Case Study: Stuck in First Gear (Truck Purchasing)
The Problem
A frustrated salesperson for an international truck manufacturer was unable to reach key decision-makers in his organization that would value his observations and solutions for a critical business challenge facing the company. The truck manufacturer was experiencing lower-than-expected sales volumes in their European markets and needed to evaluate the possible factors (i.e. oil prices or other economic issues) that were leading to fewer new truck purchases and affecting the sale of several of their commercial truck classes. The salesperson had extensive first-hand knowledge about the market factors causing the drop in new truck purchases, but was unable to communicate his solutions effectively to the right colleagues within his organization.
Critical Issues
Organizational Paralysis International Market Insight First-Hand Expertise
The Solution
The truck manufacturing company was an existing Maven customer and had established a Knowledge Community comprised of their current and past employees, advisors and freelance workforce. To gain a better understanding of the market factors that were contributing to the poor performance of their commercial truck class in Europe, the company searched within their international Knowledge Community to source colleagues who were familiar with the European markets and could offer insights on the issue. Within a matter of hours, the company was able to find a European sales rep who shared his hypothesis that the decrease in commercial truck purchasing was primarily due to their automatic transmissions. He had witnessed first-hand that European truck purchasers preferred a manual transmission, which was standard throughout Europe. By gaining the perspective of one of their sales reps in Europe, the truck manufacturer was able to adjust their product roadmap to satisfy their target customers.
“Working internationally has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Maven brought clarity and efficiency to our company, when we struggled to communicate ‘across the pond.’ We’re starting to see the sales numbers we expect in our European markets.”
– Strategic Account Executive, UK
