SEA Unfiltered: Community Spotlight
A 30-minute Zoom call is efficient. But if you sell into APAC, relying on virtual meetings kills your pipeline.
Foreign companies assume a great product sells itself. They run the same playbook everywhere: Hire outbound → book virtual demos → send a contract → close.
That works in the US. It fails in APAC.
We asked Eric Andrade, Partnerships and Commercial Lead at Loyalytics AI, why pipelines stall in this region.
His takeaway: The problem isn't your product. It's your presence.
Here are three ground truths of APAC sales that dictate whether you win or lose to a local competitor who showed up in person:
1️⃣ You are selling to completely different markets, not one.
Treating APAC as a single market will cost you deals. There is no one-size-fits-all approach; each country has distinct nuances. The highly structured pitch that wins in Sydney often fails completely with a relationship-first buyer in Bangkok or Manila.
The fix: Stop copy-pasting strategies.
Adapt to each market specifically. If your sales motion doesn't change when you cross a border, you aren't localizing, you are translating.
2️⃣ Zoom builds rapport. Coffee builds trust.
Great software means nothing without trust. Beyond your product and market need, trust is hard-earned and constantly tested in this region.
You cannot earn it over a video call. Remote vendors are viewed as an operational risk. Buyers need to know you are committed, not just fishing for revenue from 4,000 miles away.
The fix: Get on a plane.
Eric's team signs deals through field visits, specifically hosting prospects for meals and coffee. A plane ticket does more for your closing rate than a new feature.
3️⃣ Build a localized team structure.
A standardized global org chart doesn't work here. Eric emphasizes that to navigate the region, you must align different team members locally for each specific market.
The fix: Build a presence on the ground.
You need a team structure adapted specifically to the market you are selling into, supported by field visits from your founders to get the deals over the line.
These points don't require a better product. They require an operating model built for APAC.
Foreign teams see a stalled deal and send another automated email. By the time they get a polite rejection, a competitor already closed the deal over dinner.
You cannot close major deals here without getting on a plane.
Your APAC pipeline isn't bleeding because your software lacks features. It is bleeding because buyers view your remote sales process as a massive risk.
Local competitors are winning because they know the unwritten rules.
We documented exactly how they bypass gatekeepers, build local trust, and get into the room to sign the contract here 👇🏻
Saleh Nabil
Founder @ Xpandeast