The challenge 

Multinational search engine provider reached out to us as it needed to find new business opportunities for its cybersecurity product but it doesn't have a dedicated regional salesforce to prospect the markets (Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary). Moreover, they needed not only someone local but also someone with a proven sales record in the region.

Preparation phase 

In the beginning we needed to create a database of relevant accounts from the public sector (Institutions, Ministries, Hospitals) and identify people in charge of IT security. Prospecting public sector institutions can be a bit tricky as cyber security is the matter of utmost priority for them and not everyone is willing to discuss these matters. This is why we had to adjust our sales scripts and playbooks so we can get past gatekeepers and get in touch with the right prospects.

Execution phase

In this part our main goals were: 1) Get in touch with the Chief Information Security officer (CISO) or other relevant decision makers 2) Schedule a meeting with a sales representative. Additionally, we were reporting to the client on the weekly basis to make sure our outreach strategy was properly calibrated.

Results achieved 

• 80% of all accounts provided us with champions within their organization 
• 40% out of those accounts agreed to book a meeting

Key takeaways: 

🇪🇺 Much higher penetration of the Hungarian, Czech and Slovak markets is achieved if the prospecting is done by a native speaker. We know from experience that certain markets are less responsive to the English language

🏢 State Institutions in Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary are often times rigid when it comes to discussing potential changes in IT infrastructure

📞 You need to consider adjusting your outreach strategy accordingly when prospecting public institutions. Same playbooks you used before (in our case it was b2g) may not work the same way here

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