Sep 18, 2020
Hutzpah or faux pas? Why CAGE distance important for overseas cyber products launching in the US
I made the following quick observations in the context of cybersecurity startups, especially those from Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel looking to enter the world’s largest cybersecurity market in the US.
Pretty much everyone in the industry has the cool watch, dope shirt, and a story of how great they were at that big box organization, the big name school, the secret squirrel agency, or elite military unit, so what else matters?
Customers tend to care abut what you can do for them today that they don’t already have in house, is a funded priority, and how it compares to all the other near identical claims out there?
Are your US team perceived as confident and filled with hutzpah, or as arrogant and lacking EQ (emotional intelligence)?
Do your prospects really agree that you have that overwhelming superiority in solution, price, and reputation?
What US certifications and reference proof points are you planning to obtain?
Do you assume that what sells in Ottawa, London, or Tel Aviv will automatically be a fit with what can be long winded and multiple step procurement processes here?
Are all meetings early in the morning or late at night?
Is Sunday a work day?
Are you perhaps burning out US staff and customers with your local practices and hourly status checks?
What exposure do you have to new, team-based, complex, and long sales cycles compared to older, simpler, and likely relationship driven and typical in-quarter past local sales?
Getting the sales is the first part — when will you actually be paid?
Summary
These are just personal thoughts based on years of working with hot US and overseas cybersecurity companies expanding in the US market. The successful ones are those that have closed the CAGE gap.
Originally published at https://medium.com on September 18, 2020.
