Archive for the 'Sound Bites' Category

06
Aug
10

ATM Hacker – a System Most Assume Safe, but they’re wrong

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sound Bites and Video
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IT people continue to say they are covered while SMB business owners continue to operate with little to no security.  In many cases there isn’t even a tested back-up in place, yet they assume there is no immediate risk.  They are wrong – this demonstration of the recent Blackhat ATM hack is just one more example of how the “good guys” build systems that should be safe, only to find that hackers can eventually puzzle their way into the most secure systems.  If Barnaby Jack can do this, what can a worldwide network of cooperating hackers put together?

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28
Jul
10

Note to Star Alliance Partners…

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sound Bites
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Star Alliance – you know, USAirways and associated partners that make up the Star Alliance…a few comments for those involved:

1. If your website advertises online booking, it should work.

2. If you provide a phone number, in case of an issue, the customer should not be on hold for 45 minutes or more before just giving up.  Is there anyone actually there?

3. When the customer enters their information in and presses save – the information should be saved, not just 10% of it.  This would allow the customer to recall it once you actually get your website working again.

4. Don’t advertise “easy/fast booking” unless you can provide it – it only irritates the customer to read this while things keep crashing or hanging.

5. If you only support Explorer – you should state this on the website, but this is short sighted.

6.  When you finally do get through to the customer service people, they should be able to process the ticket right there.  The current process of having me send an email, wait on an email back, and then make another phone call in several days is ridiculous.

Customer service really is important!  Make a regular habit of seeing your business processes from the customer point of view!

27
Jul
10

SMB Sound Bites – Crime Targets SMB Businesses through The Web

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sound Bites
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Preparing for my workshop with Kaspersky today, I came across this great article on SMB cyber crime targets.  Some great sound bites as you speak with business owners who don’t feel like they need your help (the following are sound bite quotes from the linked article below):

1. Hackers and computer criminals have lately been turning away from the impenetrable security systems of large corporations in order to reap the fruits of the vulnerable small business sector.

2. A hefty portion of small business owners have little to no cybers ecurity at all… 1/5  of all small businesses don’t use anti-virus software, 60% have unencrypted wireless networks, and 2/3 do not have a proper security plan in place.

3. cybercrime is undergoing a new phase by switching its focus to the susceptible assets of small businesses…85% of all business fraud occurs in small to medium-sized businesses.

4. Web-based threats are emerging as the most common form of cybercrime…total online theft for 2009 alone totaled over $1 trillion.

5. …only 60% of Level 3 businesses (just one level above mom-and-pop shops) have complied with the Payment Card Industry’s Data and Security Standards

Here’s a link to the entire article: https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/5760-Small-Business-The-New-Target-for-Cybercriminals.html

02
Jul
10

Trouble finding urgent security risks – try the copy machine!

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
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Ignore the first 8 seconds of this video (advertisements), then take notes.  Every one of your clients has one – a copy machine.  This video explains where the risk is and how to demonstrate it.  It this doesn’t wake them up, nothing will.  But make it part of your risk assessment so that you can actually show the client copies of every document they’ve ever copied.  If they are leasing the machine, it may be another company’s documents.  In this video you’ll see documents downloaded from a used copy machine in a warehouse.  One system contains sex crime unit pages, another from a police department, and a third from a health care organization. The key to closing business is in finding something urgent – security issues always top the list, but they must be demonstrated.  Here it is – 100% likelihood  (originally reported on in April, but worth taking a look at right now…Thanks to Matt for passing this on).

© David Stelzl, 2010

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16
Jun
10

Sound Bites to Rock Your World, and Your Client’s

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
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Remember the sound bites….bits of information that come from credible sources like the Wall Street Journal or other mainline news sources.  I prefer ones that IT does not frequent – it widens the gap between what you know and their ability to hijack an executive level meeting.   A few pointers on sound bites:

  • I mostly post these on twitter now – make sure you are following http://twitter.com/dstelzl
  • You don’t need hundreds, you need a few hardcore, recent, security sound bites
  • They must be on the tip of your tongue – memorize them and practice them
  • Use them to grab your audience – make sure they are attention grabbing
  • Sales are emotional, sound bites are not.  Use the sound bites early on, then move to emotional sales stories.
  • Save them for management – not the technical people.  They don’t really care.
  • If you spend 15 minutes on this each morning, it will pay back a hundred fold!

Looking back at the information security sales training programs I’ve run, this has been one of the highlights for those who have attended!

