How Smart.pr went from Dutch market leader to Danish sales momentum 

Lead Generation and Sales Execution created 73 SQLs and a more continuous sales process in Denmark. 

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Smart.pr taking on an established Danish market leader in Ritzau

Smart.pr is a Dutch SaaS company providing PR software for communications professionals. Founded in 2008, the company has built a leading position in the Netherlands and successfully expanded into Belgium.

Denmark was proving harder to crack.

Smart.pr had already spent around two years developing the market. The product was proven, but the Danish market was already home to Ritzau, a well-established local competitor with a strong position among Danish communications professionals. Combined with limited commercial momentum, this made consistent new business difficult.

“We were looking to achieve more new business conversations, so more contact with Danish organisations to try and sell our tool, and on a consistent basis as well. VAEKST has helped us a lot with that, and we’ve had over 70 new business opportunities since we started working together.”

Isabel, Account Manager at Smart.pr

Smart.pr partnered with VAEKST on Lead Generation to build a qualified Danish pipeline and create a more systematic approach to new business.

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How Smart.pr used 750 sales conversations to sharpen its Danish outbound strategy 

Together, Smart.pr and VAEKST built an outbound strategy focused on organisations with genuine PR activity.

Rather than relying mainly on broad industry criteria, the team prioritised organisations that regularly issue press releases, work actively with Danish media and have dedicated communications or press professionals.

VAEKST has since been in dialogue with decision-makers at around 750 Danish organisations.

Those conversations created qualified opportunities and gave the team a much deeper understanding of the market. VAEKST learned how organisations manage journalist relations, which PR tools they use, what creates interest and which factors influence the timing of a potential switch.

That knowledge was continuously fed back into targeting, qualification and the sales approach.

“I really have a feeling that the people we’re working together with know what they’re doing. They know how sales works, and they know what’s important in a conversation with prospects.”

Isabel, Account Manager at Smart.pr

Local execution also made the first part of the sales process easier. Danish-speaking consultants and local phone numbers helped Smart.pr approach the market in a way that felt closer to the organisations they wanted to reach. 

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From Lead Generation to Sales Execution

As the collaboration developed, VAEKST built deeper knowledge of both Smart.pr’s product and the Danish PR market.

At the same time, the team identified an opportunity to create more value from the pipeline already being generated.

The collaboration was therefore expanded from Lead Generation to Sales Execution.

VAEKST moved from primarily creating and qualifying opportunities to also running discovery meetings, product demos and follow-up. Smart.pr now joins the process closer to the later commercial stages.

The change has created a smoother and more continuous sales process.

“I think our sales process is also running a lot more smoothly and continuously."

Isabel, Account Manager at Smart.pr

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73 SQLs and an expanded Sales Execution partnership

The collaboration has so far delivered:

• Around 750 conversations with Danish organisations
• 73 Sales Qualified Leads
• A continuous pipeline of qualified new business opportunities
• The first customer closed by VAEKST after just four Sales Execution meetings

The initial Lead Generation setup created a strong foundation of qualified opportunities and first-hand market insights. As the collaboration expanded into Sales Execution, VAEKST began taking greater responsibility for converting that pipeline into new business.

The expanded setup quickly proved its potential, with VAEKST closing its first customer after just four Sales Execution meetings. 

What started as a Lead Generation partnership has since developed into a broader sales collaboration, with VAEKST taking responsibility for more of Smart.pr’s commercial process in Denmark.

“One thing that stood out to me the most is how well VAEKST has adapted to our tone of voice and the way we communicate our product. It almost feels like they are part of the Smart.pr team when speaking with prospects.”

Isabel, Account Manager at Smart.pr

Today, VAEKST combines sales expertise, local market knowledge and continuous execution to help Smart.pr turn more conversations into qualified opportunities and new customers.

For international B2B companies entering a new market, the lesson is simple: the more you learn from the market, the better you can sell into it.

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