There's a massive disconnect between product/solution providers and the people building cybersecurity programs in the industry. The programs are built to standards.  So what if product companies start building products to meet those standards? Product vendors should be able to (but often can’t) tell what type of program they are building to and how they meet the controls inside that framework.  We need to have risk management and to be able to make decisions.  We need to shape people's thinking around and away from this auditor, pure “black and white” view in order to bring positive changes to the industry. Brutally honest insights from Brian Haugli, CEO of SideChannel, Former F500 CISO & CSO and Founder of RealCISO.io. In this episode, Dani Woolf had a conversation with Brian about his challenges, goals, what vendors do that piss him off, and the alternatives. Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1400+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

Purple, red, orange, green, blue teams - there's this whole security color wheel. We need to realize that we all play a part in the same cycle and we could all work together a lot more effectively than if we work against each other. So when everyone's collaborating, talking and understanding their part - all the colors combine. This is one big, beautiful security utopia called white teaming. Brutally honest insights from Maril Vernon a.k.a SheWhoHacks, Offensive Security Engineer, Purple Teamer, COO of Teach Kids Tech and Co-founder and Co-host of The Cyber Queens. In this episode of Audience 1st Podcast, Dani Woolf had a conversation with Maril about her challenges as an offensive security engineer and purple teamer, her goals, what vendors do that piss her off, and the alternatives. They uncovered How did Maril get into the cybersecurity industry? Is having a creative background (or even a business background) helpful working in the tech industry? Why is providing diversity so important in the tech industry? What does Maril hate most about the cybersecurity industry? Maril’s bleeding neck challenge as an offensive security engineer and a purple teamer What's Maril’s ultimate goal as an offensive security engineer? How does Maril vet solutions as an offensive security engineer? Questions an offensive security engineer may ask in their buying decision-making process What kind of tools could you pitch to a purple teamer? What kinds of things do they look for to make their job easier? Where does Maril usually look for and find the necessary tools? Cardinal rules security vendors, marketers, sales, what's above, below, in between, are breaking And more! Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1400+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

In a world overflowing with buzzwords and sales tactics, Dani Woolf and George Kamide have joined forces to investigate the gaps between cybersecurity vendor marketing strategies and the actual needs and expectations of cybersecurity leaders. Their recent study aims to illuminate how vendors market, position, and message their products and services, and how these strategies align (or don't) with the evaluation and purchasing behaviors of cybersecurity leaders. This candid conversation, hosted by Chris Cochran, promises to challenge the status quo, providing a fresh perspective on cybersecurity marketing and sales. Tune in to learn, engage, and transform the way you approach your marketing and sales strategy. Don't miss this chance to cut through the buzzwords and jargon, and get down to what really matters. Download the 2023 RSA Conference Messaging Analysis and Buyer Research Report: https://www.audience1st.fm/2023-rsa-conference-messaging-analysis-buyer-research-report  

With the accelerating proliferation of cyber threats, a challenge at hand involves addressing the human attack surface - the interaction point where end-users, such as employees or clients, can be targeted by malicious cyber actors. It is the human element, as much as any technology, that often forms the root cause of most compromises. Brutally honest insights from Matt Polak, CEO of Picnic Corporation, and Jeff Farinich, CISO of New American Funding. In this episode of Audience 1st, Jeff, Matt and Dani uncover: How security practitioners are approaching the problem of the root cause of the majority of compromises - the human element The barriers to success when it comes to human attack surface protection How CISOs justify new spend on human attack surface protection solutions in environments where budgets are flat/declining How technologies like human attack surface protection tools change practitioner workflows Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1400+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

There's a constant drive in the cybersecurity field to not just sell, but to sell in a way that's attractive or groundbreaking—almost as if companies are compelled to constantly outdo each other in originality to meet their audience's inflated expectations. Evgeniy laments that the industry's focus has strayed too far from fundamental tasks towards more creative, attention-grabbing ones.  The importance of basics needs to be reaffirmed as an antidote to the intoxicating and potentially misleading influence of hype. Evgeniy indicates that practitioners can adopt a more systematic approach to their decision-making processes to avoid succumbing to industry hype.  Brutally honest insights from Evgeniy Kharam, Cybersecurity Zero Trust Architect and a Founder of Cyber Inspiration Podcast. In this episode, Dani Woolf had a conversation with Evgeniy about his challenges, goals, what vendors do that piss him off, and the alternatives. Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1400+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

If you’re working your way into a CISO's inbox: Take a more humanizing approach and cultivate trust-based relationships. It’s important to draw the line between an appropriate business outreach and a stalker mode. Be willing to be vulnerable because it's going to really benefit your career and do good Brutally honest insights from George Al-Koura Al Koura, Co-Host of Bare Knuckles & Brass Tacks Podcast and CISO of Ruby. In this episode of Audience 1st, Dani Woolf is had a conversation with George about his challenges, goals, what vendors do that piss him off, and the alternatives. We uncovered: Why are so many people in the military getting into cybersecurity after service? What does George hate most about the cybersecurity industry? What is a humanizing approach to sales outreach and how does it affect CISO? As a CISO, what's George’s one bleeding neck challenge and what's the ultimate goal he’s trying to achieve? Are there any differences or anomalies right now in the market that sales pros and marketers can learn from to take advantage of? What does a valuable, trust-based relationship look like digitally? What are some cardinal rules security vendors, marketers, and sales teams are breaking these days? Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1300+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

