How in 2 months we built a seat manufacturer complete partner acquisition system
Mirco — Polish racing seat manufacturer with 30-year history — came with falling sales and no idea for new channels. Left with 400+ distributor database, product configurator, and affiliate portal.
Problem
Falling sales:
Downward trend, existing channels exhausting. Mirek saw the problem but didn't know how to reverse it without external help.
No strategy:
Mirek is manufacturer — knows seats, not marketing. Had idea for premium brand, made logo, but project stalled.
Return problem:
Process of ordering custom seats via email and phone was complicated. Customers returned seats because something didn't match — color, material, dimensions.
Untapped potential:
Mirco has own sewing shop and can customize everything. This advantage wasn't used as sales tool.
Discovery
Questions we asked:
- • What do you sell? What seat models?
- • Who buys? Who are your distributors?
- • How do distributors sell further?
- • Can you customize products?
- • What sells best and why?
Key discoveries:
- • FIA-homologated seats sell better than gaming variants
- • Mirco can customize absolutely everything (own sewing shop)
- • Mirek didn't know his ICP — we mapped it based on existing distributors
- • Between cheap Chinese seats and premium Recaro there's niche for Mirco
What we built
Phased approach
Potential partner database
Built scraper searching every EU country + UK. Mapped competition (Polish, Chinese, Recaro). Research: where competition sells their seats. Results aggregation and deduplication.
400+ companies (tuning shops in EU and UK). Each record: company name, country, decision person, email, activity description. Outreach system: Instantly, Pipedrive, automation with human-in-the-loop.
UVP Workshop
Discovered market niche: Cheap Chinese (low price, low quality, long delivery) vs Mirco (EU quality + full customization + fast delivery) vs Premium Recaro (highest quality, very expensive, status).
Key decision: Stopped outreach campaign. First build configurator that solves return problem and gives unique value to partners.
Seat configurator
Tool that turns problem (returns) into market advantage (customization as USP). Full personalization: Seat model, material (separate for each part), thread color, logo (own, in different places), shell color, accessories.
Zero mistakes: Customer sees real-time visualization. Value for distributors: Distributor can implement configurator at their place for free.
Influencer channel
Hypothesis: motorsport influencers can sell seats to their audiences. Test on 100 influencers — 27% were interested in cooperation. Panel for influencers: Discount codes, entry and conversion statistics, earnings tracking, payout history. Admin panel: Full sales control, statistics, analytics, management.
Model: Influencer earns only when sold. Mirco pays for marketing only when it works.
3 Sales Networks
Influencers → B2C
Drifters, tuners, motorsport YouTubers sell seats to their audiences through discount codes. 100 influencers in test, 27% interested in cooperation. Affiliate portal with tracker.
Tuning shops → B2B
Distributors and tuning shops across Europe sell seats as part of their offer. 400+ companies in database (EU + UK). Embeddable configurator. Ready cold email campaigns.
Workshops → Custom Cars
Companies doing restomods, custom builds, and classic car restoration. 23 companies in restoration segment. High-margin premium segment. Customization as main USP.
Results
- • Distributor database — 400+ companies in EU and UK (tuning shops)
- • Outreach system — Instantly + Pipedrive + automation
- • Competition analysis — Poland, China, Recaro — where they sell
- • Seat configurator — Ready for implementation, full customization
- • Affiliate portal — Ready for implementation, tracking, payouts
- • Influencer test — 27% interested (from sample of 100)
- • Custom cars/retro database — 23 companies in restoration segment
- • Strategy + sales process — For 3 segments
"I came with falling sales problem and zero idea what next. After two months I had ready system: database of 400 potential partners across Europe, configurator solving returns problem, and three complete strategies for new sales channels. Everything ready for implementation."
Have similar problem?
You have product, sales stalled, don't know how to reach new partners? Let's talk 15 minutes. We'll tell straight if we see opportunity.