SDR Makes History by Actually Caring That A CISO Did Not Want to be Emailed

In what industry experts are calling “absolutely unprecedented,” Willis Carmichael, an SDR from Jiminy, IA, reportedly read a LinkedIn post from Hugh Heidun, CISO at PromptyMe, politely asking vendors to stop cold emailing him. And actually considered it.

Carmichael, a grizzled six-month veteran of trying to book meetings with people who would rather eat glass, began to worry that Heidun would never accept his request unless he stopped prospecting entirely.

Hoping to show good faith, Carmichael scheduled a Teams call with his Salesforce admin to ask if marking a prospect as “Do Not Contact” counted as a form of thoughtful personalization. “She stared at me,” Carmichael said, “and then explained that Heidun blocked our entire domain weeks ago.

Carmichael refused to give up. He brought the situation to his Interim BDR Manager. Interim, because the previous manager clicked too many fake DocuSigns while trying to sign a performance improvement plan. “My manager listened carefully,” Carmichael said, “then suggested I try emailing the CISO from a personal Gmail. He claimed security people find it charming.”

Plot Twist: Emails Intensify

Three hundred miles away, somewhere in Oklahoma, CISO Hugh Heidun was becoming increasingly confused. Not only had the emails failed to stop, but the volume had increased.

“I genuinely thought I was clear,” Heidun said. “I asked nicely. I asked firmly. I created an Outlook rule that automatically replies with a screaming emoji. The emails did not slow down for even one minute.”

When asked if this sort of thing had happened before, Heidun nodded slowly. “Yes. Last summer I sent a company-wide reminder not to click suspicious links. Four minutes later, someone replied asking if it was a phishing test, then forwarded it to the entire organization for awareness. Our SPoG went berserk.

He waited a beat, then added, “SPoG means Single Pane of Glass. Everyone should know that by now.”

Justice Prevails

The situation finally resolved itself when Carmichael, overwhelmed by bounced messages, access blocks, and increasingly hostile autoresponders, announced that he was leaving tech entirely. He signed up for a nine-week online chainsaw safety program and told friends he wanted “a career with fewer emotional hazards.”

When asked if he had any second thoughts, Carmichael shook his head. “I tried everything. I sent thoughtful notes. I followed up fourteen times in 2 days. I added value in ways nobody asked for. In return, I got blocked in more regions than most ransomware teams.”

He paused, then added, “At some point, a person has to take a hint. I'm not sure when that is, but maybe the next BDR will find it.”

When we asked Hugh Heidun, CISO at PromptyMe how he felt knowing Carmichael had resigned, he simply said: "Good. One down."