Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for IBM Security Services Sales Specialist

🎯 Role Definition

The IBM Security Services Sales Specialist is a results-driven, technically fluent sales professional focused on selling IBM's managed and professional security services (including MDR, SOC-as-a-Service, SIEM, XDR, vulnerability management, security consulting, and cloud security services). This role blends strategic account development, consultative selling, solution positioning, and close collaboration with pre-sales engineers, delivery teams and partner ecosystems to convert enterprise security needs into repeatable service engagements. The ideal candidate consistently meets quota, understands large enterprise procurement cycles, and can translate technical security capabilities into measurable business outcomes (risk reduction, compliance, operational efficiency, and cost predictability).

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Security Account Executive or Account Manager (enterprise cybersecurity sales)
Security Solutions Consultant / Pre-Sales Engineer with client-facing experience
Partner Sales Manager or Channel Account Manager focused on security services

Advancement To:

Senior/Principal Security Services Sales Specialist
Client Executive / Strategic Account Executive (Cybersecurity)
Sales Manager / Regional Sales Leader for Security Services

Lateral Moves:

Solutions Architect / Security Pre-Sales Lead
Partner/Alliances Sales Manager (security ecosystem)
Product/Portfolio Marketing Manager (security services)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own and consistently exceed quarterly and annual sales quota for IBM Security services (MDR, SIEM, managed SOC, vulnerability services, incident response retainers) by developing and closing new enterprise opportunities across assigned accounts and territories.
Build, qualify, and manage a high-quality pipeline using a mix of outbound prospecting, account-based selling, partner-sourced leads, and marketing-generated demand; maintain accurate forecasting in Salesforce (or equivalent CRM).
Develop account penetration strategies and security service roadmaps for strategic accounts, identifying short-term wins and long-term expansion opportunities (add-on services, retention, cross-sell into cloud, identity, and compliance).
Lead cross-functional pursuit teams (pre-sales solution architects, delivery managers, legal, finance, and professional services) to create compelling proposals, statements of work (SOW), commercial terms, and implementation plans aligned to customer timelines.
Translate customer security, risk and compliance requirements into tailored IBM security service solutions; prepare and present ROI and TCO analyses to business and technical stakeholders.
Conduct executive-level engagements and briefings, presenting IBM Security services value propositions to CISOs, VPs of IT/Security, procurement and business line owners to influence buying decisions.
Design and drive proof-of-concepts (POCs) and pilots for MDR, SIEM, and managed detection services; work with technical teams to define success criteria, scope, and customer acceptance.
Negotiate commercial terms, contractual SLAs, pricing, and renewal mechanisms in partnership with legal and pricing teams to accelerate deal closure while protecting margin.
Create and deliver persuasive technical and business-focused security presentations, demos, and workshops that map IBM service capabilities (QRadar, X-Force Threat Intelligence, managed SOC operations) to customer priorities.
Collaborate with IBM partners, channel and alliance teams to co-sell and co-deliver security services; enable partners with sales plays, joint GTM motions and incentive programs to scale coverage.
Lead RFP/RFI responses, security service assessments and proposals; ensure all technical and commercial aspects are accurately addressed and aligned with customer risk posture.
Maintain deep knowledge of IBM Security portfolio (managed detection & response, SOC, incident management, threat intelligence, cloud security, identity services) and how these integrate with customer environments and third-party products.
Monitor competitive landscape and buyer signals; craft differentiated positioning and objection handling based on competitor strengths/weaknesses and market dynamics.
Drive renewals and upsell motions by establishing long-term customer relationships, regular business reviews, and demonstrating service outcomes and continuous improvement.
Partner with delivery and customer success teams to ensure smooth onboarding, transition from sales to services, SLA adherence and capture customer references and case studies.
Implement and follow structured sales methodologies (e.g., MEDDIC, Challenger, Miller Heiman) to improve qualification, shorten sales cycles and increase win rates.
Develop and maintain sales collateral, reference architectures, service level documents, and standardized SOW templates for repeatable security services offers.
Serve as the voice of the customer internally — provide feedback to product management and engineering on feature requests, service improvements and market demand signals.
Work with compliance, security and procurement teams to ensure customer implementations meet contractual security requirements, data residency, and regulatory obligations (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, etc.).
Participate in security industry events, conferences, and customer workshops to generate pipeline, build brand credibility, and maintain visibility with strategic accounts.
Track and report sales KPIs, pipeline health, forecasting accuracy and deal risk to Sales Leadership and take proactive steps to remediate at-risk opportunities.
Mentor and coach junior sales colleagues and field sellers on effective security services selling techniques, deal structuring and customer engagement patterns.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Maintain accurate and timely CRM records (contacts, activities, opportunity updates, forecasting) and use CRM analytics to drive personal and team performance.
Work with marketing to develop targeted campaigns, webinars, and demand-generation activities for security services and capture qualified leads.
Produce customer-facing case studies, reference materials and win stories to accelerate future sales and demonstrate measurable outcomes.
Support internal enablement and Lunch-and-Learn sessions for sales and partner teams to promote new service offerings and updates.
Coordinate and prioritize internal resources during large, multi-phase deals to ensure timely delivery of proposals, security assessments and contract documents.
Assist in customer escalations related to contract terms, delivery expectations or SOW scope and work to reach mutually acceptable resolutions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven consultative sales experience selling managed security services (MSS/MDR/MSSP), SIEM (e.g., IBM QRadar), XDR and incident response services into enterprise accounts.
CRM proficiency: advanced user of Salesforce (or equivalent) for pipeline management, forecasting and reporting.
Strong understanding of security operations (SOC), threat detection, incident response lifecycle, endpoint and network telemetry and SIEM/XDR architecture.
Cloud security knowledge across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform, including native security tools and cloud logging/monitoring integration patterns.
Experience responding to RFPs/RFIs, drafting SOWs and negotiating commercial/contractual terms and SLAs for security services.
Familiarity with security standards and frameworks: NIST CSF, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA and how managed services support compliance.
Ability to build and present ROI, TCO, and risk reduction business cases using quantitative metrics and customer data.
Technical literacy with common security controls: EDR, vulnerability management, threat intelligence, IAM, network security and DLP.
Proficiency with presentation tools (PowerPoint), analytics tools (Excel, Tableau/Power BI), and collaboration platforms (Teams/Zoom).
Knowledge of partner ecosystems, channel GTM models, and experience enabling/reselling through partner networks.

