eSentire Cybersecurity Insights

eSentire, a fast-growing cybersecurity provider, emphasizes the importance of security as a conversation rather than a technical product. Bob Layton, chief channel officer, shares key information on expanding and creating outcomes with eSentire. Advisors are encouraged to integrate security into the evaluation process for any service provided to clients and to focus on building easy, lucrative, and fun relationships with clients. The company leverages its intellectual property and client references to stand out in the cybersecurity market. The importance of trust, enjoyable client interactions, and offering disruptive solutions is highlighted, along with the focus on helping clients optimize time, money capital, and human capital for a great outcome.

Introduction

Hey, Telarus advisors. Over two thousand customers in eighty countries. Can’t be wrong. In fact, eSentire is one of the fastest growing cybersecurity providers in the world, certainly one of the most beloved cybersecurity providers in our portfolio.

And to share some of the key information with you on how you can expand, grow, and create amazing outcomes with eCentire is Bob Layton, chief chat chief channel officer at eCentire. Hey, Bob. How are you?

I am great, Tim. How are you today?

I’m I’m doing great. You know, I mentioned, globally, and I’m not kidding. You’re, currently in England. Right?

I’m in England. I’ve been in Ireland this week as well. I’m, I’m all over the place. But what I spend my time doing is talking to, advisors just like the partner community that we share, and I’m listening and I’m hearing so many things about what they’re seeing in the market. And I talk to our customers, and I understand exactly what keeps them up at night. And cybersecurity is top of mind.

Yeah. There’s no there’s no shortage of bad guys. Right?

No. There isn’t.

I’m just One of the things that you talk about is, you know, securing the ecosystem.

And so when we look at our advisers, whether they’re experienced vets in cyber or they’re just now getting their their feet wet and building their confidence in cyber, what are what are some of the ways that that Telarus advisors, advisors around the world are getting their unfair share of the security market? Is there an easy button?

The Easy Button for Security

I think there is. The first thing is you just have to talk about it. And when you think about security, don’t think about security as a product that you have to have a lot of, answers and and deep technical, experience with. Security is a conversation.

Security is no different than, hey. How are you protecting your home, your life, your auto, your your boat, your whatever. Right? It’s it’s it’s insurance and assurance that nothing is going to happen that’s gonna disrupt your business. And if we start talking about it and introducing people that are the experts at, for instance, East Centire, then I think all of your advisors can make this a really easy way to uplevel their relationship with all of their clients as, you know, the expert in the field is gonna bring them, you know, people like Yvesantyre.

Bridging the Confidence Gap

Yeah. One of the things I’ve seen you and your team do is bridge that confidence gap. Right? So whether you are an expert and you get to a place where your expertise starts to wane a little bit because you’re not an expert.

It’s it’s hard to be an expert in all things. Right? Right. Or you’re in rookie camp and you’re you got your knees are knocking a little bit when it comes to the security conversation.

I think the eCentire team does a really great job of enabling those conversations. We talk a lot, we talk a lot about how you don’t need to be an expert at it all. You just need to know who to call. Right?

That’s right.

Starting the Security Conversation

And what’s what’s what’s the easiest way to to start that conversation if you are maybe a newbie in the space? And then maybe also pivot after that to, hey. You’re super experienced. You have a robust practice. Where does eCentre play at both ends of the spectrum?

So I would say for all of the advisers out there that are listening to this, start with where your relationship is today with your client. Yeah. Is it based on convenience? You just happen to win a deal because you got a really good and aggressive price on something?

Is your relationship built on trust? You’ve done some incredible things for them, and and that’s why they continue to look to you. Or is it based on, I’ve known this person for thirty five years. We play golf every week.

Building on Existing Relationships

Regardless of where it is, start from that place. If you have been moving them down the path toward hosted voice or, hosted contact center, talk to them about secure hosted voice, secure contact center. It doesn’t matter what it is that you’re providing them. Security has to be part of the evaluation.

Incorporating Security into Evaluations

Right? If if you’re buying a new piece of software, we do this all the time with our CISO.

If you’re buying a new piece of software, how does that tuck into the overall security strategy? And I think if you have that conversation with them, they’re not gonna have the answers, you know, and you’re not gonna have the answers either, but start talking about it.

Yeah. I think it’s interesting that people will shy away from it. They think that and away from it is a different conversation. So if they’re talking about hosted or they’re talking about network, well, they both need to be secure.

