With increased traffic and more users, businesses will inevitably approach you for advertising, and advertising costs money! The higher the traffic, the higher the price you'll charge for advertising!
"You mean... embedding ads on the firewall?"
“That’s right, but it’s only one approach,” Fabiano said steadily. “You see, firewalls and antivirus software these days are basically paid software. If we charge for them too, it will be difficult to open up the market. And because of the limitations of this firewall, we can’t target low-end customers. Besides, if we want to make money, we won’t do it from low-end customers!”
As soon as these words were spoken, many people immediately realized what was going on.
That's right. You need to know what cybersecurity companies do. It's not just about installing antivirus software and scanning for viruses. Anyone who's used a computer for a few days could do that! Why would we need a dedicated cybersecurity company?!
For Liam, they don't make much money from their own firewalls each year; the key is after-sales service!
This is the real issue!
Furthermore, it's difficult for a paid antivirus firewall to quickly capture market share because many well-known brands already exist. Nobody wants to waste money installing a newly released firewall!
Then let's just make it free!
Free installation. Paid service! You can also earn traffic and advertising revenue!
In comparison, the software usage fee is negligible!
Fabiano continued, "What we need to do now is leverage our existing customer base while continuing to expand it, and the most suitable method, in my opinion, is... selling insurance!"
Chapter 229 The Willing to Take the Bait (Part 2)
When Fabiano said this, everyone present laughed. Many of them laughed with great contempt.
Please. What do you take us for? An insurance company?
This is the first time I've heard of selling firewalls like selling insurance!
Fabiano looked at the sneering crowd. A slight, contemptuous smile appeared on his lips as a form of retaliation. His smile was subtle, just a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. Then, with that mocking smile, he looked at each of those who had just laughed at him.
It must be said, Fabiano's smile was very confident. The moment he looked into someone's eyes, that person immediately stopped laughing. After he had looked around the room, it fell silent. No one dared to make a sound.
Because we're professional!
Fabiano gave up his previous high-paying job to join Liam Corporation. Not because he knew anyone there, nor because John offered him a high salary to poach him. It was because Fabiano himself felt his life was boring. So he came to this company to start a new challenge… Imagine. To be able to bring a declining company back to normalcy and even expand it further—what an ability that would be! What an achievement!
He doesn't lack money!
After Fabiano arrived, Liam's declining fortunes actually improved somewhat. His achievements speak for themselves. Most of the people present were computer experts, and in business, they were absolutely no match for this genius.
Seeing that no one spoke, Fabiano said calmly, "Let me start by sharing my thoughts. If anyone has a better method, please feel free to suggest it. If not... then all of you, please shut up!"
His last sentence resonated throughout the conference room. But no one dared to speak. Because they knew that when it came to selling things, no one could compare to Fabiano. No one present had the right to question his words.
John was displeased, but he couldn't care less at this point. He gestured for John to continue.
"Insurance sales are the most skillful, sophisticated, and best sales methods in the world. Everyone knows that insurance salespeople are better at talking than stand-up comedians. When you encounter an insurance salesperson, the first thing that comes to mind is that your wallet is going to be in danger."
The whole room burst into laughter. Indeed, that was true.
Encountering someone selling insurance is indeed a headache. Compared to many salespeople, insurance salespeople are even more troublesome.
However, it must be admitted that this method is very effective. Looking at how well insurance companies operate every year makes it clear. Although their sales tactics are widely criticized, and many accuse the training mechanisms within many insurance companies of being similar to brainwashing in pyramid schemes… that's still legal. Therefore, as long as it's peacetime, insurance companies will thrive.
“What we need now are promoters, like insurance salespeople. They need to make users understand the value and capabilities of our firewall, and to get them to use it willingly. Because you see, a new firewall, whether in terms of operating habits or trustworthiness, is much worse than an old firewall. To get users to install our product, we must use some conventional methods.”
“But don’t you think the cost of using this method is too high?” Someone quickly raised a question: “Please. We’ve discussed this before. You agreed that this firewall might be sold for free. How are we going to give the salespeople commissions? They can earn hundreds of pounds for every insurance policy they sell. Where are we going to get that much money to give them?”
