What it actually costs per seat, how to employ people legally, which role to hire first, and how long it takes to get to a producing rep.
US companies hire a sales team from India by defining the seats they need (SDR, account executive, sales engineer, customer success, RevOps), recruiting operators who already sell to US buyers on US hours, and engaging them either as contractors or through an employer of record. Fully loaded, an India-based revenue team costs roughly 40 to 60 percent less than the US equivalent. A senior SDR in India averages about 14 lakh rupees a year (close to $17,000) against a US SDR base of $55,000 to $60,000, and EOR service fees add about $99 to $399 per person per month with statutory employer contributions adding another 15 to 20 percent of gross pay.
The recruiting itself takes about a week to a week and a half per seat when someone is sourcing currently-employed operators rather than posting a job and waiting. GTMly runs that search on contingency, so there is no fee until you hire.
Expect 40 to 60 percent less than the US equivalent on a fully loaded basis, and a wider gap at senior levels. The India salary is only part of it: budget the salary, the employment vehicle, and statutory employer costs together.
| Seat | India, all in (annual) | US equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| SDR / BDR | About $12,000 to $20,000. Senior SDRs average close to 14 lakh rupees, roughly $17,000. | Base of $55,000 to $60,000, on-target earnings around $83,000 to $85,000. |
| Account Executive (SaaS) | Roughly 13 lakh to 24 lakh rupees, about $15,000 to $28,000 including variable. | Median base near $75,000 to $82,000, median on-target earnings near $200,000. |
| Employment vehicle | Employer of record fees of about $99 to $399 per person per month with India specialists, plus 15 to 20 percent of gross in statutory employer contributions. | US payroll taxes, benefits, and equity on top of base. |
Sales engineers, customer success managers, RevOps, and sales leadership sit between those two rows and move with the market you are selling into. We quote those live on the call rather than publishing a range that ages badly. See the roles we place for scope on each seat.
Start with the seat where output is measurable in weeks, not quarters. For most US SaaS companies that is outbound SDR capacity, then a closing AE once there is enough pipeline to justify one, then the support roles around them.
Pipeline generation is the fastest thing to prove out and the easiest to measure. Meetings booked and accepted are visible within a month. This is where the cost gap is also widest.
Once the top of funnel is producing, a closing seat pays for itself. Screen hard on the buyer they have sold to and the deal size they have actually closed, not on the logo.
Technical pre-sales and post-sale retention are strong India hires because both reward product depth and written communication over local relationships.
Systems seats do not need to be in your timezone at all. CRM hygiene, routing, reporting, and outbound tooling run perfectly well on an offset schedule.
Two routes cover almost every case. Engage the person as an independent contractor on a services agreement, or hire them through an employer of record that acts as the legal employer in India while the person works for you day to day.
Fastest and cheapest to start. Direct invoicing, no local entity, no EOR fee. Best for early seats and for people who prefer the flexibility. You carry more classification risk as the relationship gets more full-time in character.
The EOR employs the person in India, runs payroll, and handles provident fund, gratuity, and tax withholding. India specialists charge about $99 to $399 per person per month, global platforms charge more for the same hire. Statutory employer costs add roughly 15 to 20 percent of gross.
Only worth it past roughly 25 to 40 people in India. Below that the setup, compliance, and accounting overhead costs more than the EOR fees it saves.
GTMly recruits the person. You choose the vehicle, and we work with whichever one you already use.
About a week to a week and a half to first finalists per seat, and four to six weeks to a working, ramped rep. The search is the fast part. Onboarding into your product and your buyer is what actually sets the timeline.
Motion, buyer, deal shape, and the profile that has worked for you before. We write the scorecard here so screening is objective later.
We reach currently-employed operators at peer and competitor companies, screen for skills, US-hours availability, and US-buyer experience, then shortlist.
Two to three vetted candidates with our notes on each. You interview, we handle scheduling and feedback loops.
Offer, employment vehicle, and onboarding into your product, your CRM, and your ICP. Budget real ramp time here. This is where offshore hires usually succeed or fail.
Four failure modes account for most of it: hiring on cost alone, no US-buyer context, no manager, and no ramp. Every one of them is avoidable at the screening stage, and all four are why cheap hires end up expensive.
The cheapest candidate is cheap for a reason. The cost advantage is already large at market rate, so pay market and hire the operator who has actually carried a quota.
Selling to an Indian SMB buyer and selling to a US go-to-market buyer are different jobs. Screen for who they sold to, in what motion, at what deal size.
An offshore rep with no coaching cadence drifts within a month. Someone on your side owns the weekly one to one, or you hire a lead in India as the second or third seat.
Expecting quota in week two guarantees churn. Set 30, 60, and 90 day milestones in writing before the person starts.
Tell us the role and the market. We come back with 2 to 3 vetted, currently-employed operators, usually within a week to a week and a half. Contingency, so there is no cost until you hire.
Fully loaded, roughly 40 to 60 percent less than the US equivalent. A senior SDR in India averages about 14 lakh rupees a year, close to $17,000, against a US SDR base of $55,000 to $60,000. SaaS account executives in India land roughly between 13 lakh and 24 lakh rupees all in. On top of salary, budget about $99 to $399 per person per month for an employer of record and another 15 to 20 percent of gross for statutory employer contributions.
Yes, and it is a screening question rather than an assumption. We filter specifically for US-hours availability and for prior experience selling into US buyers, so the finalists you meet are already running on a US go-to-market calendar.
Contractors are the fastest and cheapest way to start and work well for the first few seats. An employer of record is the safer route once the relationship is full-time in character, because the EOR is the legal employer in India and handles payroll, provident fund, gratuity, and tax withholding. Setting up your own Indian entity only makes sense past roughly 25 to 40 people.
Outbound SDR capacity, in most cases. It is the fastest seat to prove out because meetings booked are visible within a month, and it is where the cost gap between India and the US is widest. Add a closing account executive once there is enough pipeline to justify one.
About a week to a week and a half from locking the profile to meeting two or three vetted finalists. A ramped, producing rep is typically four to six weeks out once you include offer, onboarding, and product training.
No. We work on contingency, so there is no fee until you hire one of our candidates.
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