So you just layer that into your talk track. You know? What’s your security posture? You have have a have a little conversation around that, bring it in.

Layering in Security Discussions

And you don’t need to answer in that conversation either, Bob. Right? You just take down all the questions, and then you call in the expert. You call in the Telarus sales engineers, the Esentire team, and, you know, we answer the bat phones, and we’re ready to ready to jump on calls.

eSentire’s Differentiation and Ideal Customer

So talk about it’s cybersecurity sort of this it’s a a bit like cloud was for a long time. Right? It’s it’s people are trying to still trying to decipher what’s what, who’s the who are the differentiated players, how does eSentire stand out in the crowd, What’s what’s the what’s the lane that you typically focus on, you know, for maybe your ideal customer? Maybe just talk a little bit about differentiation, your ideal customer profile.

Yeah. So we’re we’re comparatively differentiated, and we’re also uniquely differentiated. And what I mean by that is when you hold us up against other solutions, we’re comparatively differentiated because we can take maybe a lot, but mostly some, of the investments that your clients have already made in security and use that in an overall service to monitor, detect, and respond to threats to keep them from being disrupted. So comparatively, we do that better than our our peers.

How are we uniquely differentiated? We have a lot of our own intellectual property, and we also have clients that love to talk about it. So we have the ability to bring forward a number of references that, you don’t have to try to put your reputation on the line and say, hey. Gotta believe in East Centire.

Solving People’s Problems with Security

We’ve got tons of that stuff. And, you know, just it’s so easy. And, again, just don’t think about it as a technical conversation. Think about it as people have problems.

They need the assurance that they can get out of a jam.

The ELF Principle

That’s right. I talk to advisers a lot about easy, lucrative, and fun, elf. Right? Yeah.

And and how do you how do you do that? How are you that for your client where they love, like, and respect you? They enjoy you being around. And, look, I know it sounds a little wavy gravy.

Right? But I know a lot of advisors watching, over time, they start with a suspect who becomes a prospect who becomes a client that does become a friend, and they trust you in the same way you just described to come in and have these conversations.

Being Prepared to Bring in Experts

And and sometimes it’s just a quick conversation that leads to the most amazing outcome, and they have to be prepared to bring you in as the expert, wherever that client is on the continuum of, you know, fully fully managed security versus just trying to figure out their security posture.

Yeah. So, look, I I read, I read the newspaper. I read, stuff that comes across on, like, things I read on the web and on social media and everything. And the primary reason why I do that is I want something new to be thinking about every single day.

Provocative Conversations for Change

Yeah.

Right? So so you and I have talked about this too, Tim, but we’ve got an election happening in most every major country across the next six months or so. What a great time to go and ask your clients, hey. Are you reevaluating your costs of all of your human capital?

Yeah. What happens when you take money out of the IT department? Who’s gonna handle all of that security? Have you ever thought about putting some of your, your risk into a managed program?

Would you you gotta be a little bit provocative and say some of these things that are disruptive. Right? Go back to those persons who trust you and say, hey. I know you’ve got a seven hundred person company. What’s the impact right now on on headcount? You probably, you know, your your finance team is probably looking for ways to cut.

What if you were able to offer them a solution that makes them more secure because you’re not gonna be able to stop them from from trimming the business. So be a part of that change. Don’t, don’t push back against it. Ride ride that wave and be that that adviser that can bring them more value.

Bringing Value and Optimizing Outcomes

Yeah. Look. I think that’s a great way to sort of bring our interview to a close and put a bow on things. Every executive, whether it’s right now in at this midpoint in our year, twenty twenty four, in an election year, or after this, they have three things on their mind.

Same thing you and I have on their mind. A lot of our advisors who are business owners, they only have so much time. They only have so much money capital, and they only have so much human capital. And That’s right.

They’re looking to optimize all those things in the best way possible to achieve a great outcome. And I can tell you, you and I experience it every day. The results that eCentire is creating for Telarus advisors and their clients around the globe has just been amazing. Your team’s world class.

Closing Remarks

So, I probably don’t say it enough, but thanks so much for, all you do to support the Telarus community. We appreciate you. Thanks for your time today. Loved having you on, and I know the best is yet to come for Telarus Partners and eCentire.

Thanks, Bob.