“We don’t need to give them money at all,” Fabiano said calmly. “Besides, we don’t make money from firewalls. What we can make money from is after-sales service. We can give them a commission on after-sales service… So the promoters we need must be proficient in after-sales service themselves. We’ll adopt a system where whoever is responsible handles the process. The more firewalls they install, the more customers they’ll have for after-sales service… I believe no one can refuse that, right?”
That's absolutely right. Everyone present nodded in agreement.
Because typical cybersecurity companies don't target the average home computer user; they cater to high-end users. While most people who have used computers for a few years can easily handle minor issues like viruses, high-end users face much greater security concerns, such as being vulnerable to hacker attacks.
However, the typical company practice is this: customers use our product, then call to report a problem, and the company sends someone to repair it… This isn't based on the customer specifying who should repair it. And the customer doesn't even know who should be sent!
However, this method combines sales and repair into one, and the profit-sharing mechanism motivates subordinates... finding more customers means more opportunities, and therefore, more money!
This creates a virtuous cycle!
Employees need to be proactive in finding more users, so there's no need to pay them for this. The more customers they have, the more they earn, the more the company earns, and the better its reputation becomes!
Fabiano's words immediately made everyone understand. They thought to themselves, "No wonder he came from an insurance business; his mind is much sharper than ours, who's just a computer geek."
"Profit sharing. Bonuses. Anything is fine. Everything is done according to the insurance company and product salesperson... Actually, they have another way of extending their reach: developing a downline."
"Developing downlines?! You're trying to run a pyramid scheme?!" Upon hearing this, almost everyone immediately thought of the word "pyramid scheme"... It's not that pyramid schemes don't exist in the UK!
"Ha," Fabiano chuckled. "So, a downline makes it a pyramid scheme? Does that mean all insurance sales are pyramid schemes?"
One sentence silenced everyone.
The insurance industry does indeed have a system of "downlines." But to put it more politely, it's called "performance." It refers to how many insurance policies their subordinates have sold. Regional managers and the like receive commissions… that's the nicer way of putting it.
"As the user base grows, it's inevitable that people will start recruiting others. It's simply impossible for one person to handle everything. But that's okay. We just need to prepare the corresponding countermeasures in advance."
"Excellent!" John clapped. "Fabiano, this matter is entirely your responsibility. From now on, you're the Marketing Manager. Produce a plan as soon as possible. As for your salary, do you want a profit-sharing arrangement or a fixed salary... Ha. You definitely want a profit-sharing arrangement. Well, from today onwards, besides me, you're the highest-ranking person!"
After those words were spoken, everyone's gaze towards Fabiano became uncontrollably intense!
Liam Corporation is not a joint-stock company. Therefore, everyone here is an employee. John's statement means that from today onwards, the highest-paid employee in the company is Fabiano!
How can this not make others envious?
However, they couldn't do anything about it. Since they hadn't created the firewall, they had no right to speak. But some people were thinking that they needed to cultivate a good relationship with Fabiano now, otherwise they wouldn't even get any meat later.
Fabiano nodded nonchalantly and walked out. Though outwardly calm, he was inwardly ecstatic. He had thought the company was doomed, but unexpectedly, a huge windfall had fallen from the sky!
Next, Liam Company unleashed a level of initiative and passion rarely seen in recent years, embarking on a massive hiring spree!
In the M4 corridor. Never worry about finding talent. But this time, Liam Corporation is looking to hire promoters. Good looks, excellent communication skills, and some basic computer knowledge are required… though expertise is always a plus.
Just when all the companies were completely baffled by what Liam Corporation was doing, Liam Corporation suddenly launched an advertisement with overwhelming force: The world's best firewall... Ice River Firewall. Completely free!
Liam Corporation was going all out to make money. But no matter what they did, Chen Xu was unaware. He gave them the firewall and the operating mechanism. If there were virus updates, they could improve them themselves, upgrade the system, or release patches... But Chen Xu also kept a backup plan for himself.
That means if he wanted to release any hacking software, he would release it directly into an update package. Because installing the software on each botnet individually would be incredibly exhausting! In just three days, the number of botnets displayed in Chen Xu's control software surpassed 3,500!
Chen Xu was unaware that Fabiano was responsible for half of the 3,500 botnets. He contacted a data center in London and installed IceRiver firewalls on all of them, thus providing Chen Xu with such a large number of botnets at once.
