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- How do delays from security reviews show up in sales metrics?
- Which security review KPIs should you track?
- Example: a 20-day review does not necessarily add 20 days to the sale
- How do security review delays affect sales velocity?
- What CRM fields do you need to track security review KPIs?
- How should you report these KPIs without overstating their impact?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Facing a security review or diligence soon?
Our free 8-minute Snapshot shows which answers you can give today and which need work first.
Get your free SnapshotThe key is distinguishing time spent in a security review from time the review actually adds to the sale. A review can run alongside contract negotiations without delaying signature. It becomes a sales bottleneck when an unresolved security requirement prevents the deal from moving forward.
For a startup or growing business, that distinction turns “we’re waiting on security” into something you can measure and discuss in a pipeline meeting.
How do delays from security reviews show up in sales metrics?
| Sales metric | How a security review delay can appear | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Sales cycle length | More days between qualification and signature | Whether security prevented the deal from closing |
| Time in stage | Opportunities remain in evaluation or procurement longer | Which requirement is outstanding and what it prevents |
| Close-date slippage | Expected signatures move into another month or quarter | Whether security was a documented cause |
| Blocked pipeline value | Potential contract value waits on security approval | Whether the deal is blocked or simply under review |
| Win rate | Reviewed opportunities convert differently | Whether security contributed to the outcome |
| Sales effort per deal | More hours go into questionnaires, evidence requests, and follow-up | How much staff time the review actually required |
These are signals to investigate. A longer sales cycle does not, by itself, establish that security caused the delay.
Enterprise buyers may require more security scrutiny, more legal negotiation, and more internal approvals. Comparing those deals with smaller purchases can make security look responsible for differences that come from the buying process as a whole.
Which security review KPIs should you track?
1. Security review turnaround time
Formula: Buyer security approval date − first security review request date
This measures elapsed time from the initial request to the buyer’s documented approval.
Questionnaire submission is a separate milestone. Sending your answers does not mean the buyer has accepted them or completed its assessment.
Use calendar days to understand the relationship to the sales cycle. If you also track business days for internal response targets, label them separately.
Report the median turnaround time and the number of completed reviews. With sufficient volume, add the 90th percentile to show how long the slower reviews take. Keep open-review age visible alongside these figures so unfinished work does not disappear from the dashboard.
2. Initial response package turnaround time
Formula: First complete response package sent date − initial request received date
This measures how long your team takes to provide the answers and supporting materials requested at the start of the review.
Define “complete” against that initial request. An acknowledgment email or partially completed questionnaire should not stop the clock.
This KPI separates your preparation time from subsequent buyer evaluation. Record later requests as follow-up activity rather than repeatedly changing the initial submission date.
If the buyer expands the scope, document that change so the original response is not incorrectly classified as incomplete.
3. Security-blocked days
Formula: Total calendar days when an unresolved security requirement prevents the next agreed deal milestone
This is the most direct measure of observable sales delay.
Record the start and end of each blocked interval, the requirement involved, and the milestone it prevents. If multiple security issues overlap, count each calendar day only once.
Also distinguish:
- Security-only blocking: Security is the sole remaining barrier to the milestone.
- Concurrent blocking: Security and another requirement, such as legal or budget approval, are both outstanding.
Concurrent blocking matters operationally, but those days cannot automatically be attributed entirely to security.
4. Pipeline value blocked by security
Formula: Sum of opportunity value for open deals currently blocked by security
Choose one value basis, such as annual contract value, and apply it consistently.
Separate opportunities that are under review from those that are blocked by security. A review may be active while product evaluation and contract work continue on schedule.
This KPI gives leadership a snapshot of potential business affected by unresolved security requirements. Record the snapshot date so changes can be compared over time.
Blocked pipeline is not booked revenue, guaranteed revenue, or revenue already lost.
5. Security-related close-date slippage rate
Formula: Opportunities with a documented security-related slip ÷ opportunities scheduled to close in the same period × 100
Freeze the reporting cohort and expected close dates at the start of the period. Count each affected opportunity once, even if its close date moves several times.
Record whether security was the primary reason for the slip or one of several contributing reasons. An unresolved approval requirement or buyer message provides stronger support than a general “procurement delay” note.
You can also report the contract value associated with those opportunities, using the same value basis as the rest of your dashboard.
6. Follow-up rounds per review
Formula: Total substantive follow-up rounds for completed reviews ÷ number of completed reviews measured
Count each consolidated request for additional answers or evidence as one round. Exclude scheduling messages and routine acknowledgments.
Categorize the reason for each round:
- Incomplete or unclear answers.
- Missing or outdated evidence.
- Conflicting information.
- A control gap requiring discussion.
- Additional buyer requirements or expanded scope.