Soft Skills

Executive presence and ability to influence CISO and other senior stakeholders across IT, security and business lines.
Strong consultative selling and negotiation skills with a customer-first mindset and commercial acumen.
Excellent oral and written communication skills: able to translate complex technical capabilities into business value language.
Strong project and time management skills; able to manage multiple large deals simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
Collaborative team player who can coordinate cross-functional teams, mentor peers and build consensus.
Resilience and persistence in long enterprise sales cycles; coachable with a continuous improvement mindset.
Problem-solving orientation: able to decompose complex customer challenges and design pragmatic service-focused solutions.
Cultural sensitivity and adaptability for working in global accounts and cross-border engagements.
Strategic thinking with the ability to map short-term tactics into long-term account plans.
High ethical standards and attention to compliance, data privacy and contractual obligations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Business Administration, or related field (or equivalent work experience).

Preferred Education:

Master's degree (MBA or MS in Cybersecurity/Information Technology) or advanced professional certifications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Cybersecurity / Information Security
Computer Science / Information Technology
Business Administration / Sales & Marketing
Risk Management / Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10 years in enterprise technology sales with a minimum of 3–5 years focused specifically on cybersecurity services, managed services, or security consulting.

Preferred:

7–12+ years selling enterprise security services (MSS/MDR, SOC, incident response, consulting) with demonstrated quota attainment, experience closing multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts, and strong references from strategic accounts.
Past experience working with large enterprise and public sector accounts, familiarity with procurement cycles, and proven success navigating complex buying centers.

Keywords: IBM Security Services Sales Specialist, MDR, SIEM, XDR, managed security services, MSSP, security sales, SOC, incident response, security consulting, cloud security, QRadar, sales quota, enterprise security, RFP, proof-of-concept, Salesforce.