Niittyla&Kanto Oy | 11 October 2026
You can start exploring the Finnish B2B market through outsourced prospecting and appointment setting before hiring a local sales team. A partner researches suitable companies, reaches relevant decision-makers and arranges sales conversations. Your own team presents the solution, prepares proposals and builds the customer relationship.
For a company with an offering that already works in another market, this creates a practical way to test demand in Finland. The first conversations can help establish which buyers have a relevant need, what they expect and what local sales resources an expansion would require.
Start with a specific customer group
The first question is which Finnish companies have a credible reason to buy your solution. Industry and headcount can help narrow the search, but they do not explain why an individual company would need what you sell.
At Niittyla&Kanto, we start with the client’s existing business. Who has already bought? What problem did the purchase solve? What made the timing right? We use those answers to identify companies in Finland where a comparable need may exist.
For example, a supplier of production software could investigate a manufacturer’s production model, existing systems and expansion plans. This is an illustrative example, but the principle is practical: there should be a reason for each company’s place on the prospect list.
Adapt the approach to the buyer’s situation
Preparing for a new market includes choosing relevant evidence, explaining the value of a conversation and making the next step clear. The recipient should understand why you contacted their company and what they could gain from speaking with you.
Agree on the language of both outreach and subsequent sales meetings before starting. If your sales team will conduct meetings in English, make that clear when arranging them. Finnish-language outreach at the beginning does not settle the language requirements for later customer support or delivery.
You also need practical answers about serving customers in Finland. Who will handle implementation, support and product questions? These details matter when an initial expression of interest develops into a serious buying discussion.
If your expansion also involves establishing operations in Finland, Invest in Finland provides information and guidance for international companies considering Finland.
Turn company research into relevant conversations
Once the audience is defined, we research target companies and identify the people responsible for the relevant issue. We prepare the approach and carry out the agreed outreach through channels such as email, LinkedIn and phone. The channel mix depends on the audience and the scope of the project.
AI helps gather and organise company information and prepare messages. People assess whether the findings are accurate and whether there is a sound reason to approach the business. Automation supports follow-up and reduces repetitive administrative work.
For a broader European perspective, read Niittyla&Kanto co-founder Alex Kanto’s TechNovice article on AI, buyer research and B2B market entry.
Before booking a meeting, the agreed criteria should be checked: the company’s fit, the participant’s role and their understanding of the purpose of the discussion. The meeting then creates an opportunity to explore the need and buying timeline in more detail.
Agree on responsibilities before outreach begins
Outsourced market entry needs to connect directly to your own sales process. A practical division of responsibilities is:
The partner handles the agreed research, outreach, appointment setting and documentation of relevant background information.
Your team attends meetings, assesses whether the solution fits, prepares proposals and takes responsibility for delivery.
Both teams refine targeting and messaging using prospect responses and feedback from sales meetings.
Every meeting needs an owner and a clear next step. Otherwise, interest generated in the market can go unused even when the initial outreach has worked.
SmartRetur secured 91 meetings in a Finnish market launch
A three-month go-to-market project supported SmartRetur’s launch of a new plastic pallet concept in Finland. The audience was food manufacturers and importers supplying retailers. The project contacted 214 companies and booked 91 meetings; 42.5% of the target companies progressed to a meeting.
SmartRetur had the capacity to handle the meetings and sales process. N&K supported it with company research, multichannel outreach and CRM reporting. These figures describe that project’s booked meetings, not completed sales or a promised result for another business.
Read the full SmartRetur market-entry case study
The SmartRetur project is also documented in our Finnish-language case on Itewiki.
Measure what you learn as well as the meetings
Track contacted companies, responses, booked and held meetings, follow-up discussions, proposals and sales separately. This helps you see where interest progresses and where it stops.
The content of the responses is useful too. Does the same need appear repeatedly in one segment? Do buyers ask for local references? Are discussions held back by price, timing or the fit of the solution? These findings can help you refine the offer and assess whether hiring a local salesperson is justified.
Match the scope and budget to the question you need answered
Start with a defined audience and a clear commercial question. Agree on the outreach scope, working period and review criteria before the project begins. The appropriate meeting target and timeline will depend on the business and market.
At Niittyla&Kanto, a limited ongoing customer acquisition service can start at around €500 per month, excluding VAT. International market-entry work is priced according to the research required, languages, channels and delivery scope. A broader multichannel launch is priced separately.
Planning your first sales conversations in Finland
Niittyla&Kanto Oy helps B2B companies with prospecting, appointment setting and market-entry projects in Finland and internationally. Tell us what you sell, which customers have already benefited from it and who would handle new sales conversations. We can then assess a suitable target audience and a practical way to begin.
Explore more B2B customer case studies.
