Selling Security Means Selling Trust. Your Reps Have to Believe It First.
Security sales cycles are long, technical and full of stakeholders, and the buyer is really paying for confidence that a very bad day will not happen. Chris Sund keynotes sales kickoffs for teams selling into that kind of decision. He gives reps the LOCKS framework for finding where a security deal is stuck, and the conviction to sell a product they believe in.
Why Security Deals Stall
Security buyers rarely get excited about a tool. They are buying a lower chance of something going wrong, and proving a negative is hard. A deal can pass through security, IT, procurement, legal and finance, and any one of them can quietly stop the clock.
Chris does not pretend to be a security engineer. He brings what he knows as an operator who sells and leads sales teams: how buyers decide, and how to find the one condition that is missing instead of pushing harder on everything.
Long, Technical Cycles
Evaluations, proofs of concept and security reviews stretch a deal across quarters, and momentum leaks out between steps. LOCKS gives reps a check to run at every stage.
Selling Risk, Not Features
The buyer pays to avoid an outcome. Stakes has to be shown honestly, because experienced security buyers tune out fear tactics fast.
Trust Is the Product
When a buyer is handing you access to their systems, Confidence in You carries more weight than in almost any other sale.
Belief in Your Own Product
Buyers hear doubt. Conviction that transfers starts with a rep who believes in what the product does and can say why in the buyer’s words.
LOCKS for Security Deals
Five conditions every stakeholder has to reach before a deal closes. Hit four and the lock stays shut. LOCKS tells reps which one is missing, and for whom.
Love the Product
Security buyers seldom love a tool. They love what it lets them stop worrying about. Tie the product to the specific risk they named, in their words.
Own Belief
“Can my team actually run this?” A stretched team worrying about one more thing to manage has a belief problem, not a feature gap.
Confidence in You
Do they trust you and your company with access? Send the recap the same day, do what you said, and admit what the product does not do.
Kickoff Plan
What does the first thirty days of deployment look like, and who does what? A buyer who can see the rollout is much closer to yes.
Stakes
Show both twelve-month paths, solving the problem and leaving it, plainly and without hype. Real urgency, not fear.
When a tumbler sticks, Chris pairs LOCKS with the LAARC method so reps leave with both the diagnosis and the conversation that follows. For the price conversation in particular, see How to Handle Price Objections.
The Brewery Buyer Who Called It Paper Clips
Before healthcare, Chris was head of sales and marketing for a brewery. The beer was in every major store in its market except one: the biggest retailer in the country. Every store manager he asked gave the same answer. They did not decide. One buyer did. So Chris called that buyer. Then he called again, and kept calling.
When the buyer finally picked up, he told Chris he was persistent, then asked whether he knew how many items were in his stores, and whether he bought paper clips. To him, the beer was a paper clip: one more item in a building full of them. Chris did not argue about how good the beer was. He explained what not carrying it was costing the retailer. It was a top seller in its category, every competitor stocked it, and its fans were loyal enough to drive to a competitor to buy it and do the rest of their shopping there.
The buyer’s reply: “Get me your best sellers, every store, and I want a display.” Persistence got Chris the call. Stakes got him the order. Security reps recognize the move. The buyer already knew the product was good. Stakes, shown plainly and without hype, is what closed it.
- Running LOCKS on every deal in a long, multi-stakeholder cycle
- Selling the cost of doing nothing without fear tactics
- Earning Confidence in You with buyers who trust almost no one
- Making the deployment plan part of the pitch
- Conviction that transfers from the rep to the buyer
- Handling objections without defaulting to a discount
Where the Keynote Fits in a Security SKO
Chris shapes the session around the agenda you already have. For the full planning timeline, see How to Plan a Sales Kickoff, and for theme ideas, Sales Kickoff Themes and Ideas.
Opening General Session
After leadership shares the number and the product roadmap, the keynote turns the plan into a way of selling it.
Keynote Plus Breakout
The main stage for everyone, then a breakout where reps and sales engineers bring live, stalled deals and run them through LOCKS.
Half or Full Day
An in-person working session for a sales team, or for frontline managers who will coach LOCKS and LAARC after the kickoff.
Proof: Sales Rooms Chris Has Spoken To
Chris delivered You Are Capable of More: Sales at the Definitive Healthcare sales kickoff in Boston, to more than 800 sellers of a data and analytics product. The session covered a consistency system, objection handling through LAARC, rejection resilience, ownership of the number and conviction that transfers.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Chris speak a few times now, including at our company’s Sales Kickoff in front of 800+ people — which he crushed. Each time he finds a unique way to connect with his audience on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
Chris was the consummate professional with an excellent stage presence. Not only did he work with our change in scheduling, topics, and even how many speakers were onstage at the same time — but he did it with grace and tact. Chris resonated with the audience to the point I had many attendees come up to me and ask where we got him. I would recommend Chris for any speaking needs as he’s versatile, flexible, and professional.
