What Six Years Selling DAST for Rapid7 Taught Me About Q4 Performance

Six consecutive years as Rapid7's top DAST sales performer taught me something important: Q4 dominance isn't about luck or last-minute heroics. It's about methodology executed with discipline throughout the year.

The volume-plus-velocity strategy I'll share here produced Sales MVP recognition, top-three revenue producer status, and consistent Presidents Club performance. But the principles apply to any enterprise appsec sales professional willing to execute them.

(Learn more about my two decades in application security—from the market's origins through founding True Positives—in the author bio below.)

The Pattern Behind Peak Q4 Performance

While enterprise application security purchases follow patterns that alternate between predictable and erratic, I operated with a different rhythm. My approach combined relentless, fearless, and creative proactive prospecting with timely persistent engagement. Put simply, throughout the entire year I stuffed my pipeline funnel with as many well-qualified opportunities as I could, then marched them vigorously and smartly toward an outcome, knowing that fallout was continuously being replaced at the top.

My performance consistently peaked in Q4, but not for the reasons most assumed. I didn't coast earlier in the year waiting for year-end urgency. I flooded the zone with qualified sales opportunities from January forward. Every conversation, demonstration, and technical evaluation represented potential revenue. This approach meant I entered Q4 with substantially more mature deals than competitors. The volume-plus-velocity strategy also made slower summer months easier to navigate and provided cushion when unexpected delays and setbacks inevitably occurred.

The formula wasn't rocket science. It came from applying everything I learned from accomplished professionals in the field, combined with the willingness to work hard and work smart. The mathematics simply favored this approach. If enterprise DAST sales converted at 20% close rates after lengthy evaluations, I needed five qualified opportunities to reliably close one deal. Most sales professionals managed 15-20 active opportunities. I maintained 60-80. When Q4 arrived and natural conversion rates played out, my volume advantage produced consistent outperformance that appeared to others like late-year heroics. It wasn't magic. It was deliberate pipeline construction throughout the year combined with relentless engagement that prevented qualified opportunities from dying through inattention.

What Top Q4 Performers Do

The volume advantage strategy in action:

• Flood the zone - Maintain 60-80+ active opportunities versus typical 15-20
• Prospect non-stop - Don't allow outward focus to lapse when times are busy
• Prospect creatively - Use names, job titles, and keywords across public news and information sources to find and pinpoint new outreach targets
• Leave no stone unturned - Maintain relentless focus to develop and maintain a robust opportunity pipeline within your patch
• Orchestrate to eliminate competition - Develop strong tactics to eliminate competition and execute solution trials that prove superiority
• Learn to finesse versus push toward positive outcomes - Strategic patience meets tactical aggression—know the difference
• Work hard + smart - Leverage experienced partners like True Positives to enhance performance and reach.

Top Q4 performers understand that midnight on December 31st marks the finish line. Everything before that moment represents opportunity. This conviction separates sustained high performers from those who ease into holiday mode while deals remain unclosed.

Enterprise security sales rewards those who maintain intensity when others relax. Q4 brings predictable advantages for the prepared: organizations facing year-end budget pressures suddenly have purchase authority for initiatives that seemed theoretical in summer. Compliance deadlines converge. Strategic planning for next year's programs accelerates current-year purchases. Security incidents that occur during Q4 budget cycles receive immediate funding attention that earlier events might not.

The professionals who extract maximum Q4 performance don't rely on these external factors alone. They've built the pipeline volume throughout the year that allows natural conversion rates to produce exceptional results. They've maintained relationships during quiet months so dormant prospects resurface with urgency. They've preserved technical credibility for accelerated proof-of-concept evaluations. They understand procurement procedures that enable year-end closes when timing compresses.

This requires both strategic patience and tactical aggressiveness. Reactivating stalled prospects with fresh value propositions. Identifying internal champions who can expedite procurement processes. Leveraging compliance deadlines and budget pressures to create constructive urgency without manufactured hype. Leaving no stone unturned through the final hours of the year.

T+ Is Here to Help

Let True Positives help elevate your performance, expand your success, and increase your rewards for Q4 and beyond.

Looking back at what top Q4 performers do, we're prepared to share specific tactics, strategies, and insights that translate those principles into closed business:

• Pipeline Development Techniques - How to prospect creatively using public information sources to pinpoint high-value targets within your territory
• Competitive Displacement Tactics - Learn proven methods for delivering your first pitch, then orchestrating winning solution trials and POCs
• Hybrid Testing Strategy & Approach - We'll provide specifics about designing hybrid testing solutions that couple seamlessly with your Invicti sales, creating comprehensive offerings that eliminate competition and seal client relationships
• Regional Account Support - T+ extends your reach to startup, SMB, and small enterprise opportunities in your region—delivering the same qualification expertise, sales support, and strategic nurturing these accounts deserve as Fortune 500 entities receive

Ready to elevate your Q4 performance?

It ain't over till it's over. True Positives remains hard at it until the clock strikes midnight December 31st. When you need sage advice or tactical support, we're here. Our infrastructure, expertise, and partnership approach enable your success during the most critical selling period.

Contact us at partner.invicti@true-positives.com to schedule a strategy session.

About the Author

Brian Pavicic's roots in application security and security automation stretch back to the origins of the market with firms like @stake, Veracode, and NTObjectives, whose groundbreaking NTOSpyder was at the forefront of DAST automation. Following its acquisition by Rapid7 in 2014, he thrived as a DAST solution sales expert through 2020, when he departed to found True Positives. During this period, he earned Sales MVP recognition in 2016 and remained among the top three revenue producers through 2019, earning Presidents Club trips to Jamaica, Costa Rica, and the Cayman Islands. The volume-plus-velocity methodology documented here produced six consecutive years as Rapid7's top sales performer.

Brian Pavicic
CEO & Founder, True Positives, LLC.