Yet, many vendor white papers still read like feature brochures.
Here’s how to fix yours.
Why White Papers Still Win Deals
CISOs are busy. But they would allocate 90 minutes to a well researched white paper, if it helps them:
- Benchmark against peers (e.g., median MDR costs per endpoint)
- Prepare for audits (SOC 2 Type 2, NIS2 Directive)
- Justify budget shifts (like moving from EDR to XDR)
Section 1: Structure That Builds Trust
Forrester says tech buyers discard content that lacks clear methodology.
Map yours to the AIDA framework:
Problem Validation (Attention)
Anchor to a specific threat: “Ransomware dwell time dropped to 72 hours in 2023 (Mandiant), but 60% of alerts still require manual triage.”
Technical Rigour (Interest)
Compare approaches: “Agentless vs. agent based NDR (network detection and response)here’s how false positives differ in AWS environments.”
Section 2: Tone / Consultant, Not Sales Rep
GTM leaders at Wiz attribute 30% of their pipeline to technical content. Their secret? Writing like a CISO’s trusted advisor:
- Admit gaps: “GenAI for threat detection cuts MTTR by 40%, but requires labelled datasets most MSSPs lack.”
- Cite competitors: “Unlike Zscaler’s proxy approach, our TLS inspection works with legacy IAM (identity and access management) systems.”
3 Citations That Convert
Early-stage vendors often misuse sources. Follow this hierarchy:
- Tier 1: Verizon DBIR, MITRE ATT&CK evaluations
- Tier 2: Gartner Peer Insights, Forrester Wave
- Tier 3: Vendor case studies (only if they include churn rates)
Pro tip: When citing GDPR fines, link to GDPR Enforcement Tracker not press releases.
The Final Test
Before publishing, ask: “Would I share this with my board if the author was a competitor?” If not, rewrite.
Again: The best white papers don’t sell products, they make buyers question their current vendors…
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