When a CISO starts evaluating a new product, they start evaluating the people they’re going to work with and only then evaluate the vendor from a technological perspective. Because at the end of the day they do business with people, not just with products. Building brand awareness and trust is very important. Why would you give access to your financial accounts if there’s no trust? Brutally honest insights from May Brooks, CISO, Founder and Chairwoman of the Board of Helena Cybersecurity Awareness. In this episode, Dani Woolf had a conversation with May about her challenges, goals, what vendors do that piss her off, and the alternatives. We also covered: What May does from a day-to-day basis as a cybersecurity expert and what’s her ultimate goal. What is May’s one bleeding neck challenge right now as the deputy CISO? What is the ultimate goal May’s trying to achieve as a security practitioner? What are ways that May evaluates people within a potential vendor? What are differences or anomalies salespeople and marketers can learn from in order to stand out in CISOs’ eyes. How would a salesperson or marketer understand a CISO’s priorities best? What would be the way to extract that data not under an NDA? Why is building brand awareness and trust so important in cybersecurity? Cardinal rules security vendors, marketers, and sales teams are breaking these days.  Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1300+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers:https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

A marketer, seller, and CISO meet in a LinkedIn Live after RSA Conference You finish the rest. Or join Andres Andreu, Maria Graham, and Dani Woolf to unveil their top insights from this year's 2023 RSA Conference from their lens of the world. Tune into Audience 1st Podcast to: Get a first-hand overview of what it was like at RSAC this year Understand major hits and misses at the expo Explore how to bridge gaps discovered in the industry during the conference Learn how events like these helped progress growth Discover best practices for engaging your audience at large events like RSA and more! Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1300+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

Today, as a cybersecurity seller, being a technical and a business person is very relevant.  But in order to keep up with the pace of change, the technologies, the dynamic market and aggressive growth goals, you have to be an active listener and to be present. When you understand your customer’s goals and challenges, then you can bring a technical enough team to the table that could actually get buyers answers effectively and efficiently. You drive change by leaning from the front and it's not only on the sales and marketing folks to do that. The C-Suite is equally responsible as well. Brutally honest insights from Chris Federico, Head of Global Cloud Security Sales of Check Point and Chris Roberts, CISO and Senior Director of Boom Supersonic.  In this conversation, Dani Woolf had a conversation with Chris² about: How solutions and behaviors in the cybersecurity space changed over time both from the buying side and also from the sales and marketing side Bundling and unbundling of solutions over time - what’s the deal? How the scenery at the cybersecurity vendor expos has changed What is REAL differentiation and why is it so crucial in this market? What can actually help to build and gain the trust among buyers and vendors? What are the old bullshit tactics that companies still use that just won’t fly anymore today? How to successfully identify customer needs and challenges How boards of directors evolved in the cybersecurity industry The steps that can be taken to start affecting change within the organization and among the buyer and the salespeople community to allow for more successful collaboration This episode was sponsored by Check Point Technologies, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions to over 100,000 corporate enterprises and governments globally.  Check Point Infinity's portfolio of solutions, protects enterprises and public organizations from fifth generation cyber attacks with an industry leading catch rate of malware, ransomware, and other threats. To learn more about checkpoint and its infinity portfolio. Visit checkpoint.com.  Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1300+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter

When a concept or strategy gains enough traction, marketing and sales jump in to capitalize on it, and eventually, it becomes a poisoned well from which people draw. This happens not because the strategy itself lacks merit, but because we, as humans, get saturated with information, and anything that everyone is talking about begins to seem like BS. However, just because there's a lot of noise around a particular concept doesn't mean that there isn't something valuable at the core. Brutally honest insights from Aaron Brongersma, Leader of the Cloud Center of Excellence at Checkpoint and Chase Cunningham Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Ericom Software. In this episode, Dani Woolf had a conversation with Aaron and Chase about: The real deal with all the stigma around Zero Trust How vendors can prescriptively and successfully map solutions to the Zero Trust eXtended framework Ways vendors can better understand their buyers How the Zero Trust eXtended framework is shifting given the dynamic nature of the market Ways cybersecurity vendors and the folks working for the vendors can quickly and authentically establish trust with buyers Where Zero Trust heading in the next 3 to 5 years This episode was sponsored by Check Point Technologies, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions to over 100,000 corporate enterprises and governments globally.  Check Point Infinity's portfolio of solutions, protects enterprises and public organizations from fifth generation cyber attacks with an industry leading catch rate of malware, ransomware, and other threats. To learn more about checkpoint and its infinity portfolio. Visit checkpoint.com.  Join Audience 1st Newsletter Today Join 1300+ cybersecurity marketers and sellers mastering security buyer research to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers: https://www.audience1st.fm/newsletter