Cybersecurity Sales: Getting Past the Gatekeeper to the CISO
CISOs are the most over-prospected executives in B2B. According to IANS Research (2025), the average CISO receives 37 vendor outreach messages per week. They've built immunity to generic pitches about "zero-trust" and "next-gen threat protection."
Yet cybersecurity is a $215 billion market (Gartner, 2025) growing at 14% annually. CISOs are buying, they're just not buying from vendors who can't demonstrate that they understand the specific threats relevant to that CISO's industry, tech stack, and regulatory environment.
If you're selling cybersecurity solutions and your outreach reads like every other vendor's, you're dead on arrival.
Why CISOs Ignore Most Vendors
| Mistake | Result |
|---|---|
| Feature-first pitches | "We offer endpoint protection" - so does everyone |
| Generic threat claims | "Threats are increasing" - they know, not helpful |
| No tech stack awareness | Pitching a SIEM to a company already running Splunk |
| Wrong entry point | Reaching security analysts who can't approve budget |
The CISO wants to know: "Do you understand MY threat landscape? Do you know what I'm already running? Can you tell me something about MY risk that I don't already know?"
How IngageNow Engages Security Leaders
Threat Landscape Intelligence
The platform researches each target company's security posture through public signals: disclosed breaches, compliance certifications (SOC2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS), published security policies, and technology stack analysis.
Stack-Aware Messaging
Outreach acknowledges their existing investments: "Your migration from on-prem Active Directory to Entra ID creates a specific 90-day vulnerability window in identity governance. That's the gap our solution was designed for. Worth a 10-minute architecture call?"
Multi-Level Threading
CISOs don't buy alone. The platform simultaneously engages the VP of Engineering (technical validation), the CFO (budget justification), and the CISO (strategic vision) with role-appropriate messaging.
Security Sales Results
| Metric | Standard Outbound | With IngageNow |
|---|---|---|
| CISO-Level Meetings / Quarter | 3-5 | 15-25 |
| Response Rate | 1.5% | 8-12% |
| Technical Validation Requests | Ad hoc | 60%+ of engagements |
| Average Deal Size | $75K | $120K+ (multi-product) |
| Win Rate | 18% | 32% |
Perfect For
- Endpoint security vendors competing against incumbents
- Identity and access management companies targeting mid-market
- Cloud security platforms reaching companies mid-migration
- Compliance automation vendors targeting regulated industries
Start Reaching CISOs
- Define your threat thesis: What specific risk does your solution address
- Set security signals: Compliance gaps, tech stack changes, breach disclosures
- Launch multi-threaded campaigns: CISO + CFO + VP Engineering, coordinated
The CISO's inbox is full. Their threat landscape is evolving. Be the vendor who proves they understand both.