A deal moves forward on evidence
Not on optimism, not on activity, not on a good feeling after the demo.
The CRAFT method gives a sales team one standard for when a deal is real. In the CRAFT platform, a stage change is refused until the facts that stage needs are on record. A manager can override, and the override is recorded.
Why security sales needs a stricter standard
Security deals are long, involve many stakeholders, and are built on risk the buyer has trouble pricing. That makes them easy to over-forecast. A champion in security engineering loves the product, the demo goes well, and the deal goes to "Proposal." Then it sits there, because nobody has met the person who signs, nobody knows how the decision will be made, and the business case uses the vendor's numbers, not the customer's.
Most pipelines have stages. Few have exit criteria that anyone enforces. CRAFT enforces them.
The five steps
C — Conduct research
Learn the account before you contact it: what the company runs, what's changed, who owns the risk, and what they've said publicly. In security, a first message that shows you did the work is the price of getting a reply.
R — Refine
Narrow down. Choose the people, the problem and the angle that matter for this account, and drop everything that doesn't. A focused account is better than ten vague ones.
A — Activate
Reach out with a reason specific to this account, right now. Activation is earned by the first two steps. It's not a sequence you start on a list.
F — Find the value
Get the customer's own numbers and priorities, in their own words. A business case built on the customer's metrics is one a CISO can take to the CFO. One built on yours gets set aside.
T — Tailor
Shape the proposal, the proof and the path to purchase around what you learned. No standard deck with the logo swapped.
How evidence gates work
Every pipeline stage has facts that need to be on record before a deal can enter it. Pipeline: Prospecting, Qualification, Needs analysis, Proposal, Negotiation.
Example. A rep tries to move a deal from Needs analysis to Proposal. The deal has 5 of 8 facts recorded. CRAFT holds the stage and lists what's still needed:
- Economic buyer identified
- Decision criteria known
- Customer metrics captured
The rep doesn't need to guess what to do next. The missing facts are the next steps.
Overrides. Sometimes a manager knows something the record doesn't. They can override the hold, and the override is logged. At forecast time you can see which deals advanced on evidence and which advanced on judgment.
What changes for the team
For reps: a clear next step on every deal. The question changes from "what should I do?" to "which fact am I missing?"
For managers: coaching based on facts. "Three of your Proposal-stage deals have no economic buyer" is something a rep can act on. "Push harder" isn't.
For CROs and founders: stages that mean the same thing for every rep, a forecast you can defend line by line, and a record of every exception.
Method first, software second
CRAFT was a method before it was a product. It's set out in CRAFT: CIA Elite Selling & Strategic Tradecraft by W.C. Bowman. The platform exists to hold a team to the method every day, including busy weeks, quarter-end, and with new hires who never read the book.
About CRAFT and the book · See the agents
See your deal against the method
Bring one live deal to a call with Tyler. We'll check which facts are on record, which are missing, and whether the stage it's in holds up.