The number of these botnets is still soaring. Xiaomin predicts that the number might plateau around 30,000, after which growth will slow down... because Liam doesn't have the capability to fully develop this firewall and capture a large market share. Also, because the Ice River firewall has extremely high hardware requirements, its user base is much smaller than that of ordinary firewalls.
This is because high-end users account for at most one-tenth of the market. And many high-end users are unlikely to choose a firewall with such an obvious backdoor.
Watching the number of broiler chickens soar, Chen Xule was practically grinning from ear to ear. Just then, Zhong Ziyu brought someone in, smiling, and said, "Let me introduce you. This is my master. Young and fat!"
Chapter 230: Premature Obesity Arrives
He became obese at a young age.
A very, very fat person... um. Definitely fatter than Xiao Bing.
He's not short. At least 1.8 meters tall. He has sparse hair on top, a receding hairline, but it looks like it's just grown back after a recent shave. His T-shirt is oversized, a white Nike, but for some reason it's covered in patches of soup. It looks like he just finished eating at an outdoor barbecue… no, like he just finished grilling at an outdoor barbecue.
To be honest, this image is quite consistent with Chen Xu's guess about him.
But the stains on his body... uh. I don't know why. Oh well.
The young, overweight man searched around as soon as he entered. His gaze quickly settled on Chen Xu. He immediately approached him, bowed like a Japanese man, and uttered a phrase that made everyone burst into laughter: "Senior Brother!"
Really?
Zhong Ziyu's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Gao Xiaojie and Zhan Jing were also astonished. Only Chen Xu was practically bursting with laughter inside, but he maintained a surprised expression: "What did you call me?"
"Hehe." Young and fat scratched his bald head: "Senior brother. Um. Well. I also became a disciple of the SMMH boss. The teacher said that you entered the sect before me. So according to seniority, it is absolutely right for me to call you senior brother."
Chen Xu was a disciple secretly taken in by SMMH. Almost everyone present knew this, so it wasn't particularly surprising. But who would have thought that such a young and overweight man would have the honor of becoming that man's student? It's just… the seniority… it's really a bit awkward.
Zhong Ziyu looked like she was about to cry: "Boss, Chen Xu is your senior brother. So what should I call him?"
"Of course, it's my senior master!" Even the prematurely overweight young man was frustrated. He'd lost his seniority. His junior brother's seniority had also fallen. Sigh. Ultimately, it all came down to him. But oh well. It's just losing a seniority. To be able to become the disciple of the internet god SMMH—what ordinary person has that honor?!
Chen Xu's stomach was practically bursting with laughter, but he forced a smile onto his face. Zhong Ziyu noticed this and exclaimed, "Hey! Don't even dream about it! I'd rather die than call you my senior uncle!"
"Whether I call you or not is none of your business, you little bastard!" Young and fat slapped him hard. "Damn it. If you consider me your boss, then you have to call me! You think my words don't count for anything!"
This guy's mouth is full of vulgarities. But he's actually quite funny to watch. Especially Zhong Ziyu's crying but unable to cry look, it's even funnier. So Chen Xushuang is practically rolling on the floor with amusement. He patted the chubby young man affectionately and said, "Um, the teacher also told me. Well, actually, if you feel awkward, you can just call me by my name. I don't mind."
The implication was that he had already acknowledged this senior brother's status. Chen Xu deliberately glanced at Zhong Ziyu. This guy wanted to cry even more.
Yingnian Zaofei exchanged a few pleasantries with Chen Xu before turning to Zhan Jing. He smiled and said, "Oh my! I didn't expect the beautiful Xuancao Jiangli to be here too. She's my senior's classmate. Hmm, our group is truly full of hidden talents!"
Zhan Jing smiled politely. She knew what kind of temper Ying Nianzaofei had. He was alright in person, but in the Red Hacker Alliance chat, this guy was constantly sending lewd pictures. He'd been scolded by Blue Baby countless times, but he just wouldn't change.
Gao Xiaojie and Wu Yuan squatted in a corner, sulking and drawing circles. Their skills were the worst here.
Zhong Ziyu was eager to change the subject. She quickly said, "Master, what happened to you? And why did you take so long to arrive?!"
