February 27, 2022

3 Biggest Mistakes To Avoid In Cyber Security Sales + 10 Pro Tips

Selling cyber security products and services can be a challenging process, but it's important to avoid making common mistakes. Here are 3 of the biggest ones, along with ten pro tips to help you succeed.

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Cybersecurity sales success should be based on helping customers protect themselves in line with their view of risk and associated profile. 

In order to sell cyber security, it is important to understand the customer's needs and make sure they are buying products that will help them reach their goals. There are a lot of reasons to pursue a career in cyber security. 

Across the board, cyber security roles offer competitive pay, growth opportunity, job security and exciting day-to-day tasks. Want to increase cyber security sales for your company? 

Learn the 3 biggest mistakes you can make when selling cyber security + How to sell cybersecurity with 10 pro methods!

According to Verizon's 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, large organisations were responsible for 72 percent of breaches, while small businesses were responsible for 28 percent. 

Small business breaches, on the other hand, were detected in days on average, but most large corporate breaches took months to uncover and resolve. That's a critical time gap that your prospects must close.

The types of assaults have also changed, with online applications accounting for 43% of all attacks (a 50 percent increase from the previous year).

How can you persuade prospects to trust your services or product as hackers become more skilled and attacks become more regular for both large and small businesses

The sale of cybersecurity products necessitates a high level of confidence. Continue reading if you want to develop trust with your prospects and expand your cybersecurity business.

The first mistake to avoid when selling cyber security is not understanding the customer. 

Make sure you know what the customer's goals are and how your product can help them reach those goals. 

It is important to remember that cyber security isn't a one size fits all solution, so make sure you are tailoring your pitch to fit each individual customer.

The second cyber security sales mistake to avoid is making the sale all about you. 

Make sure that your customer knows what's in it for them when they buy cyber security products or services from you, not just why cyber security matters. 

Don't be shy to explain how cyber can benefit their organization and solve some of their biggest problems!

The third cyber security sales mistake to avoid is not being prepared. Make sure you know your product inside and out, as well as the competition. 

This will help you answer any questions the customer may have and close the sale.

Using the fear factor as a starting point

It's critical that your prospects are aware of the dangers of cyberattacks. So, should you start your sales pitch with horror stories about organisations that have been hacked?

Certainly not.

Companies should purchase cybersecurity software or services for a variety of reasons, including ensuring compliance with government security regulations, being prepared for future threats, and instilling trust in their consumers by having the appropriate security measures in place

When you try to lead your pitch with fear and doubt, it's easy to backfire: you'll wind up sounding untrustworthy yourself. In sales, earning and retaining trust is critical.

Assuming your prospect is familiar with your product.

According to a study conducted by Cyber Streetwise and KPMG, 51% of small firms believe it's improbable or extremely unlikely that they'll be targeted for a cyber assault, and 71% of those who have never had a breach believe that reputational harm isn't a major concern.

Many organisations, understandably, are preparing for possible security breaches. Many people aren't aware of the dangers.

That means you'll have to change your pitch.

If you believe your prospects value cybersecurity as much as you do, you risk overlooking the genuine benefits of your product.

So, before you go into detail about your solution, make sure you know how well-informed your prospect is on cybersecurity and whether or not they are aware of the risks. 

What criteria do you use to determine your prospect's degree of understanding? 

During the sales qualification process, by asking the proper questions.

After all, you can't offer a solution to a prospect who doesn't believe they have a problem.

Now that we've covered some of the biggest cyber security sales mistakes to avoid, let's look at ten pro tips for selling cyber security!

The first pro tip for selling cyber security is to start with the problem. 

Help your customer understand why they need cyber security and what problems it can solve. 

Once they see the value in cyber security, it will be easier to sell them on your products or services.

The second pro tip for selling cyber security is to make sure cyber security is a priority in your organization. 

This will help cyber security become a focus for the entire company and show that cyber matters to everyone, not just you.

When it comes to security, each company has its own priorities and objectives. Perhaps they wish to give their consumers more trust by adopting infosec products or services to better protect their data. 

Perhaps they don't want to get fined if they don't follow the rules. Perhaps they're looking for ways to keep a newly remote crew safe.

Before you start pitching, you should figure out what this prospect's top priorities are.

Consider how you may begin your pitch by emphasising the need of printer security. 

After a few minutes of talking, you learn that this prospect has lately transferred the bulk of their teams to the cloud and has eliminated the majority of their printers. 

Security solutions for their remote staff were what they really required.

Don't be the guy who does it.

Instead, concentrate on their priorities first, then build your proposal around their company. This will not only save you time and efforts, but it will also increase your chances of piqueing their attention.

The third pro tip for selling cyber security is to make sure you have all of the tools necessary before making a sale. 

In order to sell cyber security products or services effectively, it is important to have a complete understanding of what you are selling. 

This includes having demos, case studies and other materials ready to show the customer.

The fourth pro tip for selling cyber security is to be patient. Don't try to rush the sale or push the customer into making a decision before they are ready. 

Let them take their time and make sure they understand all of the options available to them.

The fifth pro tip for selling cyber security is to be honest. 

Make sure you are upfront with the customer about any potential risks or problems associated with your products or services. This will help build trust and show that you have their best interests at heart.

The sixth pro tip for selling cyber security is to stay up-to-date on the latest cyber security news. 

This will help you better understand your customer's needs and keep your products and services up-to-date with the latest cyber threats.

The seventh pro tip for selling cyber security is to create a long term relationship with your customers. 

Once you have sold them cyber security products or services, stay in touch and continue to provide them with support. 

This will help ensure that they are getting the most out of their cyber security investment!

The eight tip for selling cyber security is to have great cyber security product knowledge. 

Selling cyber without being able to answer all their questions will leave the customer feeling unsatisfied and may lead them to seek another solution that they view as better or more complete. 

For example, if you're unable to answer a customer's question about your product, they may view this as an indication that you don't really understand cyber security yourself.

The ninth pro tip for selling cyber security is always ask open ended questions instead of closed-ended ones because it gives you more information about the customer and their business. 

Closed-ended questions can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." For example, instead of asking, "Do you have cyber security in your company?" ask, "What is cyber security like in your company?

What do you see as most important about it?


The tenth pro tip for selling cyber security is to always have an answer to this question: what's in it for them? 

Asking this question early on in the sales process will help you better understand the prospect's needs and what you should highlight in your cyber security pitch.

Advice for Sales Professionals


Greer-King has worked in sales and customer-facing roles in a variety of industries, including industrial automation, personal computers, office automation, networking, and cybersecurity. She believes that one of the keys to success is to keep learning.

"I've learned a lot through the years, and I've learned a lot by my mistakes." If you don't fail, it appears to me that you aren't pushing yourself hard enough. 

Of course, reflecting on and learning from the experience is also a difficulty. Learning happens gradually, but only if you're willing to try new things, are able to listen, and are always pushing boundaries," he told Help Net Security.

Another requirement for a successful sales profession is an understanding of interdependence.

Independence is a trait that is frequently sought in specific jobs such as sales, yet it is self-centered. Cooperation and teamwork, on the other hand, are the foundations of success.


One of the most important lessons I've learned over the years is that you need smart people around you — brilliant individuals who are aligned with the overall plan and working toward a shared objective can do amazing things.

Finally, he claims that a year-long senior leader development programme he completed recently taught him that successful leadership isn't just about great leadership from the top, but also about one's capacity to adapt to changing situations and individuals.

He added, "Leadership necessitates listening, motivating, the implementation process, advising, mentoring, and so much more."

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Heba Arshad

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