← Qualys
Qualys role-play cheat sheet
For the mock cold call at the end of most SDR interviews.
What they sell, in one line
Qualys is cloud software that finds security weaknesses in a company's systems and checks they meet compliance rules.
Who you'd be calling
CISOs, security and vulnerability managers, IT risk and compliance leads at small, mid-size and large companies.
Your opener
“Hi [Name], this is [You] from Qualys. We help security teams see which weak spots in their systems actually need fixing first, and I'm curious how you handle that today. Do you have a quick minute?”
Problems you solve for them
- Not knowing all the computers and software the company has, or which are vulnerable
- Too many security alerts and no clear order to fix them in
- Proving compliance to auditors takes huge manual effort
Discovery questions to ask
- How do you find and track vulnerabilities across your systems today?
- How do you decide which ones to fix first?
- How much time does your team spend preparing for audits?
Objections they'll throw at you
“I'm busy right now.”
→ I hear you, I'll be brief. Is there a better time this week for a 10-minute chat?
“Not interested.”
→ No worries, I'm calling out of the blue. Just so I understand, who owns vulnerability scanning on your side?
“We already use a scanner.”
→ Good, so you know the pain of long lists. How do you sort which findings matter most?
“Email me something.”
→ Of course. To send the right thing, is your bigger challenge finding vulnerabilities, prioritizing them, or compliance reporting?
Competitors worth knowing
Tenable, Rapid7
Interview tips for this company
- Understand 'vulnerability' simply as an unpatched hole in software that attackers can use.
- Know that Qualys sells to both small and large companies, so adjust your language to the size of the buyer.
Written from public information about Qualys to help you practice. Ask an insider what their role play looked like; it's the best prep there is.