GTM Playbook — Clarifying Questions for Dmitri
Purpose: These questions came up while synthesizing all your docs into the Master GTM Playbook. Your answers will help me refine the playbook further. Instructions: Select your answer and add notes. Re-upload when done.
Q1. First ORB Pricing Strategy — Would you discount the first 1-2 engagements to get case studies?
Why this matters: You have zero case studies and zero testimonials. Your first 1-2 clients are worth more as proof/credibility than as revenue. A modest discount (20-30%) in exchange for a testimonial and permission to write an anonymized case study can accelerate everything else.
- A) Yes, offer 20-30% discount on first 2 ORBs in exchange for testimonial + case study permission (Recommended)
- A 6,000 M-tier ORB is still significant revenue, and you get a case study and testimonial out of it
- B) No discount, but offer a bonus deliverable (e.g., extra restore test or quick win hours) instead
- Keeps pricing integrity but adds value to incentivize early adopters
- C) Full price from day one — the work speaks for itself
- Strongest pricing discipline but may slow the first close
- D) Offer a free “mini assessment” (2-3 hours) as a taster, then sell the full ORB
- Lowest barrier but risks giving away too much and attracting tire-kickers
Notes:
Q2. Professional Services vs. Nonprofits — Do you want to deprioritize nonprofits entirely for now?
Why this matters: Your questionnaire answers lean heavily toward professional services firms (law, accounting, consulting) over nonprofits. This changes your messaging, outreach targeting, and content pillars. The GTM playbook is currently weighted toward professional services, but I want to confirm you’re OK dropping nonprofits from the first 90 days.
- A) Focus 80% on professional services, 20% on nonprofits (if they come inbound) (Recommended)
- Professional services have better budgets and referral networks. Nonprofits are welcome but not actively targeted.
- B) Target both equally
- Broader market but dilutes your messaging
- C) Professional services only for the first 90 days — revisit nonprofits later
- Maximum focus but may miss easy nonprofit wins from your network
- D) I want to actively target nonprofits too because of my other ventures
- Different strategy needed; explain what the other ventures are so I can integrate
Notes:
Q3. Contractor Certifications — Do you have specific contractors in mind, or is this purely aspirational?
Why this matters: The “borrow credibility from contractors” strategy only works if you actually have access to certified contractors. If this is aspirational, we need a backup credibility plan for the first 90 days (e.g., fast-tracking your own CompTIA Security+, leaning harder on compliance platform partner certs, etc.).
- A) I have specific people in my network who have certs and might be interested (Recommended if true)
- Great — reach out to them in Week 3 as part of contractor recruitment
- B) I don’t have specific people yet but am confident I can find them
- We’ll add contractor recruitment as a Week 3-4 activity and include cert requirements in the job description
- C) This is aspirational — I need a backup credibility plan
- We’ll prioritize: (1) Vanta/Drata partner certs (free, fast), (2) CompTIA Security+ study plan, (3) lean on your 23 years of experience + ERP background in messaging
- D) I’m willing to fast-track CompTIA Security+ myself
- Realistic timeline: 2-3 months of study, ~$400 exam fee. Can be done in parallel with everything else.
Notes:
Q4. LinkedIn Sales Navigator — Are you already subscribed, or is this a new expense?
Why this matters: Sales Navigator at ~$100/mo is the single most impactful tool for your outreach strategy. If you don’t have it yet, this needs to happen in Week 1. If budget is tight, there are workarounds (manual LinkedIn search + connection tracking), but they’re significantly less efficient.
- A) I’ll subscribe in Week 1 (Recommended)
- Essential for the daily outreach cadence. Free trial available (usually 30 days).
- B) I already have it
- Great — skip to list building
- C) Too expensive right now — I’ll use free LinkedIn search
- Workable but slower. Manual tracking in a spreadsheet. Fewer search filters.
- D) I want to try the free trial first and decide
- Smart move. Use the 30-day trial aggressively to validate the outreach strategy.
Notes:
Q5. Website Status — Is solanasis.com currently live with any content, or is it a blank/parked page?
