Personally, when I was in the field selling HR services and speaking to small business owners, there was a sense of invisibility they seem to have because they are a small business. I’ve had business owners tell me, “that won’t affect me because I’m just a little guy, no one coming is after me.” This attitude provides a great opportunity to discuss risk they are susceptible to, and how your organization can help safeguard against those risks. The biggest key to being successful in sales is uncovering pain points and building value around those pain points. Sometimes to uncover pain points, we have to help to educate the prospect to better help them understand why something like cybersecurity is another important factor to consider.
Cybersecurity, by definition, is the protection of Internet-connected systems, including hardware, software, and data, from cyber attacks. In a computing context, security comprises cybersecurity and physical security — both are used by businesses to protect against unauthorized access to data and other computerized systems. Information security, which is designed to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data, is a subset of cybersecurity.
Just like compliance and regulations, one of the biggest challenges of cybersecurity is the constantly evolving nature of security risks. Proper cybersecurity can help prevent cyber attacks, data breaches, and identity theft. Partnering with companies that understand and continually invest in cybersecurity can aid in mitigating risk.
When we are creating talk tracks and crafting stories around the risks of owning and running a small business, cybersecurity needs to be a part of that story. There are countless stories of other organizations that have been severely impacted by cyber security attacks. While many of the larger organizations are able to survive security breaches, a security breach could be detrimental to a small business and needs to ensure they do everything they can to protect themselves.
What does this mean for the average prospect/customer?
I can hear what you’re saying now! “I’m selling to small and midsize businesses, they are not a huge corporation!” And I can imagine if you bring this up to your prospect they are going to say something like, “we aren’t that big,” or “we store personal data in filing cabinets.” And that is what you are looking for: you can compare their business to a mega-corporation by simply stating, “If someone as large and as well known as Uber or Yahoo can get hacked, what are the odds they can access your information?” Be confident and comfortable comparing a small business to an enterprise organization, and driving home your points that everyone needs to be prepared and aware of the cyber threats in today’s connected world.
Don’t be afraid to let small and mid-sized businesses know they are actually more prone to attack than a large corporation. According to Keeper Security in the 2017 State of SMB Cybersecurity Report (which involved more than 1,000 IT professionals), last year 61% of all cyber attacks are aimed at small business. That number is up from 55% the year before and continues to grow every month! These cyber attacks cost SMBs big money and can severely affect their bottom line.
Check out these stats from a USA Today article:
► Cyber attacks cost small businesses between $84,000 and $148,000.
► 60% of small businesses go out of business within six months of an attack.
As you are meeting with prospects, they either have security on their mind, or they need to be educated on how security adds to their risk. It’s important to share how centralizing and outsourcing their HR through a provider with HRIS can be a big part of reducing their overall risk protecting their business. The sections below are focused on how to address security questions when they arise, and how to help your clients ensure they are protecting their business.
How is data protected in the HR Cloud (PrismHR)?
Data is Stored in a Private Cloud
The HR Cloud is hosted by the industry-leading managed cloud company, RackSpace. RackSpace hosts the HR Cloud data privately with the latest security, control and performance standards, including ISO 27002 and 27001, PCI-DSS, SSAE16, SOC 1, 2, and 3, Privacy Shield and Content Protection and Security Standard requirements. The system also uses a web application firewall that learns traffic pattern and immediately shuts down a detected threat before it even reaches the firewall or web servers.
Learn more at http://www.rackspace.com/security/management
Active Monitoring and Data Encryption
The HR Cloud is actively monitored 24/7/365 to protect against data breaches and cyber attacks through a combination of automated analysis and human intervention. Access to the HR Cloud requires a secure connection. All data is encrypted before being sent to/stored in the cloud and ensures data cannot be captured while in transit or at rest.
Additionally, the HR Cloud is trusted to power payroll and HR for more than 80,000 small and medium-sized businesses who employee more than 2.2 million people.
What measures can prospective clients take to protect their data? (Talk Tracks)
In addition to helping your buyer understand their risks, and how you can help them keep their data secure, you can also use this opportunity to educate them on some things they should consider to reduce their risk. Some of the biggest cybersecurity risks come from employees. Many data breaches can be prevented by implementing strong password policies and educating employees about the risks. The HR Cloud includes strict password rules and expiration requirements for users, as well as safeguards in place to limit access based on the number of failed login attempts allowed. When passwords are created or changed they are encrypted before being stored in the HR Cloud.
Education of employees is the greatest way that SMB’s can protect their data. When employees are educated on the risks and have a clear plan of what to do when they suspect something, this will greatly eliminate any risks. Many of the large data breaches came from an employee clicking on a link they thought was legitimate. This education has to be consistent and organized – not a one-time course. Employees need consistent reminders.
Cybersecurity provides one more arrow in your quiver as you are hunting for that next big deal. Don’t shy away from having these conversations, it’s a great way to build trust and provide more value to your clients.
Resources available in Seeds
A datasheet on PrismHR data security is available on the HR Cloud Data Security tab in Seeds to help you deliver security information to customers and prospects, along with email templates that can be used to promote and communicate multi-factor authentication (MFA) to your clients and their employees.