These Things Gotta Happen: Advice for Cyber Salespeople

My Italian American parents warn against the whole quoting-the-Godfather thing. But Clemenza so perfectly captures the expected cybersecurity industry downturn, that I can’t resist: “These things,” he said, “gotta happen every five years or so, ten years. Helps to get rid of the bad blood.”

The bottom line is that there are too many security vendors. Period. They are all chasing the same dollar with solutions so similar that our TAG Cyber analysts often can’t tell the heads from the tails. Here’s what no one is saying “Man, we need more security vendors.” And so, these things gotta happen.

Now – I want to talk to the commercial vendors here, and especially the comp’d sales folks trying to get their kid through Dartmouth. If you do security in enterprise, then you are welcome to listen in, but I’d ask that you remain quiet. You already make way more money than you ever expected – as do I. This note is not for you.

Anyway, if you make a living selling cyber and the sales calls are starting to slow up – well, I have some insights and suggestions to share. My views are based on four decades on this roller-coaster as a CISO, board member, advisor, practitioner, academic, vendor, sales pro, and startup founder. I’m not making this stuff up.

Let’s start with the Clemenza thing. During any downturn, the weak companies wither away – often rapidly, while the strong ones remain. And these winners usually end up better off than before the trouble started. The process tends to take about five years – or maybe ten. But let’s hope it’s more like five.

Sales success during a rough patch has little to do with the actual product. Or service. Or how many hours you spend on the road. Or whether your founder came from Unit 8200. No – the best vendors – the ones who will survive a downturn – thrive and sell because the entire team shares a common belief. Everything must start there. Belief.

Here is my claim: If your company is not built on a rock-solid foundation of belief, then you will have trouble selling in the next five years. Answer me this: Can you sell your company without mentioning the product? Can you sell what you stand for – versus just pointing to the five features your competitor lacks?

People buys based on shared beliefs. They connect with companies at a visceral level. And I’m not talking about POCs. I’m talking about long-term sales relationships where the customer is loyal and keeps buying – even when there is a downturn. That’s the key: They keep buying, even during a Mafia War.

Consider the most valuable company in our galaxy – Apple. They do not sell MacBook laptops (I have three) by comparing them to Windows PCs. If they did, then I’d be typing this article on a Dell. No, they built their company on the idea of thinking different. Everything they do reflects this. I also think I look cooler with a Mac. (Yea, I know.)

You need to think hard about whether your company meets this litmus test. Review the first three charts in your sales deck. If the title chart says that you reduce cyber risk, and the second chart says that Gartner loves your solution, and the third chart lists your cool features, then go find another company. And I mean that.

Look – getting rid of the bad blood is unacceptable when it actually means the Clemenza thing. I mean, obviously. But in business, I think that maybe this is not such a bad thing. The weak should be weeded out from time to time – and the stronger should get stronger. And note that strong does not mean large. Strong means strong.

Here’s what you should do: Get your sales team together (easier if you are the lead). Using index cards or Zoom chat, ask everyone to share what your company believes. Not what it does, but what it believes. Ask them to keep answers to a few short sentences. And don’t give them more than one or two minutes. This is not a novel.

If you need an example, here’s one: “At TAG Cyber, we believe that nothing is more important than practical experience. We believe advisory should be unbiased and honest. And we believe that analysts should work for purpose. They should give back to the community.” Notice that we don’t say what we do. We say what we believe.

Anyway – collect up the answers and read them to the group, listening for evidence of a belief system. If everyone says that your belief is that you stop hackers, protect business, or reduce risk, then go look for another job. That Dartmouth tuition is not getting any cheaper, so you’d be wise to act quickly.

Oh – and your belief system should be unique. Really unique. Many vendors say things like this: “We believe that security is vital to our society.” Well – yes, that sounds wonderful, but four thousand other vendors will agree 100%. Even more specific stuff can be redundant: “We believe cloud security is based on identity.” Uh, yea – sure.

Let’s hope that your team exercise reveals evidence of a proper belief system, one that customers can connect with. Maybe it’s belief in America, or in open source, or that bad guys need to be tossed in the brig (maybe y’all come from the FBI.) If you see such evidence, then you’ll probably be OK. Otherwise, go find another company. I mean it.

I have a feeling that many of you cyber sales folks will find this blog post to be uncomfortable. I’m sorry if that’s the case, but with downturns and other blood baths, there will always be winners and losers. I’m just trying to help you navigate your security sales career over the next five years toward better odds of success.

Good luck and let me know what you think.