Why this matters: The playbook assumes the website needs to be built/finalized in Week 2. If it’s already live with basic content, we can skip that and focus on sales. If it’s completely bare, we need to prioritize getting at least a landing page up (hero, services overview, contact form, booking link).
- A) It exists but needs significant work (based on what I see in the website-config docs) (Recommended answer based on your docs)
- We’ll treat Week 2 as “get the website to MVP” — not perfect, just functional enough to not embarrass you
- B) It’s live with basic content already
- Great — we skip website work and put that time into outreach
- C) It’s parked/blank — nothing live
- Website becomes a Week 1 priority alongside LinkedIn optimization
- D) The website isn’t a priority — LinkedIn profile is enough for now
- Risky but defensible. Prospects WILL Google you, and a bare website hurts credibility. At minimum, put up a one-page landing page.
Notes:
Q6. Booking Tool — What are you using for scheduling intro calls?
Why this matters: A booking link is essential for the sales flow. “Book a 30-min intro call” needs to point somewhere. This is a 15-minute setup task but it’s blocking your outreach.
- A) I already have go.solanasis.com/meet set up (from your docs)
- Confirm this is working and actually routes to a booking page
- B) I have Calendly set up but not on a custom URL
- We’ll just use the Calendly link directly. Custom URL is nice-to-have.
- C) I don’t have a booking tool yet
- Set up Cal.com (free, open source) or Calendly (free tier) in Week 1
- D) I prefer people just email me
- Adds friction to the sales process. A booking link converts 2-3x better than “email me to schedule.”
Notes:
Q7. Time Allocation — How many hours/week can you realistically dedicate to Solanasis in the first 90 days?
Why this matters: The playbook assumes ~30-40 hours/week of focused work. If you have other commitments (part-time work, family obligations, other ventures), we need to adjust the timeline and prioritize more aggressively.
- A) Full-time (40+ hours/week) — this is my primary focus (Recommended)
- Playbook timeline is realistic as written
- B) 30-40 hours/week — mostly full-time with some other commitments
- Slight adjustment: extend Phase 1 to 3 weeks instead of 2
- C) 20-30 hours/week — part-time due to other obligations
- Significant adjustment needed: extend 90-day plan to 120 days, reduce daily outreach cadence
- D) Variable — some weeks full-time, some weeks very light
- We’ll design around minimum viable weekly activities that must happen regardless
Notes:
Q8. Existing Network Activation — How many people in your network could you realistically message this week about Solanasis?
Why this matters: Your network is your fastest path to first revenue. “Strong personal network” could mean 50 people or 500. The number determines how aggressive the network activation play is in weeks 3-4.
- A) 50+ people I could message comfortably
- We’ll do a structured 3-wave activation: inner circle (10), extended network (25), broader connections (15+)
- B) 20-50 people
- Solid. We’ll activate all of them in weeks 3-4 with a personalized message.
- C) 10-20 people
- Smaller pool. We’ll supplement with heavier LinkedIn cold outreach.
- D) Under 10 close contacts
- Network activation is limited. LinkedIn outreach and marketplaces become even more critical.
Notes:
Q9. The “Other Ventures” — You mentioned wanting to build nonprofit relationships for other ventures. Can you briefly describe these?
Why this matters: If your other ventures are complementary to Solanasis (e.g., co-living communities, social impact projects), there might be synergies we can leverage. If they’re competing for your time, we need to account for that in the time allocation.
- A) They’re complementary and long-term — not competing for time right now
- We’ll note the nonprofit relationship-building as a background activity, not a priority
- B) They require some of my time in the next 90 days
- We need to adjust the playbook to account for split attention
- C) They’re on hold until Solanasis is generating revenue
- Perfect — full focus on Solanasis
- D) I’d rather not discuss them — just know nonprofits matter to me personally
- Understood. We’ll keep nonprofit-friendly positioning in the brand but not actively target them.
Notes:
Q10. Insurance — Do you have professional liability (E&O) insurance?