Follow-up is not automatically a problem. Complex purchases may need detailed discussion. The metric becomes useful when it shows which exchanges are recurring and why.
Track follow-up rounds on open reviews separately until those reviews conclude.
7. Win rate for security-reviewed opportunities
Formula: Closed-won reviewed opportunities ÷ all closed-won and closed-lost reviewed opportunities × 100
Define “security-reviewed” consistently, such as any opportunity where a formal review was requested. Include losses that occurred before security approval; excluding them would skew the result.
Compare similar opportunities by deal size, customer segment, product, and review complexity.
Record security-related loss reasons separately. A buyer explicitly declining because of a missing control is stronger evidence than an opportunity that went quiet during review.
A difference in win rates between reviewed and unreviewed opportunities does not establish that security caused the difference.
Example: A 20-day security review does not necessarily add 20 days to the sale
Consider this hypothetical opportunity:
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Buyer requests a security review | June 1 |
| Your team submits the complete initial response | June 4 |
| Contract negotiation and other closing requirements are complete | June 16 |
| Buyer approves security | June 21 |
| Contract is signed | June 23 |
Using elapsed calendar days:
- Initial response package turnaround: 3 days.
- Security review turnaround: 20 days.
- Observable security-only blocking interval: 5 days, assuming security was the sole remaining requirement from June 16 through June 21.
The final two days before signature should not automatically be assigned to security.
This example also shows why review duration alone is insufficient. Much of the review happened while other necessary work continued. The five-day interval is the clearest observable period when security alone prevented closing, although it does not prove the buyer would otherwise have signed immediately on June 16.
How do security review delays affect sales velocity?
Sales velocity = (Number of opportunities × Average deal value × Win rate) ÷ Average sales cycle length
Salesforce uses these four inputs to describe the pace of sales through the funnel.
Suppose a hypothetical pipeline has 20 qualified opportunities, a $30,000 average contract value, a 25% win rate, and a 60-day average sales cycle.
(20 × $30,000 × 25%) ÷ 60 = $2,500 per day
If the average cycle increases to 75 days while the other inputs remain unchanged:
(20 × $30,000 × 25%) ÷ 75 = $2,000 per day
That is a 20% reduction in modeled sales velocity. It is not evidence of a 20% revenue loss.
The calculation illustrates the effect of slower closing under fixed assumptions. To attribute any portion of that change to security, you still need the blocked intervals and documented reasons from individual opportunities.
What CRM fields do you need to track security review KPIs?
| CRM field | What it supports |
|---|---|
| Review requested date | Total review duration |
| Initial response package sent date | Response turnaround |
| Security approval date | Completed-review measurement |
| Current review status | Visibility into preparation, buyer evaluation, remediation, and approval |
| Outstanding requirement and owner | Clear accountability for the next action |
| Blocked interval start and end dates | Calculation of observable delay |
| Other active blockers | Separation of security-only and concurrent blocking |
| Original and revised expected close dates | Slippage reporting |
| Delay or loss reason | Evidence for attribution |
| Review complexity or scope | Comparison of similar opportunities |
| Opportunity value and value basis | Consistent pipeline reporting |
Track security status alongside the sales stage. Security, procurement, and legal work can happen simultaneously, so a single stage label may not explain what is holding up the deal.
If cost of sale is a concern, add staff hours spent on each review. Elapsed days measure waiting time; staff hours measure effort. One cannot substitute for the other.
How should you report security review KPIs without overstating their impact?
For completed reviews, show median turnaround time, sample size, and review complexity. For open reviews, show current age, outstanding requirements, and whether security is preventing the next agreed milestone.
Keep these reporting rules consistent:
- Preserve the original expected close date. Updating it without retaining its history hides slippage.
- Separate elapsed time from staff effort. A review open for 15 days may require only a few hours of work.
- Identify overlapping blockers. Do not assign the same delay entirely to security and entirely to legal.
- Compare similar opportunities. Changes in buyer type, deal size, or scope can change results.
- Separate blocked pipeline from lost business. An unresolved review does not establish that the opportunity will be lost.
- Show the sample size. A change across three reviews deserves different interpretation from a sustained pattern across many comparable reviews.
A useful weekly update might read:
That gives leadership enough information to understand the exposure and ask a specific follow-up question.
If the data points to response preparation or review coordination, see our guides to answering security questionnaires faster and preventing security reviews from stalling deals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Give “waiting on security” a measurable meaning
A useful pipeline update identifies the outstanding requirement, its owner, the milestone it prevents, and the time already spent waiting.
Start by recording those details on your active opportunities. Your security review KPIs can then show where delays occur, which deals are affected, and whether the pattern is changing.
When the measurements reveal gaps in your underlying readiness, explore how Aetos works to assess your position and address the policies, controls, and records buyers need to evaluate.
