cyber-stackCybersecurity is top of mind for nearly everyone right now. It’s in the news nearly non-stop in the 24-hour cycle. Business leaders are talking about it. SMBs are particularly vulnerable to these attacks.

Even with growing cyber concerns by business leaders, many MSPs are struggling to communicate the necessity of their cyber stacks in a way that clients understand what they are and why they need to invest in them.

Here are 4 ways to make sure they understand the value in your cyber stack:

Accountability—business owners and decisionmakers understand risk. Right now they might assume that you are completely responsible for all of their risks in regards to cyber attacks and cybersecurity. Unless you clearly define the risks they have and communicate what they are ultimately responsible for, you will have a much easier time getting them to agree to invest in their cyber stack.

Employee security hygiene—one of the big black holes when it comes to cybersecurity in SMBs is not being able to see who within an organization is risking the business. Yes, phishing training and awareness videos may be a good start, but neither gets down to showing anyone what the consequences are in the event that One of the easiest ways for SMB leadership to understand their network risks is to see what would be exposed in the event of a phishing attack or network breach.

Recovery plan—every business in 2021 should have a ransomware recovery plan. If you aren’t getting your clients to think about this, they probably aren’t understanding why they would invest in your cyber stack. By working through a recovery plan (I’d do this at an annual meeting with company leadership), you are likely not connecting the dots for them in terms that they understand. Working through the recovery plan and preventative measures (aka your stack) will make it so much easier to get someone to agree to spend money on something that is intangible.

Start each fiscal year with a new stack assessment—I know many of you already know my stance on cyber stacks. You need a model year. Why? Threats in 2021 are far different than 2020 (2019, 2018, etc.). If your clients think they’re safe because they purchased something from you five years ago, they likely are severely under-investing in the tools they need to protect them today.

If you start your conversation about investing in your new model year’s cyber security and reevaluate their network with a stack assessment (we often call these penetration tests), you will be more successful at getting them to understand the importance of keeping up with cybersecurity. Unless the clearly see their risks and you can link remediation of those risks with your new stack, they won’t want to invest more. And if they don’t invest in their security, you’re faced with a very difficult predicament of likely assuming their risks.

So… what can you do right now?

Get a cyber stack evaluation to see how your network is performing and how to copy the process for your clients. We are currently offering a free stack analysis to help the MSP community.

ALSO… Attend our next Super Sales Friday session specifically on developing and selling a cyber stack. Cyber stacks should sell themselves. If you’re having a hard time getting your clients to invest in cybersecurity, you’re likely doing something wrong. This session is for you.