Scaling into the U.S. market is a big growth opportunity for Canadian companies. Communitech Outposts hosted an insightful discussion at the Communitech Hub, with industry experts Kristina McDougall, Managing Partner, Artemis Canada, Kristin Condon,Chief Customer Officer, Sales Talent Agency Inc. John Beresford, Chief Revenue Officer, BrandPilot AI and Jill Jutzi, Vice President, People & Culture, Miovision. The panelists discussed whether businesses need to hire locally in the U.S. or if they can manage sales from Canada. The answer depends on your industry, target market and sales strategy. 

Product market fit comes first

Before making any hiring decisions, companies need to establish product market fit. Can businesses expect a senior sales hire to fix weak demand? The chances are low. Companies must prioritize and allocate resources toward demand generation to find the ideal product market fit. Beresford highlighted “About 80 per cent of the stress, cost and effort in sales come from generating demand, not closing deals.”

Does face-to-face selling matter?

For some industries, having face value is essential while others have shifted to remote sales. Knowing your customer is critical. If buyers expect face time, hiring locally might be necessary. If they don’t, a Canadian-based team could be just as effective.

Hiring the right salesperson

Sales success extends beyond hiring the most experienced candidate to find someone with drive, emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills. Condon’s recommendation is that a senior hire should be a business partner, not just a salesperson. Early-stage companies can benefit more from a business development rep (BDR) who can build that pipeline. Jutzi pointed out, “Moving into a scale-up, you actually need people that are competitive and results-driven rather than a shiny salesperson.” 

Hiring in the U.S. vs. Canada: Key differences

Employment culture

In the U.S., employment is at will, meaning job security and loyalty levels differ. Each company has a unique hiring process. 

“In some states like California, specific laws make you mindful around the questions you can ask in the interview process,” said Gordon. 

Canadian employees tend to stay longer, while U.S. employees may jump roles more frequently. 

Legal and logistical challenges

Fifty states in the U.S. means 50 different employment laws and contracts that comply with local regulations. Benefits like health care also play a major role in these decisions. Hiring for U.S. expansion isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. Many companies use an employer of record (EOR) to manage these complexities instead of setting up a U.S. entity. Communitech Outposts offers Canadian companies an overarching global hiring solution. 

“Each state has different laws and it can be a huge headache to make sure your employment agreements stack up from a legal aspect in all,” said Jutzi. “Therefore, a service like the Outposts program is great, they know all of these details and you can give it to them to handle.”