How to Build a High-Performing Sales Team

Every sales leader knows the formula for a high-performing team: hire A-players, give them a clear process, and remove roadblocks fast.

Simple in theory. 

But we’re hearing from companies that budgets are tight. Top sales candidates expect enterprise-level comp packages. And teams that could be world-class on paper are stretched too thin to hit their stride.

If you have three elite reps covering the workload of ten, performance plateaus. Pipeline thins. Founders still have to run point on outbound, and AEs are prospecting instead of closing.

But you can bypass budget constraints—and start building the kind of team you’ve always wanted—by hiring where your budget goes further.

We’re seeing that the smartest companies aren’t “doing more with less.” That only gets you so far. They’re changing how they look at hiring. They’re building full, high-performing sales teams by expanding their search to Latin America.

Why Are Fast-Growing Companies Building Their Sales Teams in Latin America?

Growing companies are building their sales teams in Latin America because it lets them build complete, high-performing teams sooner—without waiting for their next funding round or lowering their hiring standards.

Instead of waiting until they can afford another AE or SDR at US salary levels, they’re filling those roles with experienced, English-fluent professionals based in Latin America—people who already know US sales processes, who show up on time (in the same time zone), and who stick around longer than most US hires.

This isn’t outsourcing. It’s about building a real team—just one that happens to be distributed. Your new SDRs, AEs, and managers work alongside your existing team in real time, sharing the same goals, meetings, and Slack channels.

You’re giving your team the support and capacity they need to perform at their best. When SDRs are focused on prospecting, AEs can focus on closing. When sales managers have the bandwidth to coach, your pipeline scales predictably.

Hiring in LatAm makes that possible.

You can unlock the budget room to finally build the complete sales team your business has needed all along.

What Happens When You Finally Build the Team You Need?

When you have every role covered—SDRs prospecting, AEs closing, and sales leadership actually leading—the difference is exponential.

Take AvantStay. Their VP of Sales, Jake Breuner, was under pressure to drive $20M in new ARR in a single year. But like most scaling companies, he couldn’t get there with the team he had. The US market made it nearly impossible to hire enough qualified SDRs quickly or affordably. Ramp times stretched to six months, 80% of reps missed quota, and one in three quit within the first four months.

So Jake tried something new. He partnered with Near to build an outbound team in Latin America. He started small, treating it like an experiment.

The results were immediate. His first hire, Simon, booked 15 meetings in his first 30 days, hit quota in two months, and was promoted to BD Manager within seven. Within a year, AvantStay had 18 high-performing SDRs, all based in Latin America, driving 30% of the company’s new revenue.

Attrition dropped from 70% to 20%. Ramp times went from six months to two. And the team hit their $20M ARR target—ahead of schedule.

What started as a test is now their standard. As Jake puts it:

Hiring from LatAm was our backup plan—now it’s our primary plan. I wouldn’t hire stateside again.

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AvantStay’s experience is what happens when you stop trying to do more with less and start building a complete team that can actually sell.

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What Key Sales Roles Can You Fill in Latin America?

By hiring in Latin America you can fill every key sales role your growing team needs—SDRs, AEs, sales managers, and more—with experienced, English-fluent professionals who work your hours and understand your market.

Sales development representatives (SDRs)

When you hire experienced sales development representatives in Latin America, you’re getting professionals who already understand modern prospecting—multi-channel outreach, social selling, and platforms like ZoomInfo, Outreach, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 

US salary range: $43,000 to $90,000 base 

LatAm salary range: $18,000 to $42,000 base 

Account executives

Account executives focus on closing qualified opportunities. They need strong relationship-building skills, consultative selling abilities, and experience managing complex sales cycles.

The best LatAm account executives bring years of experience selling to US buyers. They understand enterprise sales processes, can navigate organizational politics, and close deals effectively. 

US salary range: $51,000 to $113,000

LatAm salary range: $18,000 to $36,000

Sales managers

Sales managers orchestrate your entire sales operation. They’re responsible for strategy, coaching, performance monitoring, and team development.

Experienced LatAm sales managers often come from high-growth startups or have led teams for US companies. They understand modern sales methodologies, can implement effective processes, and develop talent.

US salary range: $127,000 to $237,000

LatAm salary range: $48,000 to $72,000

Business development representatives (BDRs)

BDRs focus on strategic partnerships, new market development, and long-term relationship building beyond immediate sales.