Having Chris Sund as a Sarpy County Empower Breakfast speaker was a breath of fresh air. He was amazing — brought up all the things that make us all a little crazy and gave us new ways of handling objections. Definitely a great start to a day. I would always be happy to recommend Chris.
Programs for Security Sales Teams
Every session is customized to your product, your buyers and the stage where deals stall.
You Are Capable of More: Sales
The flagship sales keynote, built on LOCKS, with the brewery story and the habits of producers who keep raising their own ceiling.
How to Handle Objections
A focused session on the moment a buyer pushes back, using LAARC to keep the conversation moving.
Sales Training Workshop
A half or full day in person where reps work their own live deals through LOCKS and practice the conversations.
Take Back Your Time with AI
Practical AI for the tasks eating everyone’s week, from proposals to follow-up, taught by an operator running an AI company.
Who Books This Session
Related pages: Sales Kickoff Keynote Speaker · SaaS Sales Kickoff Speaker · Tech Company Keynote Speaker · Company Kickoff Speaker · Partner Summit Speaker · The LOCKS Framework · How to Plan a Sales Kickoff · Sales Kickoff Themes and Ideas · Revenue Kickoff Speaker · IT Channel & MSP Conference Speaker · Fintech Conference Speaker · AI Training for Sales Teams · How to Close More Deals
What Security SKO Planners Ask
Does Chris have a cybersecurity background?
No, and he does not pretend to. He is COO of Nebula, an AI talent-sourcing tech company, and President and COO of two healthcare staffing companies, so he speaks to how buyers decide and how sales teams win. Before the event he holds a planning call to learn your product, your buyers and where deals stall, then builds the examples around that.
How does LOCKS apply to long, technical security sales cycles?
In a long cycle, a deal can look healthy while one condition quietly goes unmet for one stakeholder. Reps run the five LOCKS questions at each stage and for each stakeholder, so they know whether the gap is belief, trust, the deployment plan or the cost of waiting. See the LOCKS framework.
Will the keynote teach fear-based selling?
No. The Stakes condition is about showing both twelve-month paths honestly: where the buyer is if they solve the problem, and where they are if it keeps compounding. Experienced security buyers tune out fear tactics, and so does Chris.
Does it work for account executives, sales engineers and channel reps in the same room?
Yes. LOCKS gives the whole team one vocabulary for where a deal is stuck, and the brewery story lands with anyone who has had to sell a product the buyer did not think they needed. For a whole revenue organization, see the revenue kickoff speaker page.
What formats are available?
A keynote for the general session, a breakout for reps or managers, and half-day or full-day workshops where reps work their own live deals through LOCKS and LAARC. All workshops are in person.
You Are Capable of More
The bestselling book behind the keynote: an Amazon bestseller and the 2026 Paris Book Festival winner in the How-To category. For a security sales team, one idea matters most: belief is one of the five parts of LOCKS for a reason, and it starts with the rep.
Sales leaders often send every rep home with a signed copy, so the kickoff keeps working after the event. Bulk orders are available.
He Sells and Leads Sales Teams Today
Chris is President & COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula, an AI talent-sourcing tech company. He helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years, earning #3 on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest, along with a Fortune Best Workplaces award and Best Places to Work recognition across multiple programs.
Before healthcare he spent ten years in restaurants and beverage, finishing as head of sales and marketing for a brewery. He is the Amazon bestselling author of You Are Capable of More, winner of the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival, and he writes for Forbes and Inc.
He has been a guest on WOWT Omaha, 10/11 Lincoln, Bloom on WFLA Tampa, Studio 512 on KXAN Austin, My KC Live on KCTV5, Iowa Live on WOI and Dakota News Now. See media.
Stages I Have Spoken On
Where Sales Audiences Have Heard Chris
Sales kickoffs, objection-handling sessions and business conferences where Chris has spoken.
Definitive Healthcare SKOBoston, MA · 800+ sellersemPower Breakfast LincolnOct 2026 · Handling ObjectionsMICA Fall Business MeetingsTake Back Your Time with AILeadingAge IllinoisPublished the LAARC MethodNAHCR 2026 Annual ConferenceMilwaukee, WICalifornia Staffing ProfessionalsCSP ConferenceAlso: SaaS Sales Kickoffs · Tech Company Keynotes · All Sales Speaking · See all speaking engagements →
Bring Chris to Your Security Sales Kickoff
Tell Chris what you sell, who your buyers are and where deals stall. You’ll get a fast, straight answer on fit and availability.
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