chig777

BDR

Valued Contributor

Selling to CISOs and CIOs in my new role, did not anticipate how well guarded they are..

Recently switched to cybersecurity and I did not anticipate how hard it is to break through to decision makers in infosec.. I mean, sure, dialing for dollars has always been hard but for the last 3 weeks, I have been constantly hung up on and bashed for even thinking I can approach it the way I had been.

Some were nice to offer me some advice like building a relationship, and looking at industry pain points, sending a very specific email that shows I did research but I am not having much luck booking meetings through cold calling..

Definitely still going through training and learning as I go but is this a sector where I need to hone in on my email and social selling skills? It's difficult to shift from calls lead to meetings mentality that got me through the last year. Thanks all!

🔎 Prospecting

👑 Sales Strategy

👥 Social Selling

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E_Money

Big Shot

8

💰

CISOs, CIOs, CTOs, etc are very hard to reach via call and basically non existent on social. I have had luck on email campaigns though.

chig777

Valued Contributor

1

BDR

Right?! So many with no social aside from linkedin.. was it an email campaign set up by your marketing?

E_Money

Big Shot

4

💰

noooooo no no no haha Sales Sequences written by sales people that were email heavy. Keep marketing away from these guys, they will just scare them off.

LordOfWar

Tycoon

5

Blow it up

These guys and gals are hounded hundreds of times every day, so managing your expectations is important. They are naturally defensive since that is their whole job.

As someone who hates getting cold-called (and monitors various inboxes), make sure you do your research before picking up the phone and try to avoid generic emails. Take their advice and do your research, build rapport and develop a real relationship before pushing any service. You can use that time to qualify/disqualify leads but keep in touch with those not ready as you never know who they might refer you to in the future.

If you can find a way to add value at no cost, do it. Give before take.

chig777

Valued Contributor

1

BDR

Yeah, my expectation was def shattered lol it looks like each outreach will take more time.. thank you for the advice

UserNotFound

Politicker

4

Account Executive

I just got out of this industry and can empathize. CISOs are the hardest, CIOs just need a bit of an ego stroke. Try meeting them at industry events. This is one industry where it's usually easier to get introduced in by someone lower on the totem pole.

Fun Fact: most CIOs don't know shit about IT and lean on their team to keep them abreast of new technology they might need. Now, that can go sideways on you if your champion is bad at internal politics (most IT guys are) so you have to play defense and offense at the same time in the same opp constantly. Moral of the story- get to some industry events, make friends, have them introduce you in UNTIL you begin getting those C-SUITE connections at your target companies.

chig777

Valued Contributor

0

BDR

This is great! I didn't know that about CIO's lol! Mind if I ask why you got out of the cyber? I am not sure what I got myself into lol

UserNotFound

Politicker

0

Account Executive

Oh man, you'll soon find out. BUT- a CIOs job isn't necessairily to know or understand how the tech works, it's to understand it's role in their organizations mission and continue driving toward that in an efficent manner. The important thing to know about it is CIO=people manager, CISO= certified technology expert. They are not interchangable and neither should report to the other.

I left because I got burned out working for small, local, tech providers that kept fucking me so hard you would probably call me a liar if I listed it all out. I think if you go to a corporate entity you're safe, and I got out of Cybersec but into a higher-ed SaaS product that I love.

The fact is- most companies don't fund technology as they should, yet the expect it to work as if they're throwing dollars at it. Then, its your fault if something goes awry. Compelling a C-Suite to fund a purchase or contract in Cybersec is so exhuasting, I got tired of constantly being in a position to sell to businesses I frequent knowing full well they do not take my own personal information's security seriously.

It was a cycle of me being frustrated in SMB, and once I got promoted to enterprise I got screwed on comp and went back to SMB just to hate it again. Lol.

chig777

Valued Contributor

0

BDR

wow, thank you for the insight. it sounds like you are in a much better place now, glad to hear it!

I will give it my best shot and see how it goes..! I have a lot of basics to catch up on so the CISOs don't dismiss me right off the bat haha

Notmyrealname

Politicker

4

AE

I don't plan on ever going back to ent cybersecurity. Almost impossible on outbound. Soul destroying.

chig777

Valued Contributor

0

BDR

Outbound is hard indeed.. I am learning fast haha how long were you in it for and what was your role if you don't mind me asking?

Notmyrealname

Politicker

1

AE

Did enterprise sdr for antivirus company for just under a year. Was first saas gig. Changed markets where IT didn't have to get involved until later in the process and only to support implementation and assess security. 100X easier

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

I often have the best luck meeting them at industry events and conferences. Be sure have your elevator speech down and know the value you can bring to them.

chig777

Valued Contributor

0

BDR

Thank you, I will be attending one soon!

