Stop selling security like it’s the power tools aisle at your local hardware store. 

Start building a strategy. Start with a plan. Then pour the foundation. 

I got an email from a partner this week. It started with the usual line: 

“We’re not sure we want to sell Cyber Liability Essentials. We don’t want clients thinking they don’t need real security.” 

Let me tell you what I told them. 

You’re not helping your clients by skipping the fundamentals. 

You’re exposing them—and yourself. 

You’re exposing them because, at some point, the hackers are going to get through your defenses. And when they do, how will you respond? What will you do? And just as importantly, what do you have documented to defend the decisions and actions you took while you were busy selling them every tool that promised to prevent this from happening in the first place? 

Tools Don’t Stop Hackers—or Protect You 

Let me guess. You sold the stack. 

The firewall. The MDR. Maybe even a shiny new SIEM. 

Heck, you might’ve thrown in simulated phishing and called it a day. 

It doesn’t matter now. Because now you’re in the middle of an incident. 

You’re trying to kick the hacker out of the system—and you’re about to explain to your client why it happened. 

Next comes their cyber insurer. 

They’re going to ask whether you met the requirements in the policy. 

Translation: “Did you do what you said you would?” 

They’re going to want to know: 

  • Do you have a documented incident response plan? 
  • A signed Acceptable Use Policy? 
  • Evidence that users received cyber awareness training? 

No? 

Then you’re not the hero. 

You’re the villain. And you’ve just taken center stage in a courtroom drama you never wanted to star in. 

Cyber Liability Essentials Isn’t a Feature 

This isn’t about whether your client has a SIEM. 

It’s about whether you can defend the decisions you made before—and the steps you took after—the breach occurred. 

Cyber Liability Essentials gives you the paper trail: 

  • The IR plan they assumed you wrote (you didn’t). 
  • The Acceptable Use Policy they thought was already there (nope). 
  • The awareness training that maps to the rest. 
  • The risk acceptance forms that say, “Yes, we told them. They declined.” 

This isn’t about covering their environment. 

It’s about covering your ass. 

Your Clients Already Think You’re Doing This 

Have you told them you’re not managing their documentation? 

Have you priced out an IR plan and given them the opportunity to say no? 

Because if you haven’t, guess who gets the blame when it turns out they didn’t have one? 

Here’s a fun legal phrase for your next QBR: breach of duty. 

If you didn’t warn them—and you didn’t get it in writing—that’s negligence. Full stop. 

You’re Selling Fire Extinguishers in a Burning Building 

Look—I get it. 

Clients push back. They’re burned out. 

They don’t want another line item on the invoice. 

You’re trying to protect the relationship, keep margins intact, not rock the boat. 

But here’s the reality: 

If you’re offering advanced tools without a baseline liability framework, you’re the liability. 

You don’t start with SIEM. 

You start with the plan. 

You start with documentation. 

You start with a program that says: 

“Here’s what we offer—and here’s what happens when you say no.” 

You provide them with a risk acceptance document. 

That’s not a product. 

That’s the beginning of your legal defense strategy. 

Want to Know Where You Stand? 

Want to understand how this really works—and what to do next? 

Join us for the Cyber Liability Live Cast. We’ll break down: 

  • How MSPs are getting pulled into lawsuits 
  • The real legal exposures you’re ignoring 
  • And the exact steps you need to protect your business (and your clients) 

Start with a strategy. 

Then pour the foundation. 

And stop selling security like it’s something you can get off the shelf in aisle seven.