Project · In Progress
SME Outreach
Case Study
One of the core skills of an account manager is the ability to identify client needs, build rapport quickly, and translate a product's value into something that matters to that specific business. This project is my attempt to practise that.
The Idea
Reaching out to Aberdeen SMEs
I'm cold contacting local Aberdeen SMEs and asking for a short conversation about how they currently use — or don't use — digital tools in their business. The goal is to understand their real pain points and then write up how a cloud or SaaS solution could concretely help them. It's the discovery call part of sales, done from scratch.
Account managers at companies like Salesforce, AWS, and Google spend their days doing exactly this at enterprise scale — finding out what a client actually needs, not just what they say they need, and matching that to a product. By doing it with local businesses I can build the muscle of writing outreach that gets a reply, running a conversation that surfaces real insight, and turning that insight into a written recommendation.
Process
Identify businesses
Targeting Aberdeen SMEs across hospitality, retail, and trades — sectors where digital adoption is uneven and the conversation is interesting.
Cold outreach
Writing and sending personalised messages — in person, by email, LinkedIn — explaining what I'm doing and asking for 15 minutes of their time.
Discovery conversation
Running a short, structured chat to understand how they currently operate, what slows them down, and whether they've considered digital tools.
Written case study
Documenting what I found in a business context, the identified need, the product or solution I'd recommend, and why.
What I'm Learning
Cold outreach that converts
How to write a message that gets a reply from someone who has no reason to say yes.
Discovery questioning
How to ask questions that surface what someone actually needs, not just what they say they need.
Commercial awareness
Understanding how small businesses think about cost, risk, and change — the same instincts that matter on a larger scale.
Written communication
Turning a conversation into a structured, readable document that makes the value clear.