Opportunities « Dave Stelzl's Blog

Archive for the 'Opportunities' Category

Apr

Ingram Micro Advanced Technology Webinar – Speaker David Stelzl

Categories: Audio Programs, Opportunities and Sales Strategy
Tags: blackberry, David Stelzl, ingram micro, iphone, selling security, technology speaker, webinar

Did you attend the Ingram Micro Advanced Technology Webinar on Accelerating Security Sales using The House & the Cloud? We had nearly 300 registered for this event yesterday…if you missed it, or if you didn’t know about it, Ingram Micro did record the session and has made it available online. Here’s the link for the playback:

CLICK TO HEAR DAVID STELZL’S HOUSE & CLOUD PRESENTATION

Don’t forget, you can also request a FREE copy of the House & the Cloud Book here…(CLICK), and there is also a live audio program available on how to sell using the House & the Cloud sales model (CLICK and scroll down to the MP3 on Executive Selling).

In this session we covered several important topics including:

Problems with the current approach resellers are taking to both sales and marketing.
The problem with most assessments – which leave the sales person with little hope to sell follow-on project and managed services business.
The problem with most sales presentations – leading to boring company overviews that drive your audience to their Blackberries and iPhones rather than listening to you.

From there we moved into several concepts that build a strategy that will lead you up the ladder, into your decision makers office. We talked about how to get to the right people and what to do when you get there. In the end, there must be solid justification. Listen in and see what I am talking about. Thanks for listening!

Apr

Making Money w/ Security Sales Training Day 3…

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: David Stelzl, House & the Cloud, p2p peril, security assessment, security author, security sales training

P2P Peril Link Updated

First, I continue to reference this article – P2P Peril, in my workshops. This article was written back in 2008, but is still highly relevant, providing some great catalyst for selling security when it comes to employees that work from home…I just updated the link on my blog – here’s the post I wrote: http://davidstelzl.com/2008/12/15/p2p-peril-great-sound-bites-for-security/ (with the link to the article)

The House & the Cloud

Yesterday we spent time discussing the House & the Cloud model (in our virtual sales class) – a model I use to gain access to the right people with the right message…you can request a free copy of this book in PDF format on the right-hand sidebar of this blog…While the book is not brand new, it does contain information that I continue to use in my executive facing educational events. Every person trying to sell security solutions should read this book – it’s free, so check it out.

Assessments that Sell

Today we are covering assessments – this seems to be the biggest hurdle as sales and technical people try to figure out what an assessment is for, and how it should be conducted. Who does it? Who should be involved from the client side? How much detail? The list goes on…the bottom line is, if the report finds urgent issues (which it should), and the client does not take action, the project team has done the client a disservice. I say that because the assessment should be performed with remediation in mind – if the client does nothing with an urgent issue, it’s usually because those liable for the company data were not involved, or that the project team failed to communicate the urgency to the right people in a way that compelled them to take action. There is simply no reason to charge money for a 50 page document that does not lead to action. So today we’ll be covering:

How to sell the assessment
How it should be conducted – from the selling perspective
How the results should be delivered

In order to accomplish this we will also need to cover the process of getting to the right people and asking the right questions. Take some time to evaluate your own assessment and discovery process. Do you have Asset Owners involved? Are your findings leading to remediation efforts? Does this eventually turn into managed services business? If not, you may be approaching this incorrectly.

Mar

Speaking to Business Owners in South Dakota; An Educational Security Event

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Demand Generation and Opportunities
Tags: David Stelzl, joint marketing funds, Managed Services, marketing campaign, marketing event, security, speaker, Technology, var

Note: Here’s my Hertz rental car at the Rapid City Airport – If they had known that I have seven kids, they would have also known that I only know how to drive big vehicles…

It’s a great day in Rapid City, SD – I love this job because I love events like the one we are doing today. Every business owner out there is working hard to build a successful company, and today is no different. 72 of these business owners and leaders are meeting today to gain insights on how to deal with information security as their business grows, and the threats increase. As they focus on their customers and offerings, someone has to sort out the technology, and figure out how to maintain it – keeping it secure, up, and running smoothly.

