RSA is Near, Courtesy to Vendors
By Gideon T. Rasmussen, CISSP, CRISC, CISA, CISM, CIPP

The quote "Always be closing" is a mantra for sales professionals. With that in mind, here are tips in preparation for the RSA conference:

  • There are many vendors. In 5 minutes, what makes your solution a compelling way to mitigate risk?

  • There are two high-level themes I tend to focus on: (1) Restricting access to data and (2) Detecting and responding to an incident before it becomes a data breach. Where do you fit in?

  • The 80/20 rule is something execs are familiar with
    – For many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes
    – Addressing the 20% makes sense from a business perspective
    – How does your solution increase controls 20% to mitigate 80% of residual risk?

  • How does your solution integrate with other components of the InfoSec program, such as the Security Operations Center?

  • Staffing is tight. How does your solution help increase efficiency and capacity?

  • How much does your solution cost, all in (e.g. software, tiers of service, tech support, etc.)?

    So the challenge is you have five minutes. In most cases, that's it. Every vendor is asking for a follow up call. Sales related e-mail will go unanswered unless there is a compelling need and your solution appears to be a viable solution.

    Courtesy from the other side of the table... Brief your sales folks and happy hunting!

    Gideon


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