© David Stelzl, 2010

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10
Jun
10

Free AV Software? Nothing is free…

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
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Just returning from MessageLabs in NYC…I was catching up on some reading and came across this alarming figure in USAToday: $163,167,539.95 in revenue brought in by fake AV software sales!  I get this with clients all the time – my customers are using free AV software, but this isn’t even free.  Check out how companies where duped into downloading and paying for fake AV software.  Then use this in future sales to combat the objections to working with specialists like yourself to bring in proven security products.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2010-06-07-scareware07_ST_N.htm

Also, make sure you are getting sound bite updates on my twitter feed: dstelzl or visit my blog and click on the blue bird. www.davidstelzl.com

© David Stelzl, 2010

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27
May
10

Channel Program Everywhere

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sound Bites
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Lots of channel talk out there…Juniper is revamping reseller training online to address complaints from their channel, Fortinet coming out with an MSSP program, probably in response to the SMB and midmarket growth in managed services offerings – of course all of the AV companies out there are doing this or headed that way, and numerous comments on the CRN forums concerning whether partners should be exclusive or committed to one vendor in a given area.  The problem with just about all of the programs out there is this: Vendors are not always addressing the root problem – resellers need more GP (Gross Profit).  This won’t come through install services, and increasing product sales doesn’t necessarily mean more GP either.  Sales must come earlier in the sales cycle with shorter sales cycles driven by high touch solutions, consulting, and low cost of sales in terms of people resources.  So what do channel managers need to do?

  • Understand the reseller profit model – it’s nothing like the vendor’s…
  • Provide sales training that focuses on selling, not speeds and feeds
  • Help resellers build your technology into solutions that drag other product areas within that reseller
  • Learn about marketing and help/support VAR marketing efforts
  • Clarify how deals are protected from direct reps and competition
  • Don’t over distribute which hurts the street price
  • Remember that GP is what matters – not revenue.
18
May
10

LinkedIn Profile Information Makes Selling Easier

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Marketing, Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
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A long time friend and colleague of mine is interviewing – so what does he do?  First he finds out who he will be interviewing with, then he heads to Linkedin to prepare.  Using the search features, he locates the people he’ll be interviewing with.  Since he upgraded, he can now see full profiles of people he is not linked to, allowing him to learn about their backgrounds, expertise, favorite books, and perhaps hobbies and interests.  Then going on to advanced searches, with his upgrade in hand, he can search for other titles within the company, learning more about the organization, who he might want to know more about during the interview process, and perhaps some of the people he knows, who are linked to people he’ll be meeting with.  From there, a few emails or phone calls may give him the insider advantage.  How about sales?

Are you leveraging this tool before going out on sales calls? It’s no different than my colleagues interview – he’s on a sales call just like you.  As I connect with different people I am finding many sales people are not keeping up their profiles, adding contacts, and doing everything they can to research upcoming meetings, while also creating an attractive profile for themselves online.  Two things you must do: Prepare for sales calls using the advanced features of LinkedIn, doing everything you can to learn about the people you will be meeting with.  Secondly, make sure you are up to date and attractive – assume those you are meeting with are checking you out online.  If you don’t have a great picture, get one.  Meeting someone with a face in mind makes a difference too.

© David Stelzl, 2010

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14
May
10

2010 Key Sound Bites for Selling

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
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They all say they’ve got it covered…no one does!  Here is a summary article from one of my contacts at DiData…great info, thanks Matt.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37115813/ns/technology_and_science-security/#storyContinued

Summary:

  • “Our systems are probed thousands of times a day and scanned millions of times a day,” – speaking of government defense systems…
  • “We are experiencing damaging penetrations — damaging in the sense of loss of information. And we don’t fully understand our vulnerabilities,” – Now I feel safe!
  • Hackers have already penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and have stolen intellectual property, corporate secrets and money, according to the FBI’s cybercrime unit. In one incident, a bank lost $10 million in cash in a day. (Yet your clients all have it covered!)
  • “We’re talking about terabytes of data, equivalent to multiple libraries of Congress.” – (But those in the SMB don’t need to worry – right!)
  • United States military would need to prepare for fallout from a cyber attack, which could leave cities in the dark or disrupt communications. – (If you don’t offer DR planning, you might reconsider)

When your clients say, “We’ve got it covered”, remember, most are just ignorant, some are lying.  Don’t take no for an answer – instead educate them on what is really going on, and drive forward with the sale.  Take advantage of my latest ebook on selling through assessments… it’s free!  http://www.stelzl.us/training/CreatingSales.pdf

© David Stelzl, 2010

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03
May
10

When Calling High is Painful

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Sound Bites and Wise Counsel
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Sometimes calling high (meeting with CIOs), works out and you get the deal. Other times they make you feel stupid and treat you like dirt.  When this happens, remember:

  • You are a profit center (if you are in sales), they are a cost center – overhead
  • You get paid on commission, generally commensurate with the work you put in
  • They are reliant on circumstances largely out of their reach, to make their bonus
  • If they display this type of inhumanity toward you as a sales rep, they probably have a handful of friends that only stay around for the perks.

Present your best face, constantly be a source of enthusiasm, and demonstrate genuine gratefulness for the position you hold, your mission to help others make wise buying decisions, and the opportunity for character development.

© David Stelzl, 2010

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