The CISO/Security Vendor Relationship: The "15 Minutes of Your Time" Request

The CISO/Security Vendor Relationship: The "15 Minutes of Your Time" Request

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I'm taking a gamble that you'll just be nice to me

As I mentioned in the first issue of this series on the CISO/security vendor relationship, almost all B2B security vendors want to reach CISOs and CSOs with their marketing efforts.

Take a step back and think about the receiving end of this equation. How are CISOs and CSOs supposed to manage their business if they also have to constantly manage all the security marketers vying for their time?? They’ve got a tough enough job within the four walls of their organization without dealing with the endless barrage of intrusions from all over the world. How are they supposed to entertain pitches from EVERY SINGLE SECURITY VENDOR ON THE PLANET?

ISSUE #2: Should “15 minutes of your time” be a security vendor’s first request?

Recently, I had lunch with a CISO who I had previously interviewed on camera for one of my clients. We’ll call them Company X. My video interview with the CISO appeared on Company X’s blog. It just so happens that someone at Company X, who I didn’t know, was pitching the CISO a barrage of emails asking for just “15 minutes of his time.” With the continued non-response, the person just kept following up, sometimes with attempted jokes trying to poke fun at the CISO’s non-response.

Annoyed by the constant ‘pay attention to me’ intrusion, my CISO friend showed me the emails and dejectedly said, “This is my life.”

My CISO friend is a nice guy, but you can’t count on that to get a meeting.

“They don’t have time to meet with you because they’re nice,” said Bruce Barnes (@bbarnes84), co-founder of CIO Solutions Gallery.

Business

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January 31, 2018 at 12:26PM