"Don't even mention it!" The young, overweight man said with a look of utter dismay, "Damn it! I was supposed to fly here three days ago. But then there was a huge thunderstorm, and we couldn't take off. So I waited and waited and waited at the airport. The rain didn't stop for a whole day. I had no choice but to cancel my flight and buy a train ticket. But those were sold out too! And that's not all. When I got out of the train station, I found my phone and wallet had been stolen! Luckily, the thief had some professional ethics. He stuffed my bank cards and ID into my back pocket. Then I got really annoyed. In a fit of anger, I thought, 'It's just...'" It's from Shanghai to Hexie City, a few hundred kilometers away. I drove here myself! But after I got on the highway, I drove too fast and didn't see the road signs. By the time I realized it, I had already passed Hexie City. I was almost in Wuhan! You can't turn around on the highway. And to make matters worse, my GPS was broken. Frustrated, I turned the car around and drove back. I almost crashed! When I got to Hexie University, I wanted to ask someone for directions. Then I saw a beautiful girl at the school gate. A very busty girl! So I went up to her and asked her. I was also thinking about whether I could ask her out for a meal and get her phone number or something…”
Zhong Ziyu tilted his head, looked at the young and chubby boy and chuckled, "Boss, I think you wanted to strike up a conversation with her first, and then ask us, right? The order is reversed."
"Anyway, it's the same thing!" Young, fat, and incredibly thick-skinned, he pretended not to hear after being exposed. He continued, "But before I could even say two words, that girl just threw what she was carrying at my face! Holy crap! A whole plastic bag of steaming hot beef noodles! I almost got disfigured!"
"Your disfigurement is the same as plastic surgery..." Chen Xu, Wu Yuan, Gao Xiaojie, and Zhong Ziyu all muttered to themselves in unison. But no one said it aloud.
Young and Fat rolled his eyes and said, "Then that big-breasted girl wiggled her butt and walked away. I was so annoyed that I went to wash my face. Then, while I was driving around near the school gate, I ran into you!"
She's beautiful. Big-breasted. And so hot...
Chen Xu, Gao Xiaojie, and Zhan Jing exchanged a glance. Unconsciously, they all thought of the same person at the same time.
So Gao Xiaojie asked, "Hey, you fat old man, what did you say to that pretty girl that made her throw beef noodles at you?"
"I just complimented her on her looks!" the young, overweight man declared confidently. "I told her, 'You're prettier than that top hostess I met at the nightclub the other day. And you have a great figure too!'"
Everyone stared speechlessly at the sky. "Is that so?" Gao Xiaojie thought to herself. If it were her, if she didn't know this guy, if she didn't know he had this kind of foolish temper, she probably would have smacked him to death on the spot with her high heels!
Young and overweight was still wondering, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong? I was telling you, that top hostess at that nightclub is really beautiful. She's even got that uniform fetish. I was planning to take Lao Guan there sometime. Guan Pingchao, you guys know him? Brother Gaochao spent a few years in Japan. Tsk tsk, that was the life he lived..."
Zhan Jing finally couldn't help but cough twice, interrupting the carefree fat man. This guy... she used to think he was just pretending to be stupid in the group chat. Now she realized he's genuinely stupid! No wonder he looks like Fan Wei! Guan Pingchao did study in Japan, but he's a good man, okay? He's devoted to his wife. Do you think you'd go to Japan and spend all your time in the red-light district like you do?!
Gao Xiaojie whispered menacingly in Chen Xu's ear, "From now on, except when you're doing hacking work, stay away from this fat guy. Otherwise, he'll corrupt you!"
Chen Xu wiped his sweat. He hadn't expected that this young man, so obese at a young age, would sometimes resemble a mentally challenged child. He guessed this guy had been staying home too much, spending all his time online. In real life, he really dared to say anything without any restraint. He probably acted the same way when interacting with others. Sigh! Actually, this wasn't surprising. Some people are naturally bad at socializing. Take Kevin Mitnick, for example. From childhood, Nick was seen as a strange child by those around him. He had no friends and spent all his time on electronics. But who could have imagined that this ordinary child would one day become the world's greatest hacker?
The prison hacker... Kevin Mitnick!