Find My Catalyst Podcast Connecting Security, Technology, Leadership and Sales - Guest Mike Kail - 131
Mike Kail is the CTO of Everest.org, with over 25 years working in technology companies from large to early-stage startups.
We discuss Security, SecDevOps, Sales and Software Development Alignment, Sales Rep Outreach, Compensation, Leadership, Focus, etc. This discussion crosses a number of different critical areas that will impact your organization.
Thank you Mike for joining us this week - the discussion was awesome.
Questions Addressed- What are some lessons Mike learned as he has become more experienced on the sales side of the equation?
- Why do sales reps forget empathy?
- If Mike's working with a vendor, what are some questions a rep can ask to reveal timeline, focus, plan?
- How often does Mike delegate research to other members of the team? Where does collaboration fit?
- How can we build better rapport?
- How often does Mike see the same type of outreach communication?
- What is DevSecOps?
- Why do people worry about security teams in the organization?
- What Leadership traits are necessary in successful organizations?
- How do you create better alignment to support the building of culture?
- Technical founders tend to focus on the how. Alternatively, focus more on the why, the business problems that you address.
- Maintain a partnership vs a hands-off relationship.
- It is difficult to read the context.
- Hope and desperation fuel sales tactics, this is never good.
- Layout the "Why Strategy" on a proper timeline.
- Spamming and hoping something sticks does not work.
- "Don't make your problem my problem" - Mike
- There is nothing magical in the end of quarter theory.
- Questions to consider.
- Is this tied to something larger?
- What are the side-effects?
- Who are the cast of characters?
- How will this impact the business?
- Ask questions, set expectations.
- Establish communication protocol sooner rather than later.
- Play poker - learn how to read tells.
- Transparent conversations are important, build relationships, earn trust.
- Be personal, do the work.
- If you are going to send canned messages - remember to edit.
- DevSecOps - helps to make security a first-class citizen.
- There has been a shift from control based to more contextual
- Sometimes security is perceived as a weapon. In less forward-thinking orgs it may be perceived as a checkbox.
- Involve security early in the discussion.
- The security team does not need to be software engineers, but they need to understand how security impacts or should be considered in the pipeline.
- Software engineers should be aware of security hygiene.
- Culture of transparency, open communication, empathy, are all important. You can't play the blame game.
- In a disagreement, take the position of the other person, start solving problems, and not worry about who is right.
- In many organizations, the sales data is about reporting up, and does not include context.
- Design is important in security, operations, and sales.
- Empathy - in the DevOps world you have a post mortem, which is blameless. Think about how this can apply to your sales organization.
- Post-Mortems - there is value in having them not be "anonymous"
- Two foundational leadership traits - Trust & Respect
- You are on the same team.
- Identify your north star, and remind people of that.
- Everybody is human.
- Early technical founder - trying to improve sales - focus on the why, the value proposition, the business impact.
- How are you taking an operational oriented approach to your business?
- Think about how you can apply the post mortem in your organization.
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In every business, in every opportunity, there is someone who can help you navigate the internal challenges and close the deal. There is a Catalyst. We integrate process (Catalyst Sale Process), technology and people, with the purpose of accelerating revenue. Our thoughtful approach minimizes false starts that are common in emerging markets and high-growth environments. We continue to evolve our practice based on customer needs and emerging technology. We care about a thinking process that enables results versus a process that tells people what to do.