-Have Evidence: <access approvals, session replay, rotation logs>

Integrations: <IdP/MFA, ITSM, SIEM>

KPIs: <time-to-access down 50%, zero standing root, audit export < 5 min>

Timeline/Owners: <names, dates>

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Recap Email Template (pasteable)

Subject: Recap + next steps –  PAM/Zero Trust discovery

Thanks for the time today.

Here’s what I heard:

• Drivers: <X, Y, Z>
• Gaps/Risks: <A, B, C>
• Success looks like: 
  • Proposed demo: I’ll show  against and deliver .
  • Next steps:  →  by
  • Attachments: draft success criteria.

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What I’m Practicing This Week

• Run two discovery calls using the 6-Layer system.
• Ship two success-criteria one-pagers.
• Build a demo storyboard that mirrors their workflows (sets up Week 3).

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Read the Series

• Crafting a GTM Strategy: My Journey as Architect and Operator (Anchor Post)
• Week 1: Learning the Product as a Sales Engineer
• Week 2: Week 2 – Discovery Mastery | GTM & SE Journey
• Week 3: Demo Storytelling That Proves Value (coming soon)

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