Hiring your first sales rep in Italy: from job post to first quarter

You have product-market fit in the US. Now you want a rep on the ground in Italy to open the EU market. You have no Italian entity and no local HR. This is how the path usually runs, step by step, when you use an Employer of Record (EOR).

Before the job post  

Decide what the role is. A first rep in a new market is not a pure closer. They will prospect, run demos, handle local procurement questions and feed product feedback home. Write that down. It shapes the profile you search for.

Also decide where the rep sits. Many Italian sales hires work from home or from a coworking space in Milan, Rome or another hub. Pick the location based on your customers, not on habit.

Fix the pay structure early. Italian candidates will ask about fixed salary, variable pay and benefits. A clear split between base and commission helps. Vague promises of equity or a bonus to be defined later put off good people.

Writing the post  

Post in Italian and in English. Say what the product does, who the buyer is and what the rep owns. Mention that the role is employed through an EOR. Candidates in Italy are used to a formal employer, so explain it in one plain sentence: the EOR is the legal employer, and you direct the daily work.

Avoid long lists of buzzwords. Strong sellers read for three things: the market, the territory and the pay. Give them those.

Interviews and the offer  

Run interviews in your normal way, with one adjustment. Ask a local advisor or your EOR to check how the role maps to a collective agreement. In Italy, the national collective agreement for the sector sets minimum pay, working time, leave and notice rules. It is not optional. Your offer has to sit on top of it.

This surprises many US teams. At-will employment does not exist here. Terms are written, and changes later are harder than in the US. Get the contract right before the candidate signs.

Your EOR drafts the employment contract in Italian, aligned with the right agreement. You review the commercial terms: targets, commission plan, territory, reporting line. Keep the commission plan in a separate document so you can update it without reopening the contract.

Between acceptance and day one  

Once the candidate accepts, the EOR registers the employment with the Italian authorities, sets up payroll and arranges the mandatory insurance and social security. You do not form an entity. You do not open a bank account in Italy. You do not hire a payroll provider.

The candidate may be serving notice at a current employer. Notice periods in Italy can be long, and they depend on the old contract. Ask early and plan for it. A start date that slips is normal. Do not treat it as a warning sign.

Send equipment ahead of time. A laptop, a phone and access to your CRM should be ready before the first morning.

The first weeks  

Onboarding a remote rep in a new country needs more structure than a US hire. Plan the first weeks like this:

• Give them a written ramp plan with clear goals for learning, pipeline and first meetings.
• Pair them with a US colleague for product and process questions.
• Set a weekly call that stays on the calendar.
• Share your best case studies and translate the ones that matter for Italian buyers.

Do not expect closed deals right away. Enterprise cycles in Italy can be slow, and trust matters. Local references help a lot.

The first quarter  

By the end of the quarter, judge the rep on activity and learning, not only on revenue. Look at these signals:

• Is the pipeline filling with the right accounts?
• Are prospects taking meetings in Italian, and is the pitch landing?
• What objections come up that you did not hear in the US?
• Is pricing and contract language working for local buyers?

This is also when you review the commission plan. If the targets were set without local data, adjust them with the rep. Do it openly and in writing.

Payroll will have run each month by now. Check the payslips with your EOR so you understand what the total cost looks like. Many founders find the full employer cost higher than the salary figure they first had in mind. Better to learn that in the first quarter than in the budget review.

What you should have at the end  

A working rep with a compliant contract. A repeatable process for the next hire. Real data on what it costs to employ someone in Italy. And an answer to the question that started this: does the market respond to your product?

If yes, you can hire a second rep, add a customer success role or think about a permanent entity later. If not, you learned that without setting up a company first.

Try the cost calculator to see what your first sales hire in Italy would cost.