Bangladesh Software Company Targeting SE Asia
Details shared with permission.
Situation
A mid-sized software company based in Bangladesh had built a solid product and was delivering strong results for local clients. But the leadership team had a bigger ambition: to expand into Southeast Asia, a region with growing demand for affordable, high-quality software services. The problem was that every significant deal in the company's history had been closed by the founder. The sales team existed on paper, but in practice, they were executing without direction. There was no outbound system. No defined target market for SE Asia. No messaging that spoke to the pain points of buyers in that region. The founder knew that scaling internationally couldn't happen the same way the company had grown locally, through relationships and referrals. They needed a system. But building one while running the business felt impossible.
What was unclear
The team had been active on LinkedIn, sending connection requests, sharing content, and occasionally messaging prospects. But there was no structure behind any of it. There was no clear definition of who the ideal client was in SE Asia. Messages were generic and product-focused, listing features rather than addressing the specific challenges that Southeast Asian buyers face when evaluating offshore software partners. Nobody was tracking what was working. There was no way to distinguish a warm reply from noise. The team couldn't tell whether low response rates were caused by bad targeting, weak messaging, or poor timing. Every outreach attempt felt like starting from scratch. The founder was also unsure whether LinkedIn alone was the right channel, or whether the team needed to layer in email, calls, or other touchpoints. Without data, every decision was a guess.
What we changed in the system
We started with a diagnostic, not execution. Before sending a single message, we mapped the company's existing sales motion, identified where it was breaking down, and defined what needed to change. First, we sharpened the target client profile for SE Asia. Instead of a broad "software companies in the region," we identified specific industries, company sizes, and buying triggers that made certain prospects far more likely to respond. We built a signal-based targeting framework, not a job-title list. Next, we created a message framework tied to real pain points. Every sequence was structured around the problems SE Asian buyers actually face when choosing a software partner: trust, communication gaps, timezone alignment, and delivery risk. The messaging didn't pitch features, it addressed fears. Then we ran campaigns side-by-side with the team. This wasn't a handoff. Every campaign was built together, reviewed together, and adjusted based on live data. The team learned by doing, not by reading a playbook. We also built a simple signal-tracking system so the team could see exactly which messages were generating replies, which prospects were engaging, and where to focus follow-up energy.
What improved
Within two months of launching the system, the results were tangible and the team's confidence had shifted. 200 outreach messages were sent through LinkedIn, a single channel, deliberately focused to build a baseline before expanding. Of those, 11 generated genuine replies, a 5.5% reply rate, which is strong for cold outbound in a new market. Two qualified meetings were booked by week 8. These weren't casual conversations, they were structured discovery calls with decision-makers at companies that matched the defined target profile. More importantly, the team could now run outreach independently. They had a clear target client definition, a tested message framework, and a repeatable process they understood and trusted. The founder was no longer needed on every outreach thread. The system was still in its early stage, an ongoing pilot, but the foundation was built. The company had moved from "we should try SE Asia" to "we have a working outbound motion that's producing pipeline in SE Asia."
Go deeper
Read the thinking behind our approach, learn how we work with teams, or start a conversation about your situation.
Outbound performance, Month 2
| Metric | Result | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Outreach sent | 200 touches | |
| Replies received | 11 | - |
| Meetings booked | 2 | - |
Related industry reading
Explore further
Facing a similar challenge? We'd be happy to discuss your situation.
Start a conversation