A local solution provider in town is sponsoring this event – we’ve been preparing for this over the past few weeks, looking at who should attend, who will benefit, and how to best address the issues businesses are facing. The exciting thing is, we have answers. We have an understanding of what these companies are facing, and we’ve put together a plan to address it. We have a way to show them the problem, a way to measure the effects it is having on their businesses, and a way to bring managed remediation to any issues that may exist. It’s simple to do, compelling, and valuable to both the sponsor and the attendee.

This is what we do – the technology business is not about selling the next widget, or even maximizing profits – it’s about the people you are serving through it; in this case, small and medium business owners and managers. The profit is a measure of your success in carrying out the mission. At the end of the day it’s a win/win proposition.

Mar

Accelerating Managed Services Sales: FREE Webinar

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Marketing and Opportunities
Tags: David Stelzl, selling firewalls, selling managed services, selling security, technology speaker

FREE Webinar: Accelerating Managed Services Sales, April 3, 2012 3:00 PM ET.

Yes, I am repeating this webinar – the waiting list from last week was big, and few cancelled, so if you missed it, I apologize. You can sign up here:

http://stelzlmrr2.eventbrite.com/

Tomorrow morning I am headed out west to speak to business owners on major threats closing in on their business. Most of the them have no idea how vulnerable they are – yet their data is their most important asset. Some of them are working on new inventions that will take their business to the next level, others are handling sensitive medical information protected by HIPAA and highly guarded by their patients, and still others are processing financial transactions, managing debt, and overseeing investments and bank accounts. These are the owners and business leaders of a city’s small business community – and they all have one thing in common; Data@Risk.

As someone who has sold security solutions, developed methodology, and overseen some very large security/risk assessments, I know first hand that it is easy to get in. I also know that most of these companies think they have it covered because they sit behind a firewall and run anti-virus software. Meanwhile we have companies like Nortel written up in the Wall Street Journal, having had hackers in the bowels of their company for over a decade, siphoning off, who knows what kind of data? It’s epidemic, and it’s urgent.

Attending our event we have over 60 decision makers – all from companies who would benefit from a managed services solution that includes security management. They need a way to detect problems before they get big, and a way to effectively respond…All of this points to managed services…on April 3rd, my goal is to show you what these people need, how to tell them about it, and how to justify the expense, making this a win/win for you and your clients. If you want to know how to build this side of your business, join me on the 4rd – we have limited seating, so sign up soon. Here’s the link again:

http://stelzlmrr2.eventbrite.com/

David Stelzl has a fresh perspective on the high-tech consulting business – he’s taken resellers from selling point products to providing high-end technology solutions, significantly increased company profits through the addition of consultative offerings and managed service programs, and has had the privilege of speaking to and training marketing and sales teams all over the world. As an example, he developed material and trained Cisco’s North American, Australia/New Zealand, and Asian sales forces on how to reach executive managers with a compelling value proposition; a message that grew Cisco’s advanced technology security sales by 38% in 2006, according to internal reports.

Visit us at www.stelzl.us to learn more.

Mar

Cybercrime – Companies are Losing This War (RSA 2012)

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities and Sound Bites
Tags: Cybercrime, David Stelzl, huffington post, rsa 2012, security products, security speaker

Cyber criminals are winning! This should be no surprise, but here it is again in the headlines – straight from the RSA conference…companies are losing the war and admitting it.

Huffington Post – Straight from RSA 2012: “Some 70 percent of employees in one survey cited admitted to subverting corporate rules in order to use social networks or smartphones or get access to other resources, making security that much harder.”

RSA was hacked last year shortly after the RSA 2011 conference using a simple “email with a poisoned attachment – which had been opened by an employee.” – this in turn gave hackers, “access to the corporate network and they emerged with information about how RSA calculates the numbers displayed on SecurID tokens, which was in turn used in an attack on Lockheed Martin that the defense contractor said it foiled.”

Speakers at RSA called 2011 “the worst year for corporate security in history” pointing to “the rise of activist hacks by Anonymous, numerous breaches at Sony Corp, and attacks on Nasdaq software used by corporate boards”

Most importantly – they all agree, “there is more to come.”

