Case Study — Market Expansion
Building a Sales Force in a Country You've Never Hired In
Industry: Automotive Aftermarket — Search Type: U.S. Market Entry — Positions Filled: 2 Regional Representatives
— The Situation —
A global manufacturer. A new market. No existing network to lean on.
An international automotive aftermarket manufacturer had made the decision to enter the U.S. market. The product was ready. The strategy was in place. What they didn't have was anyone on the ground.
With no existing distributor relationships in the U.S. and no local infrastructure to support new hires, the company needed commercial representatives who could operate independently — people capable of building something from scratch in regions they'd never sold into before.
"Previous recruiting efforts produced candidates with sales experience — but not the ability to build a territory."
— The Challenge —
Sales experience wasn't the problem. Territory-building capability was.
On paper, the roles looked straightforward: hire regional sales representatives for the Midwest, West, and Northeast U.S. In practice, the requirements went much further.
Each candidate needed established distributor relationships they could activate on day one, direct experience working remotely from a headquarters they'd rarely visit, and the credibility to represent a brand that didn't yet exist in their market. When earlier recruiting efforts surfaced candidates who checked the sales box but not the market-entry box, the search stalled.
— Our Approach —
We changed the profile before we changed the candidate pool.
We repositioned the search from "Sales Representative" to "Regional Sales Manager," which accurately reflected what the work actually required: autonomous territory leadership, not order-taking.
From there, we targeted a specific type of candidate: people who had launched or rebuilt territories before, carried existing distributor relationships in the relevant U.S. regions, and had a demonstrated track record of operating without local management support. We screened specifically for independence, reporting discipline, and the ability to represent a brand in a market where no one had heard of it yet.
— The Result —
Two hires. Two territories. A U.S. presence built.
We successfully placed two regional representatives covering the western and midwestern United States. Both brought existing distributor relationships and the operational independence the client needed to enter the market without local infrastructure.
2 Regional hires placed
Midwest & West U.S.
0 Local infrastructure
required to support market entry
Day 1
Distributor relationships active from first contact
Work With Us
Entering a new market? We find people who can build, not just sell.