Key takeaways
- Match the sales profile to your reason for entering the market: hunters for new business, farmers and account managers for existing customers.
- Never assume a candidate’s customers will follow them. Check their track record and any restrictive covenants in their current contract.
- Notice periods vary widely. A US hire can often start within weeks, while a senior hire in Germany may be bound by a notice period of several months.
- Freight Appointments recruits commercial staff and country leaders for forwarders entering the USA, Germany, Benelux and Australia.
Why are you hiring sales in a new country?
Your reason decides the profile you need.
| Your situation | The profile you need |
|---|---|
| Entering a market with no existing customers | A hunter with a local network and a record of winning new business |
| Following existing customers into a new country | A farmer or account manager who can protect and grow those relationships |
| Protecting key accounts that are growing locally | A Corporate or Global Account Manager |
| Launching a vertical, such as healthcare, aerospace or project logistics | A sales lead with specialist sector knowledge and customer contacts |
Forwarders are increasingly hiring top-tier Corporate and Global Account Managers to protect their largest accounts. Over the past 18 months, freight sales hiring has been at its lowest point in years, so every commercial hire is under more scrutiny than usual.
What does a successful sales hire look like in a new market?
The strongest market-entry sales hires usually have:
- a genuine local network of shippers, carriers and agents;
- a track record they can prove, with named accounts, lanes and verticals;
- the right language skills for the customers they’ll be selling to;
- sector knowledge if you’re launching a vertical;
- the ability to work without a big local team, because in a new market they may be the business’s only face for a while.
If you’re entering a market with no existing customers
You need a hunter. Look for someone who has built a book of business from scratch in that market, not just inherited one.
Many roles blend hunting and farming. One recent example is a Project Logistics BDM role in Germany for a top 10 forwarder. It was split 40% farming and 60% hunting, remote anywhere in Germany, at up to €100,000 fixed.
Questions worth asking hunter candidates:
- Which three accounts are you proudest of winning, and how did you win them?
- How long did it take for your last new account to start shipping?
- Which customers in this market would take your call next week?
- How do you build a pipeline in a market where your company is unknown?
Agree a realistic ramp-up period and quarterly targets before they start, so both sides know what success looks like.
If you’re following existing customers into a new country
You need a farmer or account manager. Their job is to give your existing customers local service, deepen the relationship and win more of their freight. Look for experience managing large, complex accounts, and the ability to work with your global account team as well as local operations.
If you’re expecting a candidate’s customers to follow them
Don’t assume they will, and check what the candidate can legally do. Restrictive covenants vary by country:
- Germany: a post-employment non-compete is only binding if the employer pays compensation of at least half the employee’s last remuneration for its duration, and it can last no more than two years, under section 74 of the German Commercial Code.
- Netherlands: a non-compete must be agreed in writing, and in a fixed-term contract the employer must justify it in writing with compelling business interests, under Article 7:653 of the Dutch Civil Code.
- United States: rules vary by state. California, for example, voids most non-compete agreements under its Business and Professions Code.
Customer non-solicitation clauses can also apply, even where a non-compete doesn’t. Ask candidates early what restrictions they’re under, and take employment law advice before you build a business plan around customers who may not be able to follow.
If you’re not sure a candidate can deliver
Ask for evidence, then check it. A genuine sales exec should be able to tell you:
- the accounts they’ve won and roughly what each was worth;
- the lanes and verticals they’ve grown;
- how their gross profit has changed over time;
- which customers are likely to follow them, and why.
Reference checks with previous managers catch inflated claims more often than most people expect. Fudging dates, titles or results can even count as fraud in some US states. Every candidate Freight Appointments puts forward has been verified before you meet them.
If you’re hiring in the US, Germany, the Netherlands or Australia
Notice periods, probation and package norms all affect when your new hire can start and how you structure the offer.
| Country | Notice periods | Probation |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Most employment is at-will, everywhere except Montana, so new hires can often start within weeks | Not set by law |
| Germany | Employer notice rises with length of service, from four weeks to seven months after 20 years, under section 622 of the German Civil Code. Contracts often apply the same periods to employees | Up to six months, with two weeks’ notice |
| Netherlands | Employer notice runs from one to four months depending on length of service, and employees give one month, under Article 7:672 of the Dutch Civil Code | Up to two months for permanent contracts or contracts of two years or more |
| Australia | Minimum employer notice runs from one to four weeks, plus a week for employees over 45 with at least two years’ service, under the Fair Work Act 2009 | Not set by law, though a minimum employment period applies before unfair dismissal claims |
What this means for your timeline: a senior salesperson in Germany with long service may need to serve months of notice before they can join. If you need someone in seat for a launch date, start the search in Germany or the Netherlands much earlier than you would in the US.
Language: fluent German makes sales in Germany far easier, and customers in Belgium may expect Dutch or French as well as English. In the US, Spanish can open up Latin American and cross-border lanes.
Packages: sales pay in freight forwarding usually combines a base salary with commission, but the balance varies. Candidates will want to know how your salary and commission structure compares with competitors’, and senior hires may ask about equity. Benchmark against the local market before you make an offer.
If you need a country leader before a sales team
Hire the leader first. A country leader who knows the market can build the right sales team, win the first customers and represent the business with carriers, agents and authorities. Hiring sales first, without that leadership, often leaves a new salesperson isolated.
Senior market-entry hires are usually best handled through confidential executive search, where you see two or three fully vetted candidates rather than a long list of CVs. Our blog on why US or European expansion requires localised executive search explains how it works.
How does Freight Appointments help you hire sales in a new country?
Freight Appointments recruits only in freight forwarding, across the USA, Germany, Benelux and Australia. More than 900 of our candidates have been hired since 2019. Our sales recruiters know competitors’ salary and commission structures and who’s growing which lanes and verticals. They can spot a genuine sales exec who can do what they say.
Our international expansion recruitment covers:
- Market-entry planning: which commercial role to hire first, and when.
- Sales recruitment: hunters, farmers, business development managers and account managers with real local networks.
- Executive search: confidential searches for country leaders, heads of sales and senior commercial leaders.
- Package benchmarking: salary, commission and benefits for each local market.
- Verification: track records and references checked before you meet anyone.
- Local knowledge: notice periods, language expectations and candidate behaviour in each market.
Find out more about our international expansion recruitment, or get in touch to talk about your plans.
FAQs
What is the best first sales hire when entering a new country?
A hunter with a local network if you have no customers there yet. A farmer or account manager if you’re following existing customers.
Will a salesperson’s customers follow them to a new employer?
Not always. Check their track record, and check any non-compete or non-solicitation clauses in their current contract, which vary by country.
How long are notice periods in Germany?
Under section 622 of the German Civil Code, employer notice rises with length of service, from four weeks up to seven months after 20 years. Employment contracts often apply the same periods to employees.
How long are notice periods in the Netherlands?
Employers give one to four months depending on length of service, and employees usually give one month, under Article 7:672 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Do salespeople in Germany need to speak German?
For most customer-facing roles, yes.
Should you hire a country leader or a salesperson first?
Usually the country leader, who can then build the sales team and represent the business locally.
