Crafting Your Cybersecurity Elevator Pitch
Good marketing for cybersecurity products and services is a fine balancing act. Security companies need to show prospective customers why security solutions are essential to the longevity of their business ventures. This needs to be done without coming off as pushy or telling tall tales. And often, it must be accomplished at a face-to-face touch point, within seconds or minutes.
Hence, the need for a thoughtfully crafted elevator pitch.
The elevator pitch—a very brief introduction of a company and its services, meant to be spoken within a minute or less—is an important part of a cybersecurity marketing arsenal. By striking the right tone and communicating value with sincerity, a good elevator pitch will encourage prospects to ask questions, learn more, and eventually buy the solutions they need.
The Importance of a Cybersecurity Elevator Pitch
You’ve heard the adage, “You only get one chance to make a great first impression.” Life often provides second chances, but in marketing, you want to optimize your message to hit the target the first time. And, given the complexity of security solutions and the education clients often need before they’ll buy, the first impression is super critical in the cybersecurity niche.
Cybersecurity sales reps must know what to say as soon as they meet with a client for the first time. Regardless of the buyer’s job title, the appropriate security salesperson should be able to deliver value under any constraints, whether it’s in a document or email, a conference room, office, or (ironically) the most unlikely place: an elevator ride.
Also, the elevator pitch, while often delivered in-person by cybersecurity sales staff to clients, can also serve as marketing reference material that helps guide and refine other campaign elements, such as Web copy and short video ads.
Three Essential Elements
When putting together a cybersecurity elevator pitch, you’ll need to have the following three components in the mix:
- What’s being offered? Here’s where the security salesperson simply states what the company does. It can be as simple as “systems security analysis” or “security engineering services.”
But, unlike the uninspired tax accountant that simply quips, “Oh, I’m a tax accountant,” when unexpectedly asked, the security services company needs to go further. If you stop at just identifying the services outside of any meaningful context, the elevator pitch will fall short.
- The benefits of the offer. This goes a little beyond the “what.” The question here is: What’s in it for the customer? From the client’s perspective, what are the practical, immediately-gained advantages of investing in security services?
Think of how cybersecurity clients’ lives are usually made easier: greater confidence in record-keeping and transactions, increased trust from their own customers, and fewer distractions posed by security concerns. Incorporate such benefits in the elevator pitch, and suddenly the client sees why the security solutions are worth it to them.
- Why clients should trust the offer. Let’s imagine this scenario: a cybersecurity sales rep is about 15 seconds into a 30-second elevator pitch. The deal is almost done, but as the client’s decision maker intently listens, he or she is still silently asking a crucial question, “Why should I trust you?”
Trust is paramount in marketing security services, and there are several ways to address this. One is to talk more about who the cybersecurity company is. Perhaps it’s the company’s years of experience, the pioneering of new technologies, or advances in security consulting that sets the offer apart from the rest.
To add even more credibility, quickly drop a mention of any awards, industry recognition, or positive press the cybersecurity company has garnered. All this can be effectively expressed within one or two sentences.
The above three elements can be arranged in any number of ways, but as long as those factors are included, you’ll have a winning elevator pitch.
Not Just One Pitch, But Several
Security clients vary, so marketers should help cybersecurity companies construct a variety of ready-to-go pitches. Depending on the client—for example, a public school system has different security needs than a software company—it might be important to mention one or two relevant stats or experience in serving a specific industry. Create several pitches based on customer profiles, and you’ll cover all bases necessary for reaching a diverse array of prospects.
The pitch might be delivered in a 45-second chance meeting with a decision maker on an actual elevator or in a face-to-face conversation at a conference. Or it might be a hypothetical piece, used more immediately to guide other marketing materials. Whatever the case, following the above tips will help you to craft a powerful cybersecurity elevator pitch. In the end, the security company will engage leads faster and gain new customers sooner.
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