Why this matters: Professional liability / Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance is effectively required for cybersecurity assessment work. Some clients will ask for proof of insurance before signing. If you don’t have it, this is a Week 1 action item.
- A) Yes, I have E&O insurance already
- Good. Make sure the coverage is adequate for cybersecurity assessment work.
- B) No, but I’ll get it in the first 2 weeks (Recommended)
- Companies like Hiscox, Hartford, and Coalition offer quick online quotes. Budget ~250/month. This is non-negotiable for client-facing security work.
- C) No, and I’m not sure I need it yet
- You do. One client asking for proof of insurance and you not having it = lost deal. It’s also your personal liability protection.
- D) I have general liability but not specifically E&O
- E&O specifically covers professional advice/services. General liability doesn’t cover “your assessment missed something and we got breached.” Get E&O added.
Notes:
Q11. Content Strategy Clarifying Questions (from the Content Strategy doc)
These were open questions in Solanasis_AI_Native_Content_Strategy_2026.md. Quick answers here will finalize the content plan.
Q11a. Voice Profile Status
- A) Not yet — need to do the 100-question interview first
- B) Started but not finished
- C) Have enough existing content for AI to learn from
Notes:
Q11b. LinkedIn Scheduling Tool
- A) Typefully (~$13/mo)
- B) Buffer (free tier)
- C) LinkedIn native scheduler (free)
- D) Decide later
Notes:
Q11c. Monthly Content Tool Budget (beyond Claude Max)
- A) $50-100/mo
- B) Under $50/mo
- C) $100-200/mo
- D) Whatever saves time
Notes:
CONTRADICTIONS FOUND (Need Resolution)
These aren’t new questions — they’re specific conflicts between your questionnaire answers and the existing playbook docs. Quick decisions needed.
C1. Quick Wins in ORB: Include or Exclude?
Your answer: “No implementation beyond tiny quick fixes” + “None (0 hours included)” But: ORB Pack v2 and v3 both include a “Quick Wins Menu” with up to 4 hours of safe, reversible fixes (MFA enforcement, forwarding controls, admin role cleanup, backup alerts, incident contact tree, restore runbook).
- A) Include quick wins (up to 4 hours) — as the playbooks recommend (Recommended)
- Makes the offer significantly more attractive. Costs you very little. Demonstrates hands-on value. Builds trust for the sprint upsell.
- B) Exclude quick wins — keep it pure assessment/advisory
- Cleaner scope but offer feels more “reporty” and less differentiated.
- C) Include quick wins but call them something else (e.g., “included safe fixes”)
- Avoids setting an “implementation included” expectation while still delivering value.
Notes:
C2. Access Model: Full Admin vs. Read-Only Default?
Your ORB questionnaire: “B — Full admin access for speed” with note “Much easier with temp full admin account” But: ORB Pack v2 playbook’s recommended access model is “Read-only where possible + temporary elevated access only if needed” and the client one-pager says “Read-only access wherever possible.”
- A) Default to full admin (your preference) but with safety rails — as v3 playbook describes (Recommended)
- Dedicated temp account, MFA required, time-limited, disable at closeout. Faster delivery.
- B) Default to read-only, elevate only when needed
- More trust-building language for risk-averse clients, but slower delivery.
Notes:
C3. ORB Pack v1 vs v2 — Which Is Canonical?
Your repo has two complete ORB packs:
playbooks/solanasis_operational_resilience_baseline/(v1, 17 files + deliverables)playbooks/solanasis_orb_pack_v2/(v2, 20 files + deliverables)
Plus misc/Solanasis_ORB_Playbook_v3.md which is a consolidated single-file version.
- A) v2 is canonical, v3 is the quick-reference summary, v1 is archived (Recommended)
- v2 has the most complete set of files. v3 is a cleaner summary of the same decisions.
- B) v3 single-file is the master, v2 templates are supplementary
- Simpler to maintain one file but you lose the template structure.
- C) I’m not sure — help me reconcile them
- I can do a detailed diff if needed.
Notes:
Once you answer these, I’ll refine the GTM playbook with your specific answers and create a week-1 action checklist you can start executing immediately.