Attracting and Retaining Top Sales Talent for Expanding International Teams

Uliana Martynova
3 days ago
3 min read

Growing an international sales team is one of the most exciting parts of expansion—but also one of the trickiest.

Sales talent drives everything: market entry, early traction, customer relationships, and revenue. And yet, companies often discover that what works in their home market doesn’t automatically work abroad.

Different regions come with different expectations, motivations, and sales cultures. A "top performer" in one country doesn’t always translate into the same profile somewhere else. And if you’re expanding quickly, the pressure to get these hires right increases fast.

This is where a more thoughtful, market-aware approach makes all the difference.

Sales talent isn’t universal—each market has its own version of "top performer"

Many companies start expansion with the assumption that their ideal sales profile will work everywhere. Except… it usually doesn’t.

A hunter profile that thrives in the US may feel too aggressive in DACH. Relationship-driven sellers succeed in Southern Europe but may struggle in more transactional Nordic markets. Titles differ wildly—an "Account Executive" in one country may look more like a Senior Manager somewhere else.

Sales cultures grow from local business habits, not internal frameworks. Understanding that nuance early helps avoid mismatches that slow down market entry and can even set a region back months. Local insight becomes the thing that prevents expensive mistakes.

Compensation needs local calibration—not just translation

Sales compensation is where expansion plans often hit friction. OTE ratios, variable structures, accelerators, and quotas—all of these vary much more by market than companies expect.

Some regions expect higher base salaries. Others prefer larger variable portions. And in some countries, "uncapped commission" sounds motivating—while in others it creates anxiety about stability.

The goal isn’t to reinvent your compensation philosophy. It’s to understand how local expectations compare so the offer feels competitive rather than confusing.

Why sales roles drop off: candidate concerns you might not see coming

Salespeople are direct, but when something feels off, they don’t always share it. They simply disengage.

Common silent blockers include:

unclear market positioning ("What am I actually selling here?")
unrealistic or vague performance expectations
lack of clarity on quota-setting in a new region
uncertainty about whether the company will commit long-term to this market
missing details about support, tooling, or pipeline expectations

These aren’t deal-breakers when addressed early. But if no one catches them, they quietly erode interest. A strong recruitment partner or local hiring strategy brings these concerns to the surface before they derail the process.

Retention starts long before the offer is signed

The best way to retain top sales talent is to give them what they need to succeed—from day one. In new markets, success looks different because infrastructure isn’t always fully built.

Salespeople want to know:

how leads will be generated
what support they can expect
whether the market is ready or still being shaped
who will be guiding strategy locally
how product feedback will be communicated back into the business

If a salesperson joins and immediately feels like they’re fighting uphill without clarity or tools, retention becomes a challenge long before the first quarter ends.

How Avomind supports international sales hiring

At Avomind, we help companies hire sales talent across Europe, DACH, the US, and APAC. From first-on-the-ground Account Executives to senior commercial leaders, we combine deep market understanding with structured, transparent hiring processes.

We support teams by providing: