America’s Sales Teams Are Stuck in the Past. This Miami Startup Wants to Reboot Them

Across the United States, the industrial and automotive aftermarket sectors are facing a persistent and intensifying challenge: a shortage of technically skilled sales professionals who can effectively connect complex products to customer-specific needs. As these sectors navigate global competition, rapid innovation, and evolving compliance requirements, their ability to grow and remain competitive depends increasingly on workforce capability. Yet the current labor pipeline is struggling to deliver results. This shortage is particularly evident in Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) and the automotive aftermarket distribution networks, industries that together represent hundreds of billions of dollars in annual economic activity.

The shortage is not only about filling job openings. It reflects a deeper skills gap. Distributors are often left relying on generalist sales approaches that emphasize price over value, leaving a critical disconnect between product capabilities and customer understanding. This mismatch has tangible economic costs, including longer onboarding cycles for new hires, missed commercial opportunities, and increased vulnerability to foreign competitors offering lower-priced alternatives. Industry data shows that new sales representatives may require up to five years to develop the technical maturity needed to serve clients effectively. That translates into five years of potential revenue loss, brand erosion, and missed opportunities for consultative growth.

In this environment, a new venture preparing to launch in Miami, Florida, is positioning itself as part of the solution. T Luz Consultancy LLC, founded and owned by technical sales expert Thiago Dyego da Luz, enters the market with a clear mission: to accelerate the technical evolution of American sales teams and to bring a more human, relationship-driven approach to distribution. Guided by Luz’s belief that people are at the heart of every sale, the consultancy seeks to shorten the sales maturity timeline, equip teams with practical product expertise, and help distributors shift from commodity-driven sales to value-based consultative partnerships.

Toward this end, da Luz brings more than two decades of hands-on experience in the automotive and industrial sectors, a career marked by curiosity, grit, and a commitment to helping others grow. Over the years, he has delivered more than one thousand technical training sessions, empowering sales teams, technicians, and industry newcomers with practical knowledge. His professional journey began as a teen apprentice in Santa Catarina, Brazil, where he worked his way from warehouse shelves to the sales floor. Along the way, he learned to speak the language of clients and understand the pulse of the aftermarket. Understandably, da Luz found his career deepened through leadership roles, where he became known not only for sharp technical expertise but also for his ability to connect with people on a personal level. Whether designing tailored training programs for a national distributor, troubleshooting at a client’s shop, or celebrating a sales milestone, da Luz has always found that his career advanced when he approached his work with human connections as his compass.

Indeed, this human-centric approach is found at the core of the T Luz Consultancy firm’s approach that intends to address structural inefficiencies that hold back personal productivity on a national scale. By equipping distributors’ sales teams with product knowledge and application skills, the firm will provide clients with tools to grow sustainably in a landscape defined by complexity. Its services will range from scenario-based training modules to in-field development visits and inventory strategy support. Importantly, the consultancy will remain product-agnostic, favoring skill development and strategic alignment over brand promotion.

And from a topical standpoint, this firm’s timing is significant. U.S. industrial output contributes nearly $4.8 trillion annually and supports more than 21 million jobs. Yet the competitiveness of this output depends increasingly on how effectively new technologies are introduced and supported in the field. Sales representatives are no longer just conduits for transactions. They are frontline advisors on compliance, operational efficiency, and long-term equipment performance. In fields such as energy, food processing, aerospace, and HVAC, technical precision is not a preference but a requirement. Da Luz and his firm will add invaluable support to these sales professionals to help them meet their goals.

Predictably, the potential national impact of da Luz  and his approach is broadly ambitious. As da Luz prepares to launch the consultancy from Miami, Florida, one of the country’s fastest-growing states for new business formation, the firm is expected to serve clients demand nationwide. Toward this end, the firm will enable remote consulting capabilities and a modular service design that will allow for scalable operations beyond the region. Over time, T Luz Consultancy LLC aims to influence workforce development trends by helping distributors build internal training pipelines and mentorship systems.

“The biggest challenge in sales today is not closing deals. It is building trust through knowledge,” da Luz noted. “Customers don’t just want products. They want confidence that those products will perform. That is where we come in.”

Realistically, the broader labor shortage in technical sales is unlikely to disappear soon. Demographic shifts, automation pressures, and the rise of electric vehicles are demanding new skills across the board. In this context, the ability to quickly upskill sales teams has become a competitive necessity. By focusing on the intersection of product expertise, human connection, and commercial performance, T Luz Consultancy LLC offers a timely model for navigating these pressures.

As U.S. distributors look to reclaim competitive ground, ventures like this may prove essential. What begins as a consultancy in Miami could evolve into a national force, reshaping how American sales teams sell, support, and grow in the decades ahead.