- CASE 04 · INDUSTRIAL AIR TREATMENT
The North doesn't buy cheap: it buys ten-year cost.
Spanish manufacturer of industrial filtration and air treatment equipment, €11M in revenue. Twelve months to enter the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden with three certified distributors and a team that stopped selling on price.
Sector
FILTRATION AND AIR TREATMENT
REVENUE
€11M
ORIGIN
SPAIN
DESTINATION
NETHERLANDS · DENMARK · SWEDEN
DURATION
12 MONTHS
- Results after 12 months
What changed, in numbers.
+88%
EXPORT REVENUE · €1.65M → €3.1M
18
NEW NORDIC ACCOUNTS
€4,8M
PIPELINE OPEN AT YEAR-END
3
CERTIFIED DISTRIBUTORS
7
SALESPEOPLE TRAINED · 4 IN-HOUSE AND 3 FROM THE CHANNEL
28%
OF NEW BUSINESS, THROUGH CHANNEL REFERRALS
9 meses
3
AVERAGE SALES CYCLE
3 de 10
7 de 10
COMPARISONS WON AGAINST THE CHEAPEST OPTION
Average project ticket: €78,000. New account split: 8 in the Netherlands, 6 in Sweden and 4 in Denmark.
- THE STARTING POINT
Competing on price in the worst possible market to do it.
AI agents trained to extract every possible data point about a market and structure it into actionable information for decision-making. We drastically cut the time needed to gather and organize up-to-date data.
01
They competed on price in the worst possible market to do it.
Contacts with no structured follow-up and zero repeat business: every year started from scratch.
02
Price pitch, compliance market
With no audited data on consumption, efficiency and emissions, they didn’t even make the shortlist.
03
No local service
A machine down for 48 hours is grounds for dropping a supplier: after-sales support from Spain wasn’t an acceptable answer.
- THE MARKET DECISION
From nine candidate countries to three, with two deliberately postponed.
Nine markets were assessed using the same criteria: planned plant renewal, emissions regulation stringency, density of local integrators, and decision cycle.
NL
NETHERLANDS
Custom setup
High density of integrators and fast decision-making.
Concentrated food and chemical industries, a pragmatic buying culture and good logistics connectivity for spare parts. Chosen as the landing market and home base for the in-house KAM.
SE
SWEDEN
Regulation-driven market
Environmental stringency and mid-length cycle.
Facility renewal driven by stricter emission limits. Requires flawless technical documentation and local references before the first visit.
DK
DENMARK
High ticket, low volume
Few projects, very well paid.
Fewer deals per year but higher value and a strong weight on energy-efficiency criteria. Covered by a specialized distributor, with no in-house structure.
Norway and Finland were postponed: too much weight on public tenders and 18-month decision cycles that would have consumed the first year's budget without closing anything.
- WHAT'S INCLUDED
Three pieces that replace months of traditional consulting.
01
Months 1-3
Market research
Nine candidates, one same decision matrix.
- Regulatory map by country: emission limits, ATEX requirements in combustible-dust processes, and audit requirements.
- 27 interviews with maintenance managers, engineering firms and local integrators.
- Channel mapping: who installs, who provides service and who decides in each market.
Three target markets · two postponed with a review date
02
Months 4-7
Demand validation
One demo installation is worth more than twenty brochures.
- Two pilots with a demo plant in the Netherlands and audited measurement of consumption, efficiency and emissions.
- Value proposition test: price-based offer versus ten-year total-cost offer.
- Service requirements validation: what spare-parts SLA each market actually demands.
The total-cost offer advances at twice the pace
03
Months 8-12
Channel, service and execution
Distributors that sell like the manufacturer.
- Selection and certification of 3 distributors, with territorial exclusivity and annual targets.
- In-house KAM in Rotterdam for direct accounts and channel support.
- Local spare-parts stock and a committed 24-hour service.
- Shared CRM with lead handover rules between manufacturer and distributor.
18 new accounts · €4.8M pipeline open
- SALES TEAM TRAINING
Train the channel too, or the pitch stays locked in the factory.
- Total cost and payback calculation: from euros per unit to euros per cubic meter treated and years to amortize.
- Regulatory pitch by country: which limit applies, what needs to be documented, and what the auditor always asks.
- Northern-market objections: delivery time, local service and in-country references, with prepared, verifiable answers.
- 24 recorded role-plays based on real tenders, half of them with the distributor's salespeople.
- Annual technical certification with access to the configurator, documentation and reference bank.
- Biweekly joint pipeline review between manufacturer and channel during the first year.
6
PROGRAM WEEKS
7
CERTIFIED SALESPEOPLE · 4 IN-HOUSE AND 3 FROM THE CHANNEL
24
ROLE-PLAYS BASED ON REAL TENDERS
- HIGHLIGHTS
Four things that didn't exist before we started.
Three distributors selling with the manufacturer’s pitch, not their own or the cheapest competitor’s.
Proposals with audited consumption, efficiency and emissions data: they make the shortlist without price opening the conversation.
Local stock and a committed 24-hour service: the main reason for supplier rejection in Northern Europe disappears.
28% of new business now comes from channel referrals, at no acquisition cost.
We stopped competing on price the day we put the next ten years on the table.
“Our team knew the product, but sold as if the customer were buying a machine. In the North, they’re buying an energy bill and an environmental inspection with no surprises. That’s something we had to learn.”
— Export Director of the company
- THE SERVICES WE APPLIED
One case, three chained disciplines.
SERVICE 01
Nine markets, one matrix: regulation, plant renewal, channel and decision cycle.
SERVICE 02
Demand validation
Pilots with audited measurement to demonstrate the savings before asking for the contract.
SERVICE 03
International sales
Certified channel, local service and joint training for the in-house team and distributors.
- NEXT MOVE
Are you losing deals on price, or because you're not even on the shortlist?
They’re not the same conversation, and they’re not fixed with the same discount. In the audit we review value proposition, channel structure and how well the sales team is prepared for each market.
They’re not the same conversation, and they’re not fixed with the same discount. In the audit we review value proposition, channel structure and how well the sales team is prepared for each market.
