How to handle a security review
Enterprise deals increasingly hinge on a security review, and a review discovered late can add weeks right when you thought the deal was won.
The fix is to treat security as a workstream to start early, not a surprise to react to at the end.
Short answer
Handle a security review by scoping it early during discovery, preparing your security documentation and certifications in advance, engaging your security team and the buyer's infosec directly, and driving it in parallel with the rest of the deal. Security reviews are a classic late-stage slip, so surfacing and starting them early is what keeps them from adding surprise weeks near signature.
Step by step
Scope it early
During discovery, ask about the security review process and timeline. Knowing it exists early lets you start it in parallel rather than discovering it near signature.
Prepare your documentation
Have your security documentation, certifications (like SOC 2), and standard questionnaire answers ready in advance so you can respond fast when the review starts.
Engage the right resources
Bring in your security team or resources to handle technical questions credibly, and connect them directly with the buyer's infosec team to move quickly.
Drive it in parallel
Run the security review alongside the rest of the deal, not sequentially after the verbal yes. Parallel workstreams keep security from becoming the bottleneck.
Track it in the close plan
Include the security review as a step in your mutual action plan with owners and dates, so it is managed rather than left to drift.
Why security reviews slip deals
A security review discovered only after the verbal yes can add weeks or months, turning a won deal into a slipped one. Because it involves the buyer's infosec team on their timeline, you cannot simply rush it. The only reliable defense is to scope it early, prepare in advance, and run it in parallel, so it finishes when the rest of the deal does.
How Ardovo runs this
Ardovo turns this from a slide no one opens into how the work actually happens. The stages, exit criteria, and plays live in the deal object, and Rook flags any deal that skips a step, drafts the next artifact, and keeps the data honest, so security reviews are scoped early and driven in parallel gets followed instead of forgotten.
Frequently asked questions
How do I handle a security review in a deal?
Scope it early during discovery, prepare your security documentation and certifications in advance, engage your security team and connect them with the buyer's infosec directly, and drive the review in parallel with the rest of the deal. Surfacing and starting it early is what keeps it from adding surprise weeks near signature.
Why do security reviews stall deals?
Because a security review discovered late, after the verbal yes, can add weeks or months right when the deal seemed won, and it runs on the buyer's infosec team's timeline, which you cannot simply rush. The only reliable defense is to scope it early and run it in parallel so it finishes when the rest of the deal does.
How do I prepare for a security review?
Have your security documentation, certifications like SOC 2, and standard security questionnaire answers ready in advance, so you can respond quickly when the review begins. Engaging your security team to handle technical questions credibly and connecting them directly with the buyer's infosec also speeds the process and builds trust.