How enterprise sales actually work: multi-stakeholder cycles, champion development, procurement, security review, and the timelines investors expect.
Enterprise sales is a different job than SMB or PLG. The deals are bigger, the cycles are longer, and the founder mistakes are more expensive.
Economic buyer (signs). Champion (advocates internally). User (has to use it). IT / security (approves). Procurement (negotiates). Legal (papers it). Missing any of the five delays the deal by a quarter.
6-9 months typical for a first-of-its-kind purchase. 3-6 months for a repeat category. Anything the champion says will close "next month" is usually a quarter away. Model against reality, not hope.
SOC 2 Type II is table stakes above ~$50K ACV. Standard security questionnaires (SIG, CAIQ) speed things up. Procurement will ask for discounts, MFN pricing, and payment terms — expect it and have a floor.
Give your champion the deck, the ROI model, and the answers to objections before they need them. A champion who can't sell you internally will lose the deal, even if they love the product.
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