TL;DR. Ghent buys on relationship and trust built over multiple conversations. Kortrijk and West Flanders buy on proof, pragmatism, and directness from call one. Use the same script in both markets and you lose in both.
Ask any Flemish person if there's a difference between a Ghent business owner and a Kortrijk business owner. They laugh, say "come on, we're only an hour apart", and don't think about it any further.
Ask the same to an outbound SDR running 3,000 calls a month in both cities and they don't laugh. They confirm: two different markets, two different openings, two different closings. Same language. Different tactics.
Here's what we've observed over the last two years across hundreds of campaigns in Ghent, Kortrijk, Waregem, Roeselare, and Antwerp.
Ghent: tech, relationship, patience
Ghent has transformed over the past 15 years. The inner city is now a tech and scale-up scene, with iMec, Bloomon alumni, bio-tech around UGent, digital agencies around Dok-Noord, and a SaaS ecosystem raising international rounds.
The 2026 Ghent B2B buyer is typically:
- 30–50 years old, tech-literate, reads English content
- Relationship first, transaction later. A first call in Ghent is rarely the purchase decision. It's a vibe check.
- Interested in the human behind the product — who runs the company, what culture
- Longer cycles than average. Ghent B2B deals of €25k+ take 8–14 weeks on average from first contact to signed
- Sensitive to network signals. "Do you also know X?" opens doors faster than any cold email
What works in Ghent:
- Framing openers: "I'm not calling to sell anything today. I'm calling to see if it's worth getting to know each other."
- Second meetings without a direct pitch
- LinkedIn warming 5–10 days before the phone call
- References to existing clients in the same ecosystem
- Content (good content, not spam) as an opener — Ghent buyers read
What doesn't work in Ghent:
- Hard closing in call one ("when can we start this?")
- US-style pitches with inflated claims
- Dry price lists without narrative
- Calling on Friday afternoons
Kortrijk and West Flanders: industry, proof, directness
Kortrijk and by extension West Flanders (Waregem, Roeselare, Izegem, Bruges) is a different beast. The economic base is industrial: textile, metalworking, manufacturing, logistics around the E17, specific niches that export globally. Family-at-the-top SMEs with second and third-generation owners.
The 2026 Kortrijk B2B buyer is typically:
- 40–60 years old, operational to their fingertips, pragmatic
- Proof first. Who are you, who do you know, what have you actually delivered. Without that: no follow-up.
- More direct than Ghent, more polite than the Netherlands. "I have 5 minutes, what do you want?" is an invitation, not a rejection.
- Decides fast once proof is sufficient. Kortrijk deals of €15k–€30k can close in 3–5 weeks — much faster than Ghent.
- Distrusts polished website language. "No chitchat" is a cultural compliment.
What works in Kortrijk:
- Concrete openers: "I'm calling because [specific client in their sector] just signed for [concrete result]."
- References from their own province or NACE code
- Concrete pricing within the first five minutes
- Transparency on process and reporting
- Calling between 8:30–10:00 (early starters) or 13:30–15:30
What doesn't work in Kortrijk:
- "Building rapport" in call one (feels fake)
- Vague value propositions ("we help companies grow")
- Complex sales decks with buzzwords
- Three follow-up emails before the first call
Antwerp, Roeselare, Bruges: the in-between variants
Antwerp sits closer to the Ghent profile but with an extra layer of commercial self-assurance — Antwerp buyers know what they want and say it upfront. They usually decide faster than Ghent but ask more critical questions than Kortrijk.
Roeselare and Bruges follow the Kortrijk pattern, with Bruges slightly more conservative in pricing discussions and Roeselare slightly more direct than Kortrijk (is that possible? yes).
How we adapt scripts per city
When we start a campaign for a client selling across Flanders, we don't build one script. We build three — and we call in the order that matches each market's speed.
| Phase | Ghent | Kortrijk/West-Fl. | Antwerp | |---|---|---|---| | Opening (first 30s) | Frame + shared network name | Concrete proof + direct reason for calling | Direct value prop + name | | Discovery (2–5 min) | Open questions, listen, explore | Three concrete pain-point questions | Mix: concrete but with room | | CTA | "Should we find a moment to explore?" | "Do you have time next week for 30 minutes to go through the numbers?" | "What works better for you: Thursday afternoon or Friday morning?" | | Follow-up | Within 24h + LinkedIn warmup | Within 4h + concrete next step in email | Within 2h + direct calendar proposal |
This isn't higher mathematics. It's listening to 500 call recordings per region and naming the pattern.
What this means for a Flemish outbound plan
Three practical implications:
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One script for all of Flanders = a suboptimal script for each city. If you hire an outbound agency that treats "Flanders" as one market, ask them about their regional differentiation. If they don't have any, you lose 20–30% of your meeting ratio on average.
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Calling order can boost your ratio. We often start campaigns in West Flanders (faster decisions = faster feedback loops) and adapt the script for Ghent (longer cycles, more nuance needed).
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Not all leads are equally priced. A meeting in Kortrijk takes fewer calls on average (54:1) than a meeting in Ghent (67:1) at comparable ICP quality. The close rate after the meeting is reversed: Ghent closes at higher average ACV.
Also read our case study on a West Flanders industrial player for how this plays out in practice.
FAQ
Does this also apply to Wallonia and Brussels? Wallonia is a completely different market: French, more hierarchical, slower cycles, more formality. Brussels is bilingual and sits in buyer-psychology terms between Ghent and Wallonia. Both need their own scripts.
Do I really need three different cold callers for each city? No. One good caller who adapts to regional accent and pace is fine. But the scripting and opener must differ.
How do I recognize an outbound agency that gets this? Ask: "What's your meeting ratio in Ghent versus Kortrijk?" A good agency has two different numbers and explains why. A bad one says "it's the same everywhere."
Does LinkedIn outreach also differ per city? Yes. Ghent buyers read LinkedIn content and respond to thought leadership. Kortrijk buyers rarely use LinkedIn for B2B purchases — phone or email is more effective there.
What about Limburg and the Kempen? Limburg leans toward the Antwerp pattern with more patience in decision-making. The Kempen is culturally closer to West Flanders: directness, proof-first, family SMEs.
Ready to move?
We run campaigns every week in Ghent, Kortrijk, and Antwerp. If you want to know how your specific offer would land in each region, book a free audit. We simulate three openings live and let you hear which one works.