How to Get Leadership Buy-In for CMMC Today [+ FREE Executive Brief Download]

If you’ve been tasked with solving CMMC for your company but have had trouble getting your leadership to understand the need to invest in the right solution – and the urgency of investing now - this blog is for you.

Our goal is to equip you with everything you need to be the CMMC hero your company needs.

You know the urgency of the hour.
You know what’s at stake.
You know the benefits of moving on this quickly.

Now, it’s time to craft a pitch for your leadership that compels them to say yes.

After reading this, you’ll have a suite of tools and resources to ensure your next CMMC conversation with executives is successful.

In this blog you’ll find 5 tips for your next CMMC pitch, including: 

• Answers to the biggest questions executives have: cost, benefit, risk, and timeline.
• A free tool to help you present a path to CMMC with confidence.
• How to help leadership avoid the pitfalls of choosing cheaper, riskier solutions.
• Practical Advice on how to make your pitch.
• Testimonials from companies like yours.

At the end you will have the chance to download the CMMC Executive Brief, a two-page CMMC summary tailor-made for you to hand to your CIO, CISO, CEO, or other executive leadership to help them understand the urgency of investing in the right CMMC solution, today.

Tip #1: Answer the biggest questions executives have: cost, benefit, risk, and timeline. 

When presenting CMMC solutions to leadership, their primary concerns will likely revolve around four critical areas: cost, benefit risk, and timeline.

1. What is the Cost of Investing in CMMC?

Your leadership needs clarity on the financial impact, including both the initial and long-term investment. The best place to find this is to watch the How to Budget for CMMC Webinar. In it we do our best to paint the full picture of what CMMC will cost, from soup to nuts. As a teaser, below is an estimate of what it might cost for a 50-100 person company to invest in CMMC (*these are not Summit 7 prices, but an educated calculation based on DoD requirements).

2. What are the Benefits of Investing in CMMC?

Your leadership is going to want to see what the company stands to gain from this investment. The CMMC ROI Calculator is the perfect tool to show them. In less than a minute, see if CMMC is a ROI-positive activity for your company. Plug in the current value of your DoD contracts and discover your recommended CMMC budget and the estimated DoD revenue increase over the next three years due to new market opportunities presented by the CMMC rollout.  

3. What is the Risk of Not Investing in CMMC?

The stakes of non-compliance are high. Without a CMMC certification, your organization risks losing access to bid on new DoD contracts, increased cybersecurity vulnerabilities, reputation damage, and significant penalties. The CUI Penalties Chart below is designed to highlight these risks and emphasize the mandatory nature of CMMC, which will be required for DoD contract awards beginning in July 2025. By presenting this information, you can convey the critical need for compliance to protect your company’s future.

4. Timeline: When is CMMC going impact my business?

Executives need to understand how long achieving CMMC compliance will realistically take. The updated CMMC timeline below - featured in the CMMC Executive Brief (download available at the bottom of this blog) - is an excellent visual tool for communicating this. For example, a company with around 50 employees could take 6-12 months to reach full compliance. Certification requirements will soon be a contractual necessity, so immediate action is crucial.

With this urgent timeline, your company needs to get compliant ASAP. This doesn’t need to be stressful though. Depending on how much of your company handles CUI, there is a fast solution that can get you ready before CMMC shows up in contracts: the CUI Enclave.

Read our blog below to find out if your company is a good fit for a CUI Enclave:

If you are getting pushback from leadership saying they DON’T need to hurry to become compliant because they are a vital piece of their prime’s supply chain, watch the video below:

Tip #2: Use the CMMC Pathfinder – a free tool to help you present your company’s path to CMMC with confidence.

The CMMC Pathfinder Tool offers a quick and simple solution to pinpoint exactly what your organization needs to achieve CMMC compliance. In under five minutes, you'll receive a personalized roadmap that outlines:

• The exact CMMC level your organization must attain.
• A comprehensive technical blueprint to fulfill compliance requirements.
• Tailored recommendations for the best-suited Microsoft 365 version for your business.
• Guidance on whether collaborating with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) is the right choice for your organization.
• Crucial steps to ensure you're well-prepared for a successful CMMC assessment.
• Precise cost projections for your CMMC compliance journey.

