How to Sell a Client on the Zero-Trust Security Model

The zero-trust security model is taking over the IT world, especially in the business arena. 100% of companies do not have it in place, but the number keeps rising every year.

Maybe you do IT for clients. You might work as a freelancer, or perhaps you’re part of a company that rents out IT specialists. Either way, you do what your clients pay you to do, but you may also suggest things you feel can help them.

If you run into a client that does not have the zero-trust security model in place, you may try to sell them on it. You’re not doing it because you want to bill them more hours. You’re doing it because you genuinely think this model can help them.

If they don’t know much about IT, though, how can you convince them this is a smart idea? We have some notions that we’ll run by you right now.

Some Zero-Trust Security Model Basics

You can explain the zero-trust security model without much trouble if you’re talking to an IT person. If you’re speaking to someone who knows next to nothing about information technology, you might have a tougher time getting them to understand the basics.

Some people in the IT field call zero trust the “trust nothing, verify everything” principle. In other words, you’re setting up a security protocol that everyone in a company can follow. Part of how workers conduct themselves makes up the zero-trust model. How you instruct computers and other devices to behave within a company’s network is the other aspect of it.

The zero-trust security protocol verifies every device’s identity that tries to interact with a company’s network. Businesses need this because, if they don’t have it, it makes it much easier for a hacker to get by their perimeter defenses.

Tell Them Some Data Breach Stats

Data breaches happen a lot these days. You have probably read about large or more prominent companies falling victim to hacker attacks. The reality is that it happens to smaller companies often as well, but that probably won’t make the national news because they’re tiny mom-and-pop business entities.

If you tell your client some data breach stats, you might convince them to spend the money to set up the zero-trust security system for that reason. You can tell them how many companies fall victim to hacker attacks every year.

You can also tell them that hackers target smaller companies just as much as large ones. They won’t want to hear about hackers causing data leaks that impact their workers and customers.

You Can Tell Them They’ll Fall Behind Their Competitors

If that doesn’t convince them to spend the money to set up the zero-trust model, you might also approach it from a different direction. You can tell them that they’re always competing against other companies within their niche or industry.

Almost no companies operate in a vacuum and dominate a particular market. Some other company is always out there, nipping at their heels in terms of sales and visibility.

If one company has the zero-trust security model, they can rightly claim on their website or during their sales pitches that they have the best security system money can buy. A potential client will see that they take security seriously.

By contrast, a company that doesn’t implement the zero-trust model is more open to hacker attacks. Whether your client wants to get someone to buy a product or service from their website, or they’re courting a significant new account that could give them millions of dollars in business, they should be able to say that they have the best security resources available.

If your client isn’t willing to put up the initial cash outlay to create a zero-trust security model, it’s likely new customers or clients will recognize that and go with someone else. Your clients probably want to answer truthfully that their new customers can trust their network security protocols because they are the best available. They can’t very well claim that if they know about zero trust, but they are not willing to spend the cash to put it in place.

As someone in the IT industry, it’s your responsibility not just to do what your client pays you for but also to advise them on the latest industry advances. After you’ve told them about zero trust, you can’t force them to implement it, but at least you’ve done your due diligence.