Day 3 started our first day of a three day workshop on developing security sales.  Our topic: Making Money with Security – the Power of Security To Open New Doors…we have people from all of the major cities attending, including Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, as well as some from New Zealand.   A few key take-aways from day 1:

1. Great messaging is more important than great products – of course the product must work, but a lack of great messaging will kill any good technology.
2. Sales people must make it a priority to study marketing concepts.  Marketing is a science as well an an art and is sorely lacking in most sales efforts.
3. Security products require a risk based justification model.  ROI is a poor choice and waiting on budget and customer need is purely opportunistic.  You’ll never consistently achieve quota with either approach.
4. General account managers may not give security the attention it deserves, especially when it is a small part of the overall deal revenue.  It is incumbent on overlay sales, presales, and security division managers to demonstrate the importance of security and it’s power to open new doors of opportunity.
5. Being demoted by asset owners is a surface problem.  The root problem is poor messaging and a lack of risk focused justification.
6. Every company has an urgent security need.  Your job is to discover it and present in with compelling messaging.
7. Security jargon diminishes all urgency – effective security proposals are delivered verbally, to asset owners, in business language, with a focus on impact and likelihood.

Our day ended with dinner outdoors in front of the Opera House with a beautiful view of the city skyline and bridge pictured above.

PLUS: 5 great things about working in Sydney:

1. People show up on time!

2. Seating fills in from the front (rather the rear as in most US events)

3. Fast food is limited, so people tend to be more alert after lunch.

4. The city is safe so you can walk to work or dinner if you are staying in the city.

5. I really enjoy the Australian accent which they tell me is much different than the British accent, although I really can’t tell.

© 2010, David Stelzl