Cold calling in Flevoland: Almere, Lelystad, Dronten and the Noordoostpolder

B2B calling in Flevoland means selling in the fastest changing business market in the Netherlands. The province had 64,395 business establishments on 1 January 2026 (CBS, provisional), and CBS reports that 10.8% of establishments were newly founded in 2024, the highest share of any province. Almere holds half of the 462,816 inhabitants and most of the service firms. The rest of the province is farmland, food and the towns that serve them.

The economy of Flevoland

In the Eurostat count of local units for 2024, professional, scientific and technical services lead with 11,804 units, close to trade with 10,556. Health and social care (8,576), construction (8,331), administrative and support services (4,889) and information and communication (4,349) follow. Agriculture is not in that dataset, which matters here, because farming is a large part of the polder economy. Trade, transport and hospitality make up 23.5% of Flevoland's value added, the largest share in the province. The economy grew 2.0% in 2025.

What shapes the market:

• Growth and churn. Next to the high start-up rate, Flevoland also had the highest share of closures in 2024 (7.4%), and bankruptcies rose 18.6% in 2025. Many young firms, many changes.
• Agriculture and food. CBS counts 1,580 farms in Flevoland in 2025. They grow 8,586 hectares of seed potatoes, 20.6% of the Dutch total, and 16,699 hectares of field vegetables, 24.1%. Potato traders, processors, contract workers and machinery dealers cluster around Dronten and Emmeloord.
• Logistics and trade. Wholesale and retail employ 41,333 people in the Eurostat data, the largest employer among the business sections. Distribution centres sit along the A6 in Almere and Lelystad, and in Zeewolde.
• Tech and new industry. The regional development agency Horizon Flevoland focuses on high tech systems, digitalisation, energy, agritech, defence and the circular economy.

The labour market is tight. UWV counted 2.5 vacancies per short-term job seeker in Flevoland in the first half of 2025, so staffing, training and automation are live topics for many owners.

Where the companies are

• Almere (232,619 inhabitants on 1 January 2026). Business services, IT, healthcare, retail and many young SMEs, with offices in the centre and business parks along the A6.
• Lelystad (85,781). Provincial capital with government, logistics, industry and the business parks around the airport.
• Noordoostpolder (51,930) and Dronten (45,443). Arable farming, potato trade and processing, agricultural suppliers and food companies around Emmeloord and Dronten.
• Zeewolde (24,612). Logistics and business parks.
• Urk (22,431). Fishing, fish processing and fish trade, mostly family businesses.

Who to call and what to ask

• Owner or founder at young service firms and SMEs in Almere.
• Operations or logistics manager at distribution centres in Almere, Lelystad and Zeewolde.
• Owner or farm manager at arable farms, and the commercial director at potato and food processors.
• HR or office manager at growing companies that struggle to hire.

Discovery questions that fit Flevoland:

1. How long has the company been here, and how fast have you grown in the past two years?
2. Where do you find new staff now, and how long do vacancies stay open?
3. For farms and food firms: which months are busiest, and when is there room to talk?
4. Do your customers sit mostly in Flevoland or in the Randstad?
5. What would you need in place to grow another step next year?

Calling in Flevoland

• Language. Business is done in Dutch throughout the province.
• Fresh data. With this much churn, check that a company still exists and still has the same owner before you call. Our guide to B2B lead lists and the GDPR covers how to build and clean a list.
• Seasons. Farmers and processors are hard to reach during planting and harvest. Ask for the quiet period and plan the call back then.
• Persistence. Owners of small firms answer late or not at all. Plan several attempts; see how many calls one customer takes.
• Where owners meet. VNO-NCW Midden covers Flevoland and was gold sponsor of the Flevopenningen business awards gala in Almere in 2026. Horizon Flevoland and the KVK run events and advice sessions for entrepreneurs.
• Rules. You may call companies with legal personality, such as a BV or NV. Since 1 July 2026, sales calls to sole traders and partnerships such as a vof need prior consent. Respect objections and handle personal data with care. This is general information, not legal advice; read cold calling rules in Belgium and the Netherlands.

A first week of calling in Flevoland

1. Day 1: clean the list. Remove closed companies and check owners. Split Almere from the agricultural east.
2. Day 2: write the script. Lead with growth and staffing questions for Almere, with seasons and capacity for the polder.
3. Days 3 and 4: call in blocks. Early morning for farmers, mid-morning for office firms.
4. Day 5: follow up and plan every call back on the day people named.

See how that works in practice in the demo.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. CBS StatLine: Vestigingen van bedrijven; bedrijfstak, regio (table 81578NED), 1 January 2026
2. CBS StatLine: Bevolking op 1 januari; geslacht, leeftijd en regio (table 03759ned), 1 January 2026
3. Eurostat: Enterprises by NUTS 2 region and NACE Rev. 2 activity (sbs_r_nuts2021), 2024
4. CBS: De regionale economie 2025, chapter 3 Bedrijven
5. CBS: De regionale economie 2025, chapter 2 Economische groei
6. CBS StatLine: Landbouw; gewassen, dieren en grondgebruik naar gemeente (table 80781ned), 2025
7. UWV: Regio in beeld 2025, Flevoland
8. Horizon Flevoland

• B2B lead lists and the GDPR: a practical guide for sales teams
• How many cold calls does it take to get one customer?