While all of this is bad for anyone running a company that relies on securing information to keep going (and that would be all of us), it also represents a huge opportunity like any major unsolvable problem does. Just like doctors and pharmaceutical companies working on heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other major health issues that plague our world, security professionals will profit from this as they rise to the occasion. I am amazed to see companies missing this opportunity after such a long track record of growth. It’s not over – not even close. If you are not in this business, it’s time to join the war against cybercrime. Your clients need it, and they are willing to pay.

Now, you might think I am wrong on that last comment. I just got off the phone with a VAR owner yesterday who questioned if his clients are really willing to pay. It has everything to do with your approach…people don’t see it, so they don’t believe it.

I have a client in the Northwest setting up his first executive-facing marketing event. After just a few days of advertising we have 18 business owners signed up (all asset owners – qualified buyers, and new prospects)! We haven’t even made calls yet – this is just the response to the marketing letter we mailed last week! The point is, we designed our marketing campaign correctly – this is not a product driven event, although it is absolutely sponsored by the product manufacturers. (That’s right – we did get JMF for this even though everyone keeps saying there is no money available for this type of event).

Working with another client on the east coast yesterday, we just completed our first webinar event. Again, the event was designed from the start to appeal to the asset owner. We had a strong call to action, and 90% of our attendees signed up to have their security assessed! This was just a webinar – it cost my client almost nothing to do it, other than time and some upfront education to do it right. His team attended the Making Money with Security event and applied the principles…not a bad return.

2012 looks like a strong year to me – for those focused on the right technologies. Join the war – it’s time.

Mar

Are you Looking to Grow Profits in 2012?

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: David Stelzl, information security products, marketing technology, reseller events, selling securty, speaker, VAR events

I just finished an exciting coaching session with the CEO of a large integrator in the US – exciting because his business is multiplying! Isn’t that what every integrator/solution provider is looking for? What’s the secret? No secret really – he just happens to be working hard in a space where there is significant growth; and the 2012 outlook looks just as strong as 2011 did. If you haven’t guessed it, he has a strong focus in the security market.

Read the Wall Street Journal and you will see a constant stream of articles focusing on trends and events in cyber crime and related security issues. You won’t see articles on VOIP, storage, server technology, or mainframes. Expect Apple to continue their growth, along with Google and other mainline brands such as Dell, but these won’t offer the same opportunity to the reseller. Only the security space offers this kind of potential.

In fact, my online security sales training class has really benefited from this. If you haven’t attended on of these, you should. We had strong attendance numbers in November, January, and February, and now, April’s class is 50% full. This supports another trend which is online collaboration using video and Webex like tools. While these tools may not offer all of the benefits of live sessions, there is a tremendous advantage in not having to travel for short internal meetings, yet still having a face to face conversation. I have found myself using Skype and Webex as I coach people all over the world. I even have an executive coaching relationship with the president of an up and coming software firm in India. The time zones cause some scheduling challenges, but nothing we can’t overcome.

Join us in April – more details here: http://mmws3.eventbrite.com/

I guarantee this class will change the course of your 2012 profit plan.

Feb

Event Marketing Webinar Follow Up

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Channel Management, Marketing and Opportunities
Tags: educational marketing, event marketing, marketing ideas, sales training, Technology Sales

This afternoon I had the opportunity to present Event Marketing tips to a large group on Webex. This is such an important topic, it needs more time. For those who missed it, and perhaps a refresher for those who attended:

1. Getting the right people is both the most important part, and the most difficult part. But, contrary to what most sales people believe, it is not impossible, and not even as hard as you might think. It just takes some strategy and time. While most people don’t really like call scripts, a well rehearsed script can do wonders. Some have accused me of making this into a robot sounding message, but far from it…you would never accuse Russel Crow or Brad Pitt of reading from a script, but they do it all the time. It’s just that they have practiced to the point of sounding natural. The fact is, if they just did their own thing, the movies they are in would fail. They use a script, but add their own personality to it. Once practiced, this is not hard to do.

