Building a SaaS sales team in Chile and Colombia with a confidential search

This search is still in progress. We are publishing it now, without the company's or candidates' names, because the problem is common among software companies expanding across Latin America, and the way to solve it is decided in the brief, not at the end. When the search closes, we will update this article with timelines and outcome.

The starting point: one role that became a team

An AI-powered B2B software company in regional expansion asked us for one salesperson. While writing the brief with their Chief Commercial Officer, the mandate changed size: it was no longer one hire, it was a team.

Five openings, four roles, two countries and a start date only weeks away. In the market this kind of mandate often ends up as a single “sales executive” job ad, which is exactly what we wanted to avoid.

Why one “sales” profile does not work

All four roles share an industry and a similar experience floor (3 to 4 years). But they need different people:

• Account Executive: prospects, builds pipeline and closes. The evidence is quota attainment and handling long cycles with senior buyers. Full guide: how to hire Account Executives in Chile and Latin America.
• Pre-sales Executive: does not close, but nothing closes without them. Turns requirements into a solution, runs demos and proposals, and bridges sales and product.
• Channels & Partners Executive: sells through others. Recruits partners, activates them and manages joint pipeline.

Posted with the same text, the shortlist comes back mixed: pre-sales people who never closed, sellers who cannot run a technical demo, and “partnerships” profiles that were really direct accounts. So each role gets its own profile, must-haves and nice-to-haves, written with the client before anyone is contacted.

The strategy: discreet search, job ads as plan B

The client chose to start with a direct, confidential search:

1. A shared market map. All four roles fish in the same pond: software, SaaS and IT services companies selling to mid-size and large accounts. One map prevents two roles competing for the same candidate and lets us move someone to the opening where they fit best.
2. No company name in early outreach. We describe industry, challenge, setup and compensation range. The name comes later. During an expansion, the hiring plan is sensitive information.
3. Job ads stay as plan B. If a role cannot reach a critical mass of passive candidates, we add selective posting. Never the other way around.

This is how our executive search service works: the weight is on passive talent, because the Account Executive who hits quota is busy hitting it, not reading job ads.

Colombia: same role, different hire

The Colombian Account Executive has the same commercial mandate as the Chilean ones, but almost everything else changes:

• Residence and market: they must live in Colombia and know the local enterprise market. A great Chilean seller is not the answer without a network there.
• Reporting line: the regional manager, not the CCO.
• Setup: remote and as a contractor. Common for teams opening a country without a legal entity, but worth validating with local counsel or a payroll/EOR provider.

In practice that means a different market map and an interview that tests the local network, not only sales technique.

How finalists are assessed

Every finalist goes through a competency interview and a psychometric assessment before the shortlist. In sales roles the key is separating personal merit from a favourable context: quota hit with which product, in which market and with what help. For how we work with foreign employers, see how to choose an executive search firm in Chile.

What we learned before contacting anyone

• The brief saves weeks. The mandate went from 1 to 5 openings while we were writing the profile. Finding that out in week three would have meant restarting.
• Each sales role needs its own hard must-have. For the AE, verifiable quota. For pre-sales, demos and translating requirements. For channels, having activated partners, not just signed them.
• Confidentiality is a commercial decision. When a company expands, its hires announce its strategy.

Building a sales team in Latin America?

We publish flat fees in USD ($620 to $2,100 per opening by level) with an 8-month retention guarantee. Tell us about the roles:

Send a search brief · Book a meeting · Executive search