The selling challenge in automotive
Selling into the automotive industry means dealing with powerful buyers, demanding procurement processes and long product programmes. Suppliers face constant pressure on price while having to invest in new technologies. A single account can involve engineering, quality, purchasing and logistics teams in several countries.
Success depends on strong key account management, value-based selling and the ability to work with technical and commercial stakeholders at the same time.
Electrification, software and new mobility models are also changing who buys and what they value. Sales teams that understood traditional programmes and part numbers now need to discuss technology roadmaps, sustainability and total cost with new stakeholders. This calls for stronger business conversations as well as product knowledge.
How our solutions apply
- KAM: The Customer Gyroscope helps account teams select priority accounts, align stakeholders across the customer's organisation and plan growth.
- Value Selling equips teams to quantify the impact of their offer and resist pure price negotiations.
- FIT4KAM diagnostics give leaders a clear view of key account performance and a costed plan to improve it.
- Sales Leadership develops managers who coach account teams through long, complex deals.
- Simulations recreate multi-stakeholder negotiations for safe, realistic practice.
Each programme is tailored to your products, customers and sales structure. Workshops use your real accounts and opportunities, so account teams leave with plans they can apply straight away, and managers are developed to coach those plans through to results.
International delivery for automotive suppliers
Automotive customers are global, so supplier account teams often sit in several countries. We design one programme with you and deliver it through consultants resident in your markets, in local languages. Our VP Asia, Michael Adick, has led and consulted in automotive among other sectors during more than 25 years in Asia.
One international manufacturer whose customers include automotive, laboratories, food production and defence reported that 98% of participants were extremely or very engaged in our programme and 97% found it extremely or very relevant.
Our key account approach has been used by clients to grow individual accounts from under €500k to over €1 million, and to deliver more than €12 million of account growth across four accounts in three years. These results come from our wider client base and show what disciplined account management can achieve.
Making the change stick
We combine workshops with digital learning, short Sales Gym sessions and AI practice with Skeells, so account teams keep practising between sessions. Results are measured with the LTEM model, from decision-making competence through to behaviour change and commercial impact on target accounts.
Reports by country and account team let leaders see where new behaviours are taking hold and where more support is needed. Programmes can start with one region or customer group and expand once early results are clear.
