Thank you for your interest in being part of RiverLog a sister concern of Blue Arma. RiverLog Software And Consulting Services & Consulting services in coordination with Blue Arma provide high value cybersecurity services to financial, healthcare, retail, scm applications. We have extended our services to educational institutions.
The state of affairs of educational institutions:
With the revolution in digital devices and mandatory requirements of using computers and mobile phones within educational institutions, adversories are now targeting young and enthusiastic and digital savvy students. In order to crawl into the institutions, these attackers are thriving to get into the educational system of records through student connected laptops and/or devices. The first thing adversaries would make an attempt is to do a ransomware type of attack. We are seeing that educational institutions are becoming more and more vulnerable to such attacks. Once they get into the system then there is no way out of peril. Just in the end of 2023, Ransomware attacks costed over $53 Billion. Another way attackers will hold victims is through standoff on ransom money by bringing the entire enterprise systems down.
RiverLog And Blue Arma – The Cybersecurity Service Engagement
Knowing the importance of critical systems within an educational institutions and having understood and thoroughly defined probe points across a framework supported by the department of homeland security in the USA, RiverLog in collaboration with Blue Arma executed several successful implementations across the USA, Amsterdam, Vietnam, Canada, India. These are just for academic institutions. We are very happy and excited to bring the same service to the middle east and in order to do that we have identified Qatar as the hub from where we could successfully execute such engagements. Reference: RiverLog along with Stencil Research conducted a field study in Qatar during 2020. Below are details of how to get involved in a cybersecurity service engagement model and protect educational institutions and thereby protect national resource. Please read the following. What follows is a set of questions and answers for the individual who will be facing the official right from leads to contacts. Please read on
- What is this service specifically titled or called as ?
The services is Cybersecurity service (Expansion: Vulnerability assessment services) - Which company are you representing ?
Blue Arma which is a sister concern of RiverLog Software and Consulting Services, USA - Who are you ? (Please make a note that these are client specific questions)
You are a marketing and field service executive trying to see how you can work with the educational institutions to help them in help them prevent cybersecurity threats. (Use the knowledge from the above paragraphs. Remember this is an education you impart and not a threat to the threat.) - What is the first thing that you will try to find out ?
Who is the decision maker. This comes not that easy. So the person you call would want your intro from the above paragraphs and questions. Use it wisely. - Once you get the decision maker’s contact (Usually Deans, Principal, Administrator (VP), IT Executive within orgs) how will you begin?
Remember, this is a major step. You now have full access to sell anything and here is where people usually slip. You have to value the person’s time and most importantly his attention span. Therefore, you wrap this whole thing into a small envelope and talk and deliver. One more thing to remember, you are not the technical person. So the first thing to know is that You are not selling anything at that point. - So what are you selling ?
You are not selling anything at this point. We don’t want to talk about costs, time nothing. All you are doing is buying some time from the decision makers. Here is what we suggest you talk. Again these are guidance and not necessarily mandatory statements. You decide what to do. Here are few examples:
What we want to do sir, is to fix a time with yourself and your team and hear from our experts as to what we can offer and what are the different services we can offer that can help in preventing cybersecurity attacks and/or ransomeware. This will be a completely virtual environment and would be for max one hour with your team and our architects and engineers. This will help you know if our services would be needed or not. - A possible question from them at this point usually. How much will all this cost. Your answer as below:
I don’t know that sir. But we want to work with you and therefore, we ask that you hear our services and we will surely make it happen. Meaning we will work with your budge and do this. I am sure I can make that happen. (Please see the emphasize of the letter “I”) - What you will hear them say
Thank you. Please send us a proposal. Please send an email. - What will you do then ?
Immediately collect all possible contacts and their name, email and telephone. And not just that. Please inform them that you will compose a detailed email and send it across to them. This is your chance to be more influential. Use what you can. Use their name respectfully and thank them. Give them a tentative date. Finally tell them you will call them and follow up with them. - What is the whole purpose of the call ?
You are just fixing a time for our technical architects and engineers to have a meeting with them wherein we will discuss the services. What we will do and what their benefit will be. - Who will finally deliver the costs ?
You. You will be the person who will deliver the cost. First line numbers will be provided to you through a formal document titled Statement Of Work or simply SOW. This will contain the total costs, time lines and number of people who will engage in delivering the services. You will then start negotiations if needed. We see about 70% of the time a negotiation gets initiated. Here your influence building begins. RiverLog will support you in order to uplift your influence in all legitimate ways. One of them being giving discounts to clients based on your relationship with the client. - Do you need to visit the client site ?
We see that a sale happens 80% time faster than when it you are in contact over phone. That doesn’ t mean you have to visit the client. Sales also happen through telephone, web conferences. - I am still not knowing what the service is about.
Yes! Cybersecurity is a specialized set of services. Your job is not to know cybersecurity. For that you will organize our architects and engineers. Clients know that and therefore, most often you will hear them ask, can you bring your tech people ? Can you connect us with your technology people or software engineers etc. - What is the overall sales cycle.
It ranges anywhere from two weeks to 60 days - When are payments done by clients ?
We have 25% upfront advance fees. For larger amounts ranging from $500k onwards we can negotiate and reduce this number. - How do I go about this ?
Begin small then elaborate. Select first three clients. Start with one. Then go into others. - What process is to be followed ?
Agile. Remember this term. You can use this term to clients as well. Here are simple steps that you can choose to adopt in selling a service to a client:
a. Learn by asking questions to your primary contact
b. Understand the landscape
c. Read occasionally
d. Participate in RiverLog’s tech talks on cybersecurity
e. Hear the news
f. Visit the institutions website and hear them out. Study their model
(None of the above is mandatory. Its your decision and your way. Our data shows, all marketing spins are totally different than others) - What Next ?
Plan, Identify for cold calls and or calls through your influence or contacts, understand and schedule a technology meeting with the client as stated above. - Do I need any certifications ?
Yes! You need RiverLog’s Marketing and Sales Cycle fundamentals, a free course created by Berkeley University for RiverLog. This will be made available for you on registration.
Thank you and we look forward for your successful engagement with RiverLog’s Cybersecurity Team.