Click here to take the short quiz and get your results:

Tip #3: Help your leadership avoid the pitfalls of choosing cheaper, riskier solutions

It’s not uncommon for leadership to consider low-cost solutions to CMMC as a way to cut down expenses. However, cheaper options often come with risks that can jeopardize compliance and security. Here’s how you can communicate the potential pitfalls of low-cost solutions:

• Security Vulnerabilities: Budget options may lack advanced security measures, leaving the organization vulnerable to data breaches and compliance failures.
• Higher Future Costs: While a cheaper solution may save money initially, the costs of upgrades, additional support, or penalties for non-compliance can make these options more expensive over time.
• Loss of Contract Opportunities: Failure to meet CMMC requirements due to complex multi-vendor compliance solutions could result in disqualification from bidding on future DoD contracts.

If your company is considering file-sharing tools like PreVeil for their CMMC solution because of the promise of affordability and convenience, read this first:

If you are looking for a more budget-friendly CMMC solution that avoids the risks of file-sharing tools, consider a CUI Managed Enclave. Managed Enclaves are a faster, more secure option for CMMC compliance, creating a compliant boundary around sensitive data while expediting readiness for a CMMC assessment.

Tip #4: Speak to what your leaders value (not what you value).

To make the case for CMMC compliance effectively, you have to get out of your head and into theirs. Avoid technical jargon, stay out of the weeds.

Communicate like an executive:

1. Use Data to Drive Urgency: Leverage the CMMC Executive Brief and Pathfinder Tool to present data-driven insights that reinforce the urgency of compliance. Show leadership how CMMC impacts risk, budget, and eligibility for future contracts.
2. Speak in Terms of Business Priorities: Executives are focused on bottom-line impact, risk mitigation, and competitive advantage. Highlight how CMMC compliance can protect revenue, safeguard company reputation, and strengthen the organization’s competitive position within the defense supply chain.
3. Present Yourself as the Solution: By bringing well-researched tools and data, you demonstrate that you’re not just presenting a problem but offering actionable solutions. This approach strengthens your credibility and positions you as the go-to resource for managing compliance.
4. Emphasize Long-Term Value: Explain that investing in a high-quality CMMC solution now will yield long-term savings by reducing risks, securing contracts, and avoiding future costs associated with non-compliance.
5. Let Other CMMC-Successful Executives Speak for You: Executives want to know that other companies like theirs have chosen to move forward with the solution you are presenting to them - and have the ROI to show for it. Check out some case studies here to find the right story to share with your leadership.

Tip #5: Hand them the CMMC Executive Brief

As a final tool for your CMMC conversation, download the CMMC Executive Brief. This two-page document is crafted specifically for CIOs, CISOs, CEOs, and other executive leaders, providing a concise summary of CMMC requirements, timelines, and the business implications of compliance.

The CMMC Executive Brief covers:

• CMMC Levels and Requirements: A straightforward explanation of the different levels of CMMC and which may apply to your contracts.
• Timeline for Compliance: A visual representation of when CMMC requirements will start impacting contract eligibility.
• Impact on Business: A summary of the risks of non-compliance and the strategic benefits of certification.
• Fastest Way to Compliance: An easy-to-understand visual of a CUI Enclave, the best way to become CMMC compliant ASAP.

This brief will reinforce your message, covering the content of this blog at a high level and giving leadership an executive-friendly resource to digest the critical need for CMMC compliance that they can refer back to as they discuss a CMMC solution with other leaders.

Become the CMMC Hero Your Company Needs 

By following these steps and utilizing Summit 7’s suite of tools, you are equipped to lead your organization’s CMMC compliance journey with confidence. You are now ready to communicate the urgency and strategic value of compliance, ensuring that leadership sees the need to invest in a reliable CMMC solution today.

Download your free CMMC Executive Brief now and take the first step toward becoming the CMMC hero your company needs.