2. Mistakes are common. I reviewed several serious mistakes even the most sophisticated companies make. Why do they make them? Simply because no one is really studying and optimizing this process. One simple mistake is not gaining commitment there in the meeting. A follow up program that starts an hour after the event will take a 75% response down to a 5% response and you’ll never really know what happened. You don’t want this to be salesy – but that doesn’t mean you don’t sell anything. I heard one woman refer to this as the Invisible Close. By educating attendees, and providing a place for them to get more of what you are talking about, you help them get what they need. This can be done professionally without sounding like an encyclopedia sales person. Much more of this is addressed in my audio series – Important topics from Vendor to Adviser…in fact there are 5 hours of critical concepts in this series.

3. Conversion is key. If you aren’t focused on conversion rate, there is no reason to do this event. There are customer appreciation dinners, but you don’t really need to spend this kind of time and money on IT level customers…there are a handful of customers that deserve this type of treatment, but not many. Instead, measure your conversion, and work on building the percentages. Focus on getting the right people, and test your messaging, repeating the same kind of program over and over. Make minor changes – and there are millions of secrets I have discovered, including reducing attrition, getting higher level audiences, using better topics, etc, that draw the right people and increase the rate of conversion. This is a science, not a hope…don’t be fooled into doing the event for as little as possible. Make a wise investment and get a strong return. That is good business.

Jan

Guatemala City: Day 1

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities and Real Life
Tags: guatemala, marketing training, security sales training, Technology

I arrived yesterday after connecting in Houston. Guatemala is a lot different than I expected, with it’s mountainous terrain and volcanoes – pictured left. The weather is great in this city, which sits about a mile above sea-level. My client tells me they don’t need heat or air conditioning in their homes. It’s just perfect all year around. Last night we dined at a nearby upscale restaurant, where we discussed some of the history as well as how my client’s came to be here. I am looking forward to our sessions on Tuesday as we take their sales team through the Making Money w/ Security workshop.

PS. Don’t forget, I have a live Webex based sales training program coming up later this month. You can sign up here: (CLICK)

Jan

Two Great Opportunities

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: informatiion security training, Making Money with Security, sales training

First, I have just announced a free webinar – Unlocking the Secrets of Event Marketing…this is online and free, but I only have a limited number of seats left. Feb 7th – read more and sign up here! (CLICK)

Also, we have scheduled another online Making Money with Security Class. I recently received an email from a rep who used this material to take his career up to one of the top two sales people in his global firm. In his email he makes the statement, “This was life changing!” Don’t miss this…we are half full and early sign-up discounts end on Feb 4th. Read more and sign up here (CLICK)

Jan

Anonymous – Expect Security Issues to Dominate Headlines

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities, Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
Tags: anonymous, hacker, Marketing, roi, sales, selling security, Technology, Value Proposition

Anonymous strikes again (read the Article)…if you look through news articles on technology in 2012, most likely you will find Apple, Google, and Anonymous dominating headlines…at least on the business side news (e.g. Wall Street Journal). Of the three, most of us stand to capitalize on security news more than Apple or Google, unless you work for the latter. Do you have a plan for 2012 that leverages security trends? You should. Of all my clients, those specializing in security experienced the greatest bottom line growth. Areas to consider:

1. Companies that offered managed services with a security slant (Messaging), grew the most. When I say “Grew”, I mean, profit. Who cares about top line growth? Manufacturers and very large resellers who are publicly traded, perhaps, but for the traditional reseller and even small, privately held manufacturer, gross and net are more important. Managed services, is always a “security” sale (but often not treated as one), and is the key to developing financial stability.

2. Assessments where also a hot topic. In my latest book, From Vendor to Adviser (which is doing very well since it’s release in late December – buy it here), I discuss the need to move into a more consultative approach using discovery and assessment strategies. Clients who have made this a core part of their business development strategy are building business faster and more profitably than any other group of clients I serve.

3. Marketing events continue to produce strong results! Lunch & Learn marketing has been around as long as I can remember, yet few can tell me how they are benefiting from these expensive and time consuming events – with the exception of those engaged in security. We continue to get large audiences, executive level attendees, and a very strong sign up (Conversion) rate – averaging 75%! Still, companies continue to try other things, looking for diversity and point product selling.

Today we kick off the first 2012 Making Money with Security workshop! (You can still sign up – starts at 1:00 PM). I am looking forward to exploring all three in detail. Those that master security sales, will win in 2012.