Starting an IT consultancy and cybersecurity company

[AdrianB]

Hi guys,
I've just opened an LLC offering IT consultancy and cyber-security services.
However I need first to establish the branding - name, logo of the company.
The services I would like to offer are divided into two main topics: IT consultancy and support: servers administration: installation, configuration, maintenance, remote-support. I can help SMB to design the network infrastructure and have all the devices properly setup and configured and Cyber-Security: managed to become a Rapid7 partner so we can offer solutions for corporate companies.
My struggle is that cold calls and emails to the bigger companies are not working. I need first a well-designed website and a strong brand before moving forward selling my services.
What do you think? How can I start? I am currently looking for offers on the branding, but would like to find out some insights on how to proceed on selling my services.
I strongly believe my 10 years experience in IT field: servers and cybersecurity will help me to deliver the best services, but this is not enough on pursuing clients. Small companies are not keen on investing in cyber-security locally, so I feel that I need to go forward for large companies where is not that easy to get a contract.

 

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[Sandy Dives]

Hi guys,
I've just opened an LLC offering IT consultancy and cyber-security services.
However I need first to establish the branding - name, logo of the company.
The services I would like to offer are divided into two main topics: IT consultancy and support: servers administration: installation, configuration, maintenance, remote-support. I can help SMB to design the network infrastructure and have all the devices properly setup and configured and Cyber-Security: managed to become a Rapid7 partner so we can offer solutions for corporate companies.
My struggle is that cold calls and emails to the bigger companies are not working. I need first a well-designed website and a strong brand before moving forward selling my services.
What do you think? How can I start? I am currently looking for offers on the branding, but would like to find out some insights on how to proceed on selling my services.
I strongly believe my 10 years experience in IT field: servers and cybersecurity will help me to deliver the best services, but this is not enough on pursuing clients. Small companies are not keen on investing in cyber-security locally, so I feel that I need to go forward for large companies where is not that easy to get a contract.

I don't think you need a well designed website first. I would focus on getting the first customer first, you can just brush of the website as work in progress temporarily due to large volumes in customers.

Focus on your selling, cold call, read some cold calling material. I think for bigger companies you need to reach the CEO or someone high up directly.

Selling and marketing is key when starting a business. So I would completely focus on the selling point first. If you have a great website but no selling skills = no customers. You have great selling skills and shitty website = customers.

 

[Putt]

Small to mid sized businesses. MSS (Managed Security Solutions). Build a productocracy. Most corporate contracts in the industry often work on consultancy based pay. Get yourself some white label software (antivirus, remote monitoring, whatever else people need) and offer to take care of 'everything' to do with a business' 25 computers for a flat monthly fee.

 

[Odysseus M Jones]

My struggle is that cold calls and emails to the bigger companies are not working.

Small companies are not keen on investing in cyber-security locally

A friendly hacking might get them interested

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[AdrianB]

Ok, thank you guys. I'll keep you posted.
If someone is interested in a partnership I am opened to discussions. I am member of BNI group and I know the connections are very important in our businesses and also in our life.
Cheers!

 

[astr0]

Ask for referrals from your personal network first. With 10 years of experience in IT fields, you should have many connections that might be interested in your services or refer you to their friends.

You don't need a website for selling to them. They would trust their friends more than your website and as @Sandy Dives wrote you can say that you don't have time for a website now.

Having a decent website is good when you're cold calling/emailing or relying on marketing. Those cold prospects often won't have a more trusted source of information about you than your own website. A crappy website could scare them away as it's expected for a business to have a website in 2020.

P. S. We landed 3 projects and grew a bit without a website for 6 months.

 

[JordanAvery]

Hi! First of all, congrats and good luck with growing your company. Unfortunately, without a good marketing campaign, I don't see how you could spread awareness of your business. These days the competition is too strong to get away only with cold calls and emails. I would recommend learning from the competition. For example, take a look at https://fidusinfosec.com/penetration-testing/mobile-and-web-application/ and you'll see how well-developed is their website and how well they display their services. No offense, this is just a recommendation, because you need to learn from someone, right? As for me, this is a good strategy to gather experience. Don't copy, improve, and use in your favor.

 

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[AdrianB]

That's a good insight. We have to learn from the best, analyze their work and try to do things better than them.

 

[serge94]

Any updates on how this is going?

P.S. I'm also from Romania.

 

[AdrianB]

Work in progress...email templates sent to a few refferals: legal, consultancy advisors and IT companies which are going to forward the emails to their customers interested in security. Created website layout and getting ready for official launch.

 

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[JaneKing]

Hi guys,
I've just opened an LLC offering IT consultancy and cyber-security services.
However I need first to establish the branding - name, logo of the company.
The services I would like to offer are divided into two main topics: IT consultancy and support: servers administration: installation, configuration, maintenance, remote-support. I can help SMB to design the network infrastructure and have all the devices properly setup and configured and Cyber-Security: managed to become a Rapid7 partner so we can offer solutions for corporate companies.
My struggle is that cold calls and emails to the bigger companies are not working. I need first a well-designed website and a strong brand before moving forward selling my services.
What do you think? How can I start? I am currently looking for offers on the branding, but would like to find out some insights on how to proceed on selling my services.
I strongly believe my 10 years experience in IT field: servers and cybersecurity will help me to deliver the best services, but this is not enough on pursuing clients. Small companies are not keen on investing in cyber-security locally, so I feel that I need to go forward for large companies where is not that easy to get a contract.

Hmm, you talked about server administration and remote support installation. We already have employee monitoring software installed at my workplace. If you have any suggestions on how to properly manage or maybe upgrade an existing application, you can write me a personal message. Regarding the promotion of your brand, I think it is important to contact a good marketer that will advise you on how you can promote your brand on your own.

 

[AdrianB]

Hello world! Some upgrades after a few months of struggles. A new government regulation makes it mandatory for companies offering public services to carry on security audits of their infrastructure, applications and workflows and usually this follows a vulnerability remediation. I've been contacted by several companies for quotation on vulnerabilities management solutions we can provide and finally landed a first contract. The client has a large infrastructure so it will be challenging to get everything configured and working as expected. It's a common process of a security analyst, network engineer and system engineer.
Meanwhile, started to learn for CISM certification because another opportunity came in.

 

[BlackSuperman]

Awesome! I’ve been watching this for a bit. Lots of ups and downs. Glad to see you got an awesome win though! First client is all it takes to snowball, right?

Keep going strong!

 

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[edgonic]

Hello world! Some upgrades after a few months of struggles. A new government regulation makes it mandatory for companies offering public services to carry on security audits of their infrastructure, applications and workflows and usually this follows a vulnerability remediation. I've been contacted by several companies for quotation on vulnerabilities management solutions we can provide and finally landed a first contract. The client has a large infrastructure so it will be challenging to get everything configured and working as expected. It's a common process of a security analyst, network engineer and system engineer.
Meanwhile, started to learn for CISM certification because another opportunity came in.

Congratulations - I remember how much time (and anxiety and frustration) was involved in getting my first consulting contract. It feels great to have that win. One tip - do your absolute best with this job and try to turn it into a case study to use for future marketing.