Cold calling in Overijssel: from Enschede and Hengelo to Zwolle and Deventer

B2B calling in Overijssel means calling a manufacturing province. CBS counted 149,075 business establishments on 1 January 2026 for 1,202,375 inhabitants, and manufacturing employs 70,922 people according to Eurostat, about one in eight jobs in the sectors it covers. The province has two business centres with their own character: Twente in the east and the Zwolle region in the west, with Deventer in between.

The economy of Overijssel

In the Eurostat count of local units for 2024, professional, scientific and technical services lead with 28,826 units, followed by trade (27,060), health and social care (18,439) and construction (15,376). Manufacturing has fewer units (6,983) but many more people per company. With 70,922 jobs, it is the third largest employer after health and social care (123,336) and trade (113,311). Manufacturing's share of employment in the sectors Eurostat covers is about 12.5% in Overijssel, against 9.1% nationally.

What drives that:

• High tech in Twente. Around the University of Twente in Enschede, Kennispark Twente housed more than 480 companies in March 2026. The strategy published that month aims for about 700 companies and 16,500 jobs by 2035, with more than 40% of the companies in high tech. Hengelo and Almelo add machinery, electronics and metal companies.
• Industry and trade around Zwolle. The western half combines manufacturing, food, plastics, wholesale and logistics, with Zwolle as its service centre and Kampen and Hardenberg as regional hubs.
• Farming and food. CBS counts 8,385 establishments in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 5.6% of the total against 3.1% nationally. Eurostat's business dataset leaves farming out, so it does not appear in the chart.

Information and communication accounts for 6,770 establishments in Overijssel, 4.5% of the total. That is below the national share of 5.3%, but large enough to be a market of its own in Enschede and Zwolle.

Where the companies are

• Enschede (162,683 inhabitants). The university, Kennispark, tech start-ups and scale-ups, healthcare and business services.
• Zwolle (134,147). Provincial capital: head offices, business services, healthcare, education and wholesale.
• Deventer (105,111). Business services, IT, logistics along the IJssel and the A1, and manufacturing.
• Hengelo (84,045) and Almelo (75,166). Machinery, electronics, metal and technical services.
• Hardenberg (64,116) and Kampen (56,835). Regional manufacturing, construction, trade and agricultural suppliers.

Split your lists between Twente and the Zwolle region. Prospects often think of themselves as Twents or as part of the Zwolle region before they think of Overijssel.

Who to call and what to ask

• Owner or managing director at the many family manufacturers and service firms.
• Operations, production or plant manager at larger manufacturers.
• Purchasing manager for materials, parts and services.
• CTO or R&D lead at tech companies on and around Kennispark.
• HR manager when you sell anything linked to hiring and keeping technical staff.

Discovery questions that fit Overijssel:

1. Which share of your production goes abroad, and to which countries?
2. Where does your capacity run out first: people, machines or planning?
3. How do you find engineers and technicians today, and what does a vacancy cost you?
4. Which suppliers have you worked with longest, and what would make you look again?
5. Who besides you signs off on a decision like this?

Manufacturers buy carefully and with more people involved. Map the steps from first call to signed order with an outbound sales process.

Calling in Overijssel

Business in Overijssel is done in Dutch. You will hear Twents and Sallands accents, and Twente borders Germany, but calls and proposals are in standard Dutch. Tech companies on the campus often work in English.

Places to learn about the local market and meet owners:

• VNO-NCW Midden, the employers' organisation that works for a good business climate in nine economic regions in four provinces, including Overijssel.
• Oost NL, the development agency for Gelderland and Overijssel, which helps innovative companies grow.
• KVK events and business clubs in Enschede, Zwolle, Deventer and Hengelo.

You may call Dutch companies with legal personality, such as a BV or NV, without prior consent. Since 1 July 2026 you need prior consent for sales calls to sole traders and partnerships such as a vof, and you must honour objections and handle contacts' personal data under the GDPR. This is general information, not legal advice. Read the cold calling rules for Belgium and the Netherlands.

A first week of calling in Overijssel

1. Day 1: the list. Pick one half of the province and one segment, for example machinery builders in Twente with 20 to 200 employees.
2. Day 2: the script. Write an opening about capacity or staff, and the five questions above. A template: how to write a cold calling script.
3. Days 3 to 4: calling blocks. Two blocks per day. Production managers are often easiest to reach before the morning meeting or after lunch.
4. Day 5: follow-up. Send what you promised, note who else is involved and plan the next call.

Want to see the calling screen first? Try 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. University of Twente: new strategy aims to grow Kennispark Twente to 700 companies and 16,500 jobs (March 2026)
5. Oost NL, development agency for Gelderland and Overijssel
6. VNO-NCW Midden, employers' organisation for Overijssel, Gelderland, Utrecht and Flevoland
7. ACM: Vanaf 1 juli strengere regels voor telemarketing (June 2026)

• Outbound sales process: 8 steps from list to booked meeting
• Cold calling script: a B2B template that books meetings