B2B lead generation in APAC is filled with nuance. Even when your ideal customer profile is clear, messaging on point, and outreach automated — leads sometimes go quiet. This is the story of one such silent lead, and how human intuition, paired with smart automation, helped turn it into a significant deal for a SaaS company expanding into Asia.
It’s also a clear example of how well-managed outsourced sales development for SMBs can bring real results — fast.
1. The Client: A European SaaS Company Expanding to APAC
The client was a growth-stage SaaS company headquartered in Europe. They were looking to enter Southeast Asia but didn’t have in-house sales resources in the region. They partnered with SDR.sg for outsourced SDR services in Singapore to help build early traction and sales pipeline.
Our scope included:
- Ideal customer profiling and segmentation
- Cold email and LinkedIn messaging
- Light AI-powered sales prospecting tools
- Manual lead validation and call outreach
- Complete sales pipeline building solutions
The campaign launched in Singapore, with potential expansion into Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
2. The Silent Lead
Within the first two weeks, we had good indicators: email open rates exceeded 40%, and LinkedIn acceptance rates were high. But one lead stood out — a procurement executive at a Fortune 500 company had opened our email several times but hadn’t responded.
There were no bounces, no unsubscribes, no meeting booked. Just silence.
This is where most sales automation would stop. But hybrid sales team AI and human means knowing when to pause automation and act human.
3. The Human Moment
Instead of another generic follow-up, our SDR crafted a short, direct, and empathetic LinkedIn message:
“Hi Jo, I noticed you’ve reviewed our email a few times but haven’t had a chance to respond. If the timing’s not right, I completely understand. Just curious if there’s something specific you’re looking for that we might’ve missed?”
It wasn’t sent by a bot. It wasn’t part of the sequence. It was a decision based on behavior, tone, and context — all things AI doesn’t fully understand.
Two hours later, we received a response:
“Actually, yes. We just kicked off a vendor digitization project internally. I meant to reply earlier. Let’s set up a meeting next week.”
That meeting turned into a discovery call with the regional and global teams. Within three weeks, the client was part of a vendor pilot program.
4. The Results
Here’s what came out of that one “silent” lead:
- A high-value sales meeting booked in a Tier 1 enterprise account
- A paid pilot project across three APAC markets
- A 12-month SaaS deal signed within a quarter
- Expansion of the client’s trust in sales development outsourcing for SaaS companies
This validated both our approach and the value of APAC sales expansion services when executed with care, speed, and precision.
5. Lessons Learned
This story reinforces several key principles:
- Interest isn’t always loud – Just because someone doesn’t reply doesn’t mean they’re not interested.
- Automation is not everything – AI and automation are powerful, but human intuition and timing often seal the deal.
- Follow-up should be intelligent, not persistent – The best SDRs know when to stop automating and start listening.
6. What This Means for You
If your business is expanding into Asia and struggling to generate traction, this is your sign to stop relying solely on automation. Building pipeline in new markets — especially across APAC — requires local context, cultural sensitivity, and real conversations.
We help global startups and B2B SaaS companies:
- Book more sales meetings in APAC
- Build consistent, qualified pipelines
- Combine automation and empathy in a hybrid sales strategy
- Test and refine go-to-market strategies in APAC before hiring in-house
Whether you’re scaling a sales function or just testing a market, sales development outsourcing is a faster, lower-risk way to grow.
Let’s book your next 10 qualified meetings in APAC.
Contact us to launch a custom SDR campaign for your region and goals.