Zapcom Cybersecurity: Finding the Invisible Buyer
01 — Client & Context
As Head of Marketing at Zapcom Group, the cybersecurity vertical required GTM from scratch. The primary product was enterprise DDoS and application security — a $100K+ contract sale to CISOs and CTOs. The buyer profile made standard demand generation useless: security buyers actively avoid ads, use ad-blockers, never fill out gated content forms, and are trained to distrust vendor outreach.
The portfolio grew to 200 new logos in Year 1 — 4 enterprise accounts and the remainder mid-market and SME.
02 — The Challenge
The Invisible Buyer
CISOs are not reachable through conventional digital marketing. Ad-blockers eliminate display and social entirely. Gated content ("download the whitepaper") is a known trust-destroyer in the security community. Long sales cycles of 6–9 months made standard 30-day attribution completely unworkable.
The Attribution Problem
Even when a deal closed, the attribution chain was invisible. A CISO might engage with Reddit threads, attend a webinar, read three LinkedIn posts, and then respond to an SDR email — none of which standard attribution models capture. Standard CRM pipelines showed "cold inbound" on deals that had been nurtured for months through dark social.
03 — Strategy & Technology
Abandoned conventional demand generation entirely. Moved to an intent-first, AI-accelerated model where the primary motion was reading intent signals and responding faster than any human SDR could.
Intent-Based ABM & Dark Social
Stopped gating content entirely. Optimised for content consumption — video views and PDF reads on LinkedIn and Reddit — and used those engagement signals to trigger outbound sales sequences. A CISO who watched 80% of a technical video on DDoS mitigation became a warm account, not a "cold contact."
GitHub PLG Motion
Built a product-led growth motion around Radware's open GitHub repository. Security engineers — the technical influencers in enterprise buying decisions — discover tools through code, not ads. Optimised the repository for discoverability, usage, and star growth. Engineers engaging with the repo became a downstream signal for enterprise account outreach.
The AI SDR Engine (Primary Motion)
Built a proprietary automation workflow using n8n, Claude, and ElevenLabs that compressed lead-to-outreach time from 24 hours to under 4 minutes.
Evolution: manual SDR qualification taking 24 hours per response — to an automated AI agent that processed, personalised, and queued outreach in under 4 minutes. Reduced dependency on human SDRs for initial qualification by 60%.
04 — Key Metrics
What They Said
"I had the privilege of working alongside Sankalp Bandyopadhyay, and I can confidently say he is one of the most dynamic and forward-thinking marketing leaders I've come across. His ability to connect data-driven strategies with customer-centric storytelling is unmatched. Sankalp brings deep expertise across fintech, digital transformation, and AI-driven engagement strategies. What sets Sankalp apart is his strategic mindset combined with a bias for action. He not only sets the vision but ensures flawless execution, always keeping the customer journey at the center."