How a Cybersecurity Consulting Firm Generated €850K in Pipeline in Under 3 Months

Success Built on Referrals Alone

For years, this leading cybersecurity consulting firm had built a solid reputation in Belgium's cybersecurity consulting landscape.

With €1M+ in annual revenue and a team of 15 experts, they were the go-to firm for GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) consulting.

Their expertise was unquestionable, their client satisfaction was high, and their growth was... stagnant.

Like many successful consulting firms, they had fallen into the comfortable trap of relying entirely on word-of-mouth and inbound leads.

"We've always grown through referrals," their leadership reflected. "It worked for us, so why change?"

When Organic Growth Hits a Wall

The wake-up call came with their merger with another group.

Suddenly, this cybersecurity firm faced aggressive growth targets that their organic lead generation simply couldn't support.

To hit their new objectives, they needed a predictable, scalable way to generate new business.

For four years, they had tried to hire a salesperson who could understand cybersecurity well enough to sell it effectively.

Four years of failed searches. Four years of watching opportunities slip away while competitors with better sales engines pulled ahead.

The regulatory landscape was shifting too. With NIS2 (Network and Information Security Directive 2) creating new compliance requirements. There was a massive market opportunity waiting to be captured.

But without a systematic way to reach potential clients, they were watching this goldmine from the sidelines.

Previous Failed Attempts

This wasn't their first rodeo with growth initiatives. They had tried:

Lead Generation Agencies: "We got burned by agencies counting unqualified leads as success. They didn't understand cybersecurity, and their 'qualified leads' were just tire-kickers who wasted our time."

Internal SDR Teams: "We hired people without cybersecurity experience thinking we could train them. It was a disaster. You can't improvise cybersecurity sales. it required deep understanding of GDPR, NIS2, and compliance frameworks."

Each failure reinforced their belief that maybe organic growth was their only option. Maybe cybersecurity consulting was just too complex for systematic outbound sales.

Discovering a Different Approach

That's when this cybersecurity consulting firm encountered Profitbl. Not another typical lead generation agency, but a specialized sales partner that understood their unique challenges.

"What caught our attention," recalls their leadership, "was that Profitbl didn't just promise leads. They talked about fixing our go-to-market fundamentals first. They understood that cybersecurity and CISOs. It requires expertise to sell effectively."

Profitbl's approach was different:

• Senior SDRs with industry knowledge, not junior reps reading scripts
• Go-to-market consulting to fix positioning and messaging first
• Commission-based pricing that aligned incentives with results
• IP sharing to build internal capability, not create dependency

‍

Want to see how this compares to industry benchmarks? Download our European SDR Outsourcing Study to discover the hidden costs that double your true SDR expenses. See how your results stack up against 50+ European tech companies. Click here to access it.

‍

The Strategic Implementation

The partnership began with Profitbl's systematic approach:

Week 1: Deep-dive into the firm's positioning, identifying their key differentiator as an independent firm. Competitors resold specific tech stacks and could be biased. We refined messaging that emphasized their unbiased, vendor-agnostic approach to compliance consulting

Week 2: Launched targeted campaigns to CISOs, CIOs, and CEOs at companies facing NIS2 compliance requirements

Week 3: First qualified meetings executed and entering the pipeline

We booked companies that needed genuine cybersecurity expertise. Not just checkbox compliance.

Early Challenges and Breakthroughs

The cybersecurity market is notoriously skeptical of cold outreach. Decision-makers are bombarded with security vendor pitches daily.

“CISOs told me they get 20 to 30 cold calls per day. They also get 30 to 40 cold emails per day.” Alex at Profitbl “To break through the noise, you have to be relevant. You need to show you understand deeply the problem and regulations. Pushing products and services is not enough.”

Profitbl's industry expertise showed. Instead of generic "cybersecurity solutions" messaging, they crafted campaigns that spoke directly to specific compliance pain points. They positioned the firm as the independent expert who could navigate complex regulatory requirements without vendor bias.

The breakthrough came in Week 3: A micro-campaign combining personalized emails, past project credibility, and strategic phone calls generated immediate response. Within 7 days, this single campaign created €300K in pipeline.

The Ordeal: Scaling What Works

The real test came in sustaining and scaling these results. Could they replicate the Week 3 success consistently? Could they maintain quality while increasing volume?

Working together, the cybersecurity firm and Profitbl refined their approach:

• Documented winning scripts and messaging frameworks
• Identified key buying triggers for different prospect segments
• Optimized their tech stack for systematic outbound efforts
• Created repeatable processes for lead qualification and handoff

The Reward: Transformation Achieved

The results spoke for themselves:

🎯 17 Qualified Meetings generated in under 3 months

Not just any meetings, qualified conversations with genuine decision-makers who had budget, authority, and need.

💰 €850,000 in Pipeline created in under 3 months

From a standing start to nearly €1M in qualified opportunities.

⚡ €300K Pipeline in 7 Days from a single optimized campaign

Proof that the right message to the right audience creates explosive results.

🏢 Enterprise-Level Meetings booked with CISOs, CIOs, and CEOs

Including the CIO of one of Belgium's largest public institutions.

⏰ Rapid Time-to-Results: First meetings in Week 2, qualified pipeline in Week 3

"I think you are very good at generating opportunities. It has been 4 years that our founder had been looking for someone like you. It's rare to find someone who knows how to do that and understands cybersecurity." – Cybersecurity Consulting Firm Leadership

Building Internal Capability

Typical agency relationships can create dependency. Profitbl Core's IP-sharing approach meant the firm was building internal sales capability throughout the engagement.

They now had:

• Documented positioning and messaging frameworks
• Proven scripts and processes
• Clear understanding of their buying triggers
• Optimized tech stack for continued outbound efforts
• Data on what works in their specific market

The New Firm

Today, this leading cybersecurity consulting firm operates with a completely transformed growth engine.

They're no longer dependent on hoping for referrals or waiting for inbound leads.

They have a predictable, scalable system for generating qualified opportunities in the cybersecurity consulting market.

The transformation extends beyond just lead generation:

• Strategic Positioning: Clear differentiation as the independent, unbiased cybersecurity consultant
• Market Timing: Ability to capitalize on regulatory changes like NIS2
• Scalable Processes: Documented systems that can be replicated and scaled
• Competitive Advantage: While competitors struggle with traditional sales approaches, this firm has cracked the code on cybersecurity consulting sales

The Lesson we Learned

For cybersecurity consulting founders and CEOs facing similar challenges, this firm's journey offers a clear blueprint:

The Problem Isn't Your Market – Cybersecurity services can absolutely be sold systematically, but it requires industry expertise, not generic sales tactics.

Positioning Is Everything – Your technical expertise means nothing if you can't communicate your unique value clearly to busy executives.

Senior Expertise Matters – Junior reps reading scripts will never succeed in complex B2B sales. You need experienced professionals who understand your space.

Results Come Fast When Done Right – With the right approach, you can see qualified meetings in weeks, not months.

Independence Creates Value – In a market full of vendors pushing products, being the unbiased expert consultant is a powerful differentiator.

‍

Calculate your potential ROI: Use our interactive outbound ROI Calculator to see what results you could get. Build your board-ready business case in under 10 minutes. Click here to download it now.

‍