Who you hire can make or break your business — and an international expansion only raises those stakes.

What’s more, hiring people in a new market brings new challenges. Cultural differences and region-specific nuances are only some of the many hurdles ahead.

The key to overcoming those challenges? A killer hiring strategy. With the right strategy, you’ll put the right people in business-critical roles and put yourself in a great position to make the most of a well-timed venture.

At Monterro, we’ve helped multiple Nordic software companies navigate the choppy waters of going global and expanding their operations.

We’ve distilled that insight into this blog, which we hope will act as a short guide to hiring and integrating your first international sales team with total confidence.

Let’s get started.

5 people you shouldn’t hire in your international expansion

Not to sound negative, but the list of wrong candidates for these initial roles is longer than the right ones.

And, sometimes knowing who you’re not looking helps clarify who you are looking for.

For our experience, we humbly advise you not to hire:

1. The first person that walks through the door: When the rumours start to spread about you expanding, you will get someone who turns up at your door with a great looking CV asking for a job. Do not hire them. We’ve seen this happen many times. It never works. Just don’t. Gustav Lagercrantz, CEO of Operations at Monterro, says “It’s difficult to get the right people on board in your local market, but it’s 10 times harder in a different market. That’s why it’s so important to use existing contacts.”
2. A salesperson from the mothership: “You should never move salespeople into a new country,” Monterro’s co-founder Peter says. “If you do, you’re just setting them up to fail. And selling is such an interpersonal skill – you need somebody who understands the culture.”
3. A country manager: Never hire a country manager to start with. They will never do the necessary groundwork. They just want to spend time hiring other people to the team.
4. A candidate that only one person in your company has interviewed: Make it a rule that every new hire is interviewed not only by the person who’ll be their manager, but their manager’s manager too. It kills nepotism and breeds community.

Getting involved with your new office

Now that you’ve got the right people to help you get a foothold in a new market, it’s time to start investing in their success.

“Hiring an isolated sales person in the hope they’ll stir up the market and create some good business is a mistake. You need to have the whole organisation behind you,” Johan Blomdahl, Co-founder and CEO of TimeEdit, rightly points out.

We recommend sending a senior member of your team to the new office for weeks at a time, several times a year. Make sure they have the time to troubleshoot issues on the ground, build a sense of community, and mentor the latest recruits. In the in-between periods, set up regular calls so you’re always accessible to the team.

Hiring is just the first step

The commitment you invest at the beginning of an international expansion always pays dividends in the long run. Do it right, and you’ll have a team that feels utterly local all while feeling like a natural extension of your company.

Want to learn more about expanding into new markets overseas?

Download The CEO SaaS guide to international expansion eBook.