Top LatAm BDRs bring strategic thinking, market analysis capabilities, and the ability to identify and develop new business opportunities.

US salary range: $43,000 to $90,000

LatAm salary range: $18,000 to $42,000

Appointment Setters

Appointment setters focus specifically on the initial outreach and meeting scheduling that keeps your pipeline flowing. They handle cold calling, email campaigns, and the systematic follow-up that ensures no lead falls through the cracks.

Top appointment setters in Latin America free your SDRs and AEs to focus on higher-value activities. They’re organized, persistent, and skilled at navigating gatekeepers to get decision-makers on the phone.

US salary range: $43,000 to $66,000

LatAm salary range: $18,000 to $42,000

See our LatAm vs. US Salary Guide to see the savings that can be made for additional roles.  

How Do You Actually Build Your Team in Latin America?

You can build your LatAm sales team yourself, but most companies get better results faster by working with a specialized partner who knows the markets, handles compliance, and delivers pre-vetted candidates in days instead of months.

You can technically hire on your own. But finding true A-players takes local expertise, time, and the right network.

If you wanted to, you could start by posting roles on LinkedIn or Latin American job boards, or test platforms like Upwork or Toptal. You might even build a small freelance team and eventually bring a few people on full-time. It’s doable. But it’s slow, and the results can be uneven.

And the difference between an average SDR and one who changes your pipeline trajectory is the kind of nuance that’s hard to spot without deep regional knowledge.

You have to know where to look, which companies signal real experience, how to vet English fluency beyond a résumé, and what salary ranges actually win top performers in each market. That’s where most companies get stuck.

Working with a specialized partner

The right recruiting partner eliminates the learning curve and gets you results fast.

At Near, our team lives and recruits across Latin America. We know the local markets, the compensation trends, and what great looks like on paper and in practice. We find A-players who stay.

When you work with Near:

• You get pre-vetted candidate profiles with videos in 3–5 days.
• You hire in under three weeks on average.
• You get guidance on competitive salary and comp-plan structures tailored to attract and retain top performers.
• You build teams with lower attrition and faster ramp times because we know what motivates LatAm talent to stay long-term.

We’ve helped over 700 companies build high-performing teams with LatAm talent. We take time to understand your sales process and your ideal candidate profile.

Common Concerns About Hiring in Latin America

Most sales leaders have the same few questions, and they’re valid ones.  

“Will prospects notice our reps aren’t in the US?”

Spanish accents are widely accepted in the US market. The US has the second-largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. What matters is English fluency, communication skills, and the ability to build relationships and handle objections.

With proper screening, you’ll hire professionals whose communication quality matches or exceeds your current team. Your prospects care about one thing: whether your rep can solve their problems and move their business forward.

“How do I handle payments and compliance?”

You have two main options: work with a recruitment partner like Near that handles all payroll and compliance, or use an Employer of Record (EOR) service that manages international payments and legal requirements.

The key is choosing a solution that handles the complexities of international compliance, tax requirements, and currency conversion so you can focus on building your team.

“How long does it actually take to hire?”

With the right partner, it’s fast. At Near, after an initial kickoff call to understand your needs, you’ll have a shortlist of pre-vetted candidates within 3 to 5 days. Most clients make a hire within three weeks from start to finish.

Compare that to the 6+ months it typically takes to find and hire top sales reps in the US market.

“What if it doesn’t work out?”

The best hiring partners offer replacement guarantees—typically 90 days. Near offers 180 days. If a hire doesn’t work out, we’ll find you a replacement at no additional cost.

This dramatically reduces your risk compared to traditional hiring, where a bad hire costs you months of lost productivity and recruiting expenses.

We cover these questions and others in more detail in our article, Do LatAm Sales Reps Have Accents? And Other Questions Sales Leaders Ask. 

Final Thoughts

You can have the playbook and the tech stack, but if your sales team is running short-staffed, performance will always stall. The truth is, most growing companies aren’t short on talent—they’re short on bandwidth and budget.

Hiring in Latin America changes that. It lets you fill every role your sales organization needs now—not a year from now—without lowering the bar on quality or experience. Companies like AvantStay have already proven what’s possible: a complete, high-performing team that drives millions in new revenue.

If you’re ready to build a sales team that actually has the capacity to sell, schedule a free, no-commitment consultation call. With Near, you never pay until you make a hire. It’s free to interview candidates and explore what’s possible.