How to Reframe Your Communication with Cybersecurity Buyers

Who is Dutch Schwartz?

Dutch Schwartz is a dynamic leader and strategist who has exceeded sales quotas over $100M, led teams of over 100 people, created and delivered global training programs for 60,000 team members, and developed marketing strategies that have generated more than $300M.

A five-time President’s Club winner, Dutch thrives on building high-performance cultures and solving complex customer problems across various industries, including global financial services, media & entertainment, energy, software, healthcare & life sciences, retail, and manufacturing.

With extensive experience spanning sales, field engineering, marketing, and operations, Dutch brings a holistic approach to anticipating internal stakeholder needs and aligning efforts with the partner ecosystem to delight customers.

His first-hand knowledge and historian-like ability to recognize patterns empower him to offer novel solutions tailored to the challenges of senior executives.

Dutch believes in the power of a multi-disciplinary approach, inspired by David Epstein’s “Range,” as the key to solving systemic risk challenges on a global scale.

His strong technical and business acumen is complemented by his training as a wartime military strategy and operations officer, underscoring his core philosophy: leadership, culture, and strategy are the driving forces behind unlocking people, processes, and technology.

Insights and Key Takeaways

Cybersecurity Challenges Aren’t Unique – They’re Human

Insight: Dutch challenges the belief that cybersecurity issues are unique, arguing that they are just another version of historical human problems. This insular thinking is prevalent in the industry, leading to limited problem-solving and missed opportunities for innovation by failing to learn from other domains.

Cybersecurity professionals often isolate themselves, believing their challenges are unique to the field, which can stifle creativity and limit solutions.

Dutch believes that the industry should seek insights from fields like industrial-organizational psychology, anthropology, and social sciences.

Drawing on different perspectives fosters creative solutions, as professionals from varied backgrounds often bring fresh approaches.

This broader lens can reshape marketing and sales strategies.

GTM teams can create messaging that not only speaks to technical features but also aligns with business realities, making it more compelling to non-technical decision-makers.

The Soft Skills Deficit in Cybersecurity

Insight: The cybersecurity sector’s focus on technical training has overshadowed soft skills, which are critical for career growth and effective communication within teams and with clients.

Dutch sees the soft skills gap as a major barrier to communication, collaboration, and leadership in cybersecurity.

Historically, the industry offered extensive communication training, but this focus diminished after economic downturns like the dot-com bust and the 2008 recession.

Now, the onus is on individual learners to seek soft skills training, which limits professional growth.

Marketers and sales professionals should prioritize soft skills training as a key component of their professional development.

For example, learning how to translate technical jargon into clear business outcomes can bridge communication gaps and build stronger relationships with cybersecurity buyers.

Simplicity Over Complexity – Communicating Clearly

Insight: Both marketing and product messaging in cybersecurity often focus on complexity, which creates confusion for buyers. Dutch advocates for clear, simple messaging that directly conveys the product’s value.

The current focus on complexity in messaging and product design makes it harder for potential customers to understand and adopt solutions.

Dutch emphasizes the need for simplicity—not to make the product easier, but to make it more practical and understandable.

Similarly, communication training should focus less on terminology and more on translating complex concepts into relatable language.

GTM teams need to refine their messaging by focusing on simplicity and clarity.

This approach makes it easier for buyers to understand the core value proposition, reducing friction in the sales process and accelerating decision-making.

Insight Theme: From Transactional Seller to Trusted Advisor

Insight: Dutch argues that the key to transitioning from a transactional seller to a trusted advisor is authentic curiosity about the client’s needs, challenges, and business context.

To become a trusted advisor, sellers need to invest time in understanding the buyer’s industry, business challenges, and organizational goals.

Authenticity is crucial—if sellers lack genuine interest, clients will quickly sense it.

Dutch suggests using a mix of in-depth research, empathy, and business context to tailor conversations that resonate with clients.

For marketing and sales teams, this means moving beyond scripts and surface-level research. By building deeper relationships grounded in authentic curiosity, GTM teams can better position themselves as advisors rather than mere sellers.

Breaking Communication Silos

Insight: Communication silos within the cybersecurity industry stem from a lack of effective methods and training, impacting interactions between technical and business functions.

Dani Woolf identifies that ineffective communication goes both ways—marketers often struggle to speak the technical language, while technical teams find it hard to translate concepts into business terms.

This lack of curiosity and stress-induced shortcuts contribute to the silos.

Dutch adds that formal training programs for communication have been deprioritized in recent years, making it harder for professionals to bridge this gap.

GTM teams can play a pivotal role by investing in training that enhances communication across functions.

Prioritizing communication skills development can dismantle silos, improve collaboration, and lead to more cohesive and effective sales strategies.

3 Tips to Be More Effective in Communication

1. Be concise: Describe the product in 16 words or less.

   • "Each word has to be exactly the minimal amount." – Olivia Rose, Multi-Time CISO.
     

2. State the challenge clearly: Summarize the problem the product solves in 20 words or less.

   • If it takes more than four sentences, it's too long.
     

3. Align with business outcomes: Explain what it means to the CISO’s peers, focusing on the business implications rather than just technical features.

   • Timing is critical—focus on business impact before diving into technical details.

TL;DR

We need to stop acting like cybersecurity challenges are the most unique problems in the world—they’re not.

They’re human problems, and the sooner we open ourselves up to learning from other fields, the better off we’ll be.

If you’re still dismissing soft skills as ‘soft,’ you’re missing the point.

These are the skills that differentiate the leaders from the followers.

So, let’s ditch the complexity, get curious, and actually listen.

Real growth happens when we simplify, communicate clearly, and genuinely try to understand the other side of the conversation.

Until next time,
Dani