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.
The 6-Layer Discovery System
Use these in order. Don’t skip ahead.
- Catalyst & Context
- What changed? Why now? Who’s accountable?
- What happens if nothing changes in 90 days?
- 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?
- 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?
- 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?
- 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.
- Success Criteria & Impact
- Measurables: time-to-access, approvals, audit evidence, MTTR, #standing privs.
- Non-negotiables vs. nice-to-haves. Decision timeline and stakeholders.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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>
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.
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).
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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