← Black Kite
Black Kite role-play cheat sheet
For the mock cold call at the end of most SDR interviews.
What they sell, in one line
Platform that continuously rates the cyber risk of a company's vendors, using outside-in data.
Who you'd be calling
CISOs, heads of third-party/vendor risk, GRC and compliance leaders at mid-size to large companies, especially banks, insurers and healthcare
Your opener
“Hi, this is Alex from Black Kite. I know I'm catching you cold, do you have a quick minute? I work with security and risk teams who need to keep an eye on hundreds of vendors without sending endless questionnaires.”
Problems you solve for them
- Vendors and suppliers are a common way attackers get in, and it's hard to track them all
- Questionnaires and annual reviews are slow and out of date quickly
- Leaders need clear risk, financial and compliance answers, not raw technical data
Discovery questions to ask
- How do you keep track of the cyber risk of your vendors today?
- How many vendors do you review, and how often does each get looked at?
- What happens when a vendor you use gets breached or has a new vulnerability?
Objections they'll throw at you
“I'm busy right now.”
→ No problem, I'll be brief. Is there a better time this week for 10 minutes, or should I ask one quick question now?
“We're not interested.”
→ Understood. Out of curiosity, who owns vendor risk on your team? I want to make sure I'm not wasting your time with the wrong person.
“We already use something for vendor risk.”
→ Good, so it's already a priority for you. What do you like and what do you wish it did better? Many teams just want a second view to compare.
“Just send me an email.”
→ Sure thing. What's the one vendor-risk topic you'd actually want to read about? And can I follow up Thursday to hear your thoughts?
Competitors worth knowing
SecurityScorecard, Bitsight, UpGuard
Interview tips for this company
- Learn the term 'third-party risk': a company can be hacked through a supplier, which is why buyers care.
- Black Kite says it's trusted by 3,000+ organizations, so you can mention that, but only as the company states it.
Written from public information about Black Kite to help you practice. Ask an insider what their role play looked like; it's the best prep there is.