Toyota Material Handling, a global leader in logistics and goods handling, operates in Italy with 700 direct employees and four sales offices. Traditionally, its go-to-market strategy relied heavily on dealerships and indirect sales partners.
The Challenge: A New, Direct Sales Model for Engaging Prospects Proactively and Building Brand Awareness
Toyota Material Handling Italia saw an opportunity to grow its market share by evolving from a traditional, dealership-driven sales model to a more proactive, direct approach. The goal was to better engage high-value prospects and strengthen brand visibility. By leveraging digital tools, the company aimed to take greater control of the customer journey, build a stronger pipeline, and position its sales professionals as trusted logistics consultants. Through social selling and optimized personal LinkedIn profiles, the team could showcase Toyota’s innovative solutions and reinforce its reputation as a forward-thinking leader in material handling.
The Solution: Building a Prospecting Muscle with LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Toyota Material Handling Italia’s direct salesforce had traditionally focused on existing customers. To shift toward proactive prospecting, Digital Marketing Specialist Fabio Soffici and Marketing Director Stefano Zaccaria launched a four-month pilot of LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Starting with just four licenses, strong internal momentum quickly expanded usage to 32, as more reps saw the value.
“For our pilot deployment, we allocated licenses to those salespeople with the right attitude to trying new tools, and inspiring their colleagues.” “That momentum has really carried through for us. The salespeople talk to each other, and so within a few months, more and more of our team wanted the licenses.””
-Stefano Zaccaria, Marketing Director at Toyota Material Handling
With support from LinkedIn Sales Solutions, they introduced social selling training to elevate personal profiles and build a thought leadership presence for the brand. Salespeople were also encouraged to map buying committees within target accounts—helping them identify senior decision-makers and uncover larger, more strategic opportunities.
The Results
Rapid adoption through ambassador-led approach
Toyota Material Handling partnered with LinkedIn to track Sales Navigator adoption, cultural shifts, and impact on key metrics like pipeline and ROI. The onboarding experience earned a 4.8/5 rating from the sales team, with each rep saving an average of 3.5 hours per week through smarter prospecting. Adoption was strong, with users active on 24 days per month and saving 25 accounts monthly. By the end of the four-month pilot, demand drove the number of Sales Navigator licenses from 4 to 32.
Hybrid selling secures more of the meetings that matter
Using Sales Navigator to map key decision-makers helped the sales team secure more meetings and accelerate opportunities. The impact was especially clear around events—pre-event InMail outreach converted to meetings at an 8% rate.
“Traditionally, our salespeople have just gone to conferences and reached out to prospects who they find there,” says Fabio. “With LinkedIn Sales Navigator, we’re able to identify the most important prospects who are attending, reach out to them in advance and book time for coffee and a chat. At one show we were able to secure 20 meetings that way, all through prospecting on LinkedIn Sales Navigator.”
Generating opportunities and positive ROI within months
Within four months, LinkedIn Sales Navigator had been directly involved in generating more than 40 opportunities for Toyota Material Handling Italia, with the revenue from closed-won deals delivering a return on investment (ROI) for LinkedIn Sales Navigator licenses of 65%.
Building the Toyota Material Handling brand
For Stefano, integrating digital with in-person selling reflects a larger cultural evolution. “With LinkedIn, we’re starting to embody the ambitious vision for Society 5.0,” he says. “It’s a dynamic ecosystem that’s moving us towards a super-smart society that seamlessly integrates cyberspace and physical space. It shows how digital technologies can drive innovation and social progress.”
This also elevates the brand, with salespeople positioning themselves as advisors. “We are no longer just a supplier of forklifts,” explains Stefano. “We supply a wider range of solutions, and the way that our Sales Navigator users have established themselves as consultants reinforces that brand positioning.”
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