How an Energy Services Company Hired a Sales Manager in Latin America for $3,500/Month

An Atlanta-based energy services company had gone almost a year without a dedicated salesperson. That wasn't neglect: a wave of state-mandated compliance work had generated enough inbound business to keep the team occupied without actively selling. But that window had closed. 

With the compliance deadline behind them, they needed to build a real sales function, and they needed it fast.

The problem wasn't budget. The problem was finding the right profile. They needed someone who could build and manage a remote sales team, run structured outbound, and work independently enough to get the function standing on its own. 

They already had offshore hires in place. Their India-based developers were excellent at technical work, but not built for US-facing phone sales. 

Their Philippines team was strong on relationships, but not on closing. Neither profile fit what a quota-driven sales role required. 

What they did have was a reference point. A Latin American hire they'd made previously, based in Costa Rica, had worked well. They came to Hire With Near looking to replicate that experience, starting with a sales manager who could eventually build a team beneath them.

Why this company looked to Latin America for their sales hire

The team came into the search with a clear read on what hadn't worked. Years of trying to build sales functions with offshore talent had taught them that cultural fit and quota motivation aren't the same thing, and that you can't substitute one for the other.

What they described from their prior Latin American hire was different: someone who worked US hours, communicated with US clients the same way a domestic hire would, and approached sales with the same results-driven mindset. That combination is exactly what the Latin American talent market produces at this level.

The role required someone who could run HubSpot, manage a Sandler-style sales process, distribute leads to junior representatives, track follow-up, and report back on what the numbers were saying. The metric for success, as the client put it, wasn't the amount of business they personally closed. It was whether they were running the process correctly. If the process ran and deals weren't closing, that was a pricing or messaging problem. If the process wasn't running, that was a people problem.

The company sells energy savings services, and their target is a specific kind of decision-maker: commercial real estate owners and property managers. Experience selling to that market was a plus, but not a requirement. What mattered more was the ability to run disciplined outbound work and train a team to do the same.

Who we placed

The sales manager we placed is based in Colombia. He has 15 years of sales leadership experience across multiple industries, with a track record of building entire sales operations from scratch.

In his most recent role, he built and managed the full sales process for a US-based technology company: lead generation, team management, the complete sales cycle, and client onboarding. During that time, he helped grow annual revenue from $350,000 to over $5 million and closed more than 600 deals.

He had also spent time as a Director of Sales consultant for two remote staffing and outsourcing companies, which meant he understood the specific dynamics of managing distributed sales teams. At one engagement, he generated $370,000 in monthly recurring revenue, totaling $4.44 million ARR across more than 200 deals. At the other, he built an autonomous sales department for a new Colombian operation from the ground up and hit break-even within the first quarter.

He came with HubSpot proficiency, strong English, and direct experience in both inbound and outbound sales management. The fit was direct: someone who had done exactly this work before, for companies with similar models, and could take ownership of the function from day one.

Monthly salary: $3,500

The account executive

Before the sales manager search was completed, the company also hired an account executive through Hire With Near.

She is based in Nicaragua and is natively bilingual in English and Spanish. Her background spans outbound B2B sales and team leadership. As a BDR manager at a remote staffing company, she led a team of eight representatives to a 90% quota attainment rate while consistently hitting 100% of her own quota, running more than 200 outbound calls per day. She also has experience managing key accounts with monthly revenue of $40,000 or more per client.

Her profile matched what the company needed for the junior end of the sales function: someone who could run outbound prospecting, manage HubSpot records, and build a pipeline for senior representatives to close.

Monthly salary: $2,400

The outcome

The account executive was placed in only 12 days. The sales manager followed 22 days after the search began.

Together, the two hires represent $216,785 in annual savings compared to equivalent US hires. 

At $3,500/month, the sales manager's annual compensation of $42,000 compares to a US equivalent of $140,582. The annual savings reached $98,582.

At $2,400/month, the account executive's annual compensation of $28,800 compares to a US equivalent of $147,003. The annual savings reached $118,203.

The bigger story is what's happening now. The company came to Hire With Near needing a sales manager who could build a function from scratch. That function is being built. They're sourcing additional SDRs from Latin America to run outbound prospecting and HubSpot data management, reporting to their new sales manager. It's a model more sales leaders are turning to as US sales hiring gets harder and more expensive.

Further reading: “Do LatAm Sales Reps Have Accents?” and Other Questions Sales Leaders Ask

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Why Latin America works for sales hiring at energy companies

Energy services sales requires a specific profile: someone comfortable with long-cycle B2B conversations, disciplined enough to follow a structured playbook, and motivated by results. 

That profile is hard to find in the US at a price point that makes sense for a company still standing up its sales function. In Latin America, it exists, and as this placement shows, it can be found in under a month.

Time zone overlap keeps the process running in real time. Sales teams need to move fast when a lead is warm. A hire in Colombia, Nicaragua, or another LatAm country is working your hours, following up the same day, and available for the back-and-forth that moves a deal forward.

Latin American sales professionals are quota-motivated. This was the specific gap the client had encountered with other offshore regions. The profiles we source aren’t just willing to do sales work; they’re driven by it. 

The talent pool at this price point is experienced, not entry-level. The sales manager had 15 years of experience and hundreds of closed deals. The account executive had managed enterprise-level accounts and led a team. Neither hire was a compromise on quality.

Remote-first is already the model. Energy services companies that sell nationally and manage client relationships remotely don't need to restructure to bring a Latin American hire onto the team. The infrastructure already supports it.

For companies building sales teams from scratch, our sales recruiting covers the full range of roles, from SDRs and account executives up to sales managers and directors.

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Actual compensation depends on experience, scope, and country. We will give you a specific range at the start of a search.

For salary information on other roles, our Latin America vs. US salary guide has the full picture.

How to hire a sales manager through Hire With Near

Building a sales function from scratch is hard enough without also trying to navigate an unfamiliar hiring market. Hire With Near makes it easier for your business. 

We start with a kickoff call to understand the role, the sales process, and what a strong hire looks like for your team. Then, we source candidates, write or refine the job description, and present finalists with video interviews and full profiles within five business days.

Every candidate we present has cleared our screening process: English assessment, experience verification, and a review of the specific skills the role requires. You interview the finalists. We handle reference checks and offer logistics, and give you the choice of running payroll through us or paying the hire directly.

For this placement, the company went from no sales function to a placed, onboarded sales manager in 22 days, with an account executive already in seat before the manager even started.

No retainer. No fee until placement.

Whether you need recruiting for an energy company or are looking to hire a sales manager from Latin America, or to build a full sales team from the ground up, this is the model worth exploring.

Schedule a free, no-commitment consultation call to get started.