Decision Makers Only Care About This One Thing

Power Up by Empath Cyber

In today's rundown:

• 📈 Decision Makers Only Care About This One Thing

• 🔥 Come see Wes at the Huntress Cybersecurity Masterclass!

Read time: 5 minutes 👇

What’s up Empath Power Up family! This week I’ve been in famous Las Vegas at CompTIA’s ChannelCon event! What a whirlwind! I got to celebrate being a first time author alongside Juan Fernandez, Marnie Stockman, and Matt Lee! All proceeds for the book go to free CompTIA certifications for folks wanting to learn in the industry. I’ve got to admit, it was really rewarding to have the opportunity to give back to the MSP community around me.

Buy the book and support our efforts today on Amazon!

Decision Makers ONLY Care About This One Thing!

While at ChannelCon, I had a really interesting conversation with my friend, CNWR President Jason Slagle about what your decision makers and clients actually care about when it comes to all things cybersecurity (and IT). He said to me:

So well said. We often shift to so many other things that matter far less to decision makers. We can so easily knee jerk to things like quality, our experience, best practice, or their need to be compliant.

And all of these things are important, no doubt. But I ask you this: are those things what the client cares about the most? No. We need to always remember that our decision makers care about just one thing: outcomes.

“What do I get for the spend that I’m committing?”

We like to call it an investment, don’t we? Why is that? Because we want to shift the mindset of the decision maker into one of return (and value) on spend. So call it an investment if you wish. But does the client see their spend as an investment?

How do you shift their mindset on cybersecurity from spending into investment? By focusing on outcomes.

What outcomes does the client expect? When you deliver upon these outcomes, decision makers will always think: “Okay, that was money well spent. I got a return out of that. So yeah, that was a good investment.”

But here’s the real secret: you don’t know what outcomes the client expects until you ask. And sometimes those expected outcomes are wrong. Uh oh. When that happens, misalignment will brew into an eventual unhappy client. And so begins the downward spiral of churn.

So change every relationship with your decision makers by asking a question like this: “Ms. Client, I’m curious what success looks like for you in your cyber investment.”

The brilliance of this question is that it can lead to all sorts of answers. All of which are amazing starting points. Sometimes the client may have no real answer. They’ve never thought about what return on investment might look like.

Or they come back with a real negative like “probably nothing. I’m only doing this because my supplier is forcing me.”

Or a misaligned answer like “so I don’t get hacked!”

Every one of these answers are opportunities for us to educate and align the client back to the real outcomes they should expect. I’d recommend shifting the conversation back to their business. Like this:

“That makes sense Ms. Client. But I’m curious about your business as a whole. What are your goals for the year? Any new revenue goals? Or maybe some new client acquisitions? Or a market expansion? Because we’re really focused on aligning our services with your goals. We’ve seen how unprepared cybersecurity incidents can completely destroy those goals and sideline a business for months.”

And you go from there. The client may get it right away. Or they may be curious how a cyber incident could possibly damage their goals for the year. Regardless, you’ve shifted the narrative into a new outcome.

One that attaches directly to what they care about the most. The success and future of their business. Now all of a sudden, cybersecurity spend really does feel like an investment.

And there’s ancillary benefits, too. All of a sudden you can use this same methodology of thinking to expand into greater IT service delivery in addition to cybersecurity. Imagine the conversation now shifting to: “Ms. Client, I’m also curious how technology can support all your business objectives in addition to cybersecurity.”

I’m curious to hear from you! This may not happen overnight, but do you have a success story to share on business outcomes? If so, drop me a reply and let me know!

Come See Wes at the Huntress Cybersecurity Masterclass at a City Near You!

We all know the folks at Huntress are amazing. Some of the best in the industry. So I’m proud to announce something exciting! Empath Cyber is teaming up with Huntress for a Cybersecurity Masterclass event!

Do you want to be more confident in your MSP cybersecurity offering? Struggling to effectively communicate its value to clients? Register for the Cybersecurity Masterclass and learn how to overcome these challenges and build a world-class cybersecurity practice. This local, half-day event will empower you with the knowledge, skills and strategies you need to build your security offering with confidence, deliver on your promises to clients and prepare your team for effective incident response—and we'll bring it all to your neighborhood.

August 16, 2023 | Chicago, IL
August 17, 2023 | Orlando, FL
August 29, 2023 | Dallas, TX
August 31, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA

Want to join us? You need to register ASAP as we’re filling up crazy fast! 👉 So register today before it’s too late! 🚨

That's all for now!

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• https://www.thecybercast.com/

• https://twitter.com/wes_spencer

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