ScopeCreep

Good Citizen

1

Regional Sales Manager

C level is always difficult…it’s sometimes best do lieutenant research or even vendor managers to build rapport. Also if you can find their assistant and make friends it can help.

C level is typically built to be business first and severe fuck you mentality. They are the best at making sweeping changes, which gives them the power to switch off human elements.

It’s about building trust and pain with those around them that are closest along with reaching out to them. If you can build any value outside of your product, they’ll trust you more.

Also, leverage your leadership’s connections to see if they have warm handoffs.

chig777

Valued Contributor

0

BDR

Ah so reach out to those closest to CISOs? That's a good plan.. and vendor managers! Are they the first ones that can open the door to decision makers? This is great, thank you

ScopeCreep

Good Citizen

1

Regional Sales Manager

No worries. Find the people that report in to the VP/C suite that are having pain and dig into that. Everyone wants to talk to the execs because we’re taught that they hold all the cash. The great part is there are other economic buyers in orgs…

Usually director and above holds some sort of budget. If you can get them in enough pain to love your product then they can possibly bring in the evasive line of business. The magical unicorn of software sales that holds unlimited budget. If you have all of that working for you, then you’re golden…

chig777

Valued Contributor

1

BDR

This is great, really appreciate the insight. I will make changes to my approach

CuriousFox

WR Officer

1

🦊

@braintank 👀

braintank

Politicker

1

Enterprise Account Executive

Customer references! 1 happy CISO can introduce you to 3 more.

chig777

Valued Contributor

0

BDR

@braintank Oh man.. I am a SDR just starting out haha I have a long way to go but I will keep the relationship based approach in mind! Any additional advice for a SDR starting out at a cybersecurity firm?

SaaSguy

Tycoon

0

Account Executive

Sometimes you need to work your way up or down the ladder to get to someone. I ideally want a CIO/CISO on a disco, and it may seem the most straightforward to cold call and email them - to your point they are well guarded. Set a meeting with a person on the CIO/CISO's team, build so much value they get their boss involved. Another approach, reach out to the COO/CEO and get them intrigued enough to bother their CIO/CISO to take a meeting.

Hoopnip

Politicker

0

Commercial AE

Most CISO’s know what technology is out there from talking to their peers. They usually make decisions on evaluating solutions before you even reach out. Most of the time a POC is needed to help solve internal problems. They also go to RFP to satisfy their board / company requirements but usually already know the products they need / want. Solve big problems and you’ll make big money…

Fnord

Praised Answer

0

VP of Sales

Check out the CISO series podcast they have some good tips on how to engage CISOs as a vendor.
I’ve been in cybersec for almost 5 years and I’m definitely enjoying it. One caveat: my customers HAVE to buy the products we sell because they are in regulated industries (government, B&FS, telco, etc) so it’s makes our lives easier.
Outbound is still hell with Infosec pro’s, so I’ve focused more on building good inbound engines. It took me 2.5 years to get a good inbound system in place, my SDRs appreciate it. We just made 130% our target last FY. Everyone’s happy.

chig777

Valued Contributor

1

BDR

Thank you for this great advice. I have been listening to the CISO series podcast since you recommended it @Fnord

It's my first role, and as a SDR, it has definitely been challenging and I question whether I am just spinning in a hamster wheel most of the times..

NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

0

Professional Day Ruiner

CISO's, CIO's, and directors of IT are more receptive to email I've found. If I make 100 cold calls a day I might have 2-3 people actually answer the phone if I'm lucky, and then you aren't booking every person that picks up obviously.

My strategy has always been market at the director level, then get them to be your champion at the C level. it works pretty well for me and the directors are the ones who are actually using your product on a daily basis anyway. Sell them on it and they'll be begging the c-level person necessary to get on the next meeting and take a look at it.

sleepingjaguar

Opinionated

0

CSM, Emerging Markets

Side note: how did you pivot into cybersecurity and what industry did you move from?

chig777

Valued Contributor

1

BDR

Apologies for the delayed response @sleepingjaguar I came from ed tech sales background and I got in through a friend. Are you looking to pivot?

sleepingjaguar

Opinionated

0

CSM, Emerging Markets

Wow, yes. I’m also in ed tech sales right now. I’m an account manager though, not new biz just as an FYI

chig777

Valued Contributor

1

BDR

Again, this is where a dm function would be helpful lol but happy to answer any questions or assist. I'm a SDR. sure, technical knowledge is helpful but it's really about learning as you go, and finding one or two unique areas that differentiates your services from others - at least on my end

sleepingjaguar

Opinionated

0

CSM, Emerging Markets

Of course, okay that makes sense. I just signed up for Bravado this week. Is there a DM function?

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