Know what you need before you hire a CMMC consultant.
A buyer-side decision packet for defense contractors about to spend thousands on an MSP, RPO, C3PAO, vCISO, GCC High migration, compliance software, templates, or a readiness assessment. Pre-purchase decision support. Not certification, not legal advice, not a replacement for a qualified provider.
Contractors frequently sign multi-tens-of-thousands engagements before fully scoping their CUI boundary, the most expensive decision in a CMMC engagement. The packet is for the conversation before the engagement letter goes out.
Seven sections plus an optional quote sanity check.
Every section reads in plain English. Every claim ties back to one of your inputs and the published rule set. No model output.
- 01DecisionLikely CMMC path
Level 1 self-attestation, Level 2 self-assessment, or Level 2 C3PAO, with the reasoning and confidence band, not just the label.
- 02BenchmarkCost benchmark range
Expected first-year band for your likely path: gap assessment, documentation, remediation, recurring tooling, and a C3PAO assessment estimate where relevant.
- 03ScopeCUI scope reduction checklist
Boundary questions, enclave considerations, asset and vendor inventory prompts, and the common ways small teams accidentally enlarge their CUI footprint.
- 04VendorVendor decision scorecard
Questions and red-flag patterns to bring into RPO, C3PAO, MSP/MSSP, vCISO, and compliance-software calls. One scorecard per vendor category.
- 05ArtifactsArtifact readiness map
Where you stand on SSP, POA&M, SPRS score, policy set, evidence inventory, training records, and a shared-responsibility matrix, plus what to draft first.
- 06Plan30-day action plan
What to do this week, what to ask internally, what not to buy yet, and when to pick up the phone to an RPO, C3PAO, or MSP.
- 07OptionalQuote sanity check
Paste sanitized line items from a vendor quote (never CUI or contracts), and the pack flags scope risk, missing deliverables, and benchmark drift.
What the packet does, and what it doesn’t
- ✓Reading a CMMC quote without assuming the provider’s scope is right.
- ✓Comparing two provider proposals on apples-to-apples scope.
- ✓Building an internal case to a CFO or owner who has not yet seen the cost.
- ✓Walking into provider calls with structured questions, not vendor brochures.
- ✗Replacing a Registered Practitioner Organization (RPO) engagement.
- ✗Replacing a Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO).
- ✗Producing your final SSP or POA&M.
- ✗Any claim that you are CMMC-ready or compliant.
Why $249, not $49 or $4,900
A $49 packet would attract buyers who expect it to replace actual CMMC scoping work. It cannot, and that is not the buyer this is for.
A $4,900 packet would price out the small contractors who feel the cost pressure most acutely, and would push the product into consulting territory it does not occupy.
$249 is roughly what a contract attorney charges to review a one-page agreement. It is the appropriate cost-of-research line for a five- or six-figure procurement decision, and the fee is what keeps the directory independent of the providers it covers.