Bottleneck Diagnosis in International Automotive Sales Funnels Using Gradient Boosting Trees: Evidence from Cross-Regional Team Efficiency Evaluation

Against the backdrop of slowing growth in the Chinese and global automotive markets, declining lead quantity and quality, fragmented online and offline data, and distorted data entry via manual DMS (Data Management System) have made it difficult for automakers to identify sales funnel bottlenecks and implement refined operations promptly. This paper proposes a funnel bottleneck diagnosis and cross-regional team efficiency verification framework inspired by the Gradient Boosting Tree (GBT) concept: the funnel is divided into three key stages, each trained with a LightGBM classifier. Time-slice cross-validation and stratified sampling by region are employed, combined with SHAP parsing to construct a "bottleneck index." Simultaneously, a "team efficiency index" is defined, integrating indicators such as first-contact delay, 24-hour follow-up frequency, reach diversity, and stage conversion for comparison and statistical testing between teams and regions. Based on multi-regional and multi-team data applications, the results show that first-contact delay, follow-up discipline, and price transparency are high-impact factors across multiple stages of the process. After introducing interventions such as "30-minute SLA + automatic warning," early-stage conversion significantly improves, and the sales cycle tends to shorten. The Chinese market possesses inherent advantages in the breadth and speed of digital touchpoints, while mature overseas markets are more robust in terms of process discipline and distribution systems. Based on this, this paper presents a regionally differentiated design for indicator weights and operational priorities. The research contribution lies in embedding interpretable machine learning into the sales governance closed loop, providing an integrated methodology and a practical management measurement system that spans diagnosis, intervention, and validation.