After more than five years selling nearshore engineering services across Latin America, I have a pretty good grasp on the first questions every prospect will fire at me. Whether I’m talking to a 5-person SaaS start-up or a Fortune 100 VP of Engineering, the same five concerns appear—security, risk, tech fit, flexibility, and finally, the money. For this piece I’ll mix things up and go straight to the point, no fluff, no detours!
5. “How do you handle security?”
Enterprises—especially in fintech, healthcare, and government—dig much deeper than NDAs and a shared VPN. My layered answer covers four fronts:
- Compliance frameworks – SOC 2–ready controls audited annually; GDPR and HIPAA alignment when data dictates.
- Infrastructure hardening – Role-based access, mandatory MFA, and zero-trust network segmentation.
- Consultant readiness – Secure-device policy (company-issued or client-vetted) plus mandatory infosec training every year.
- Data lifecycle management – Encryption in transit and at rest, plus certified IT asset disposition when hardware retires.
Need air-gapped environments or tight SIEM integration? I adapt the plan to your stack.
4. “What if it doesn’t work out?”
The real fear behind outsourcing is uncertainty: missed deadlines, culture mismatch, or weak performance. I shift that risk off your shoulders with concrete safeguards:
- 90-Day Risk-Free Warranty – Replace an under-performing consultant at no cost.
- Success cadence – Bi-weekly scorecards, a dedicated success manager, and 24-hour escalation paths.
- Service-level agreements – Position-to-hire cycle times defined in writing (e.g., senior profile in ≤ 15 business days).
- Exit flexibility – Rolling contracts with a simple 15-day notice, no punitive clauses.
3. “Which technologies do you actually cover?”
Answering “everything” insults everyone’s intelligence. Our talent team screens 5,000+ engineers a year and keeps the top 4–5 percent. That gives me breadth with honest limits. If you need something outside those bands, We’ll point you to a specialist partner instead of overselling.
2. “What’s the minimum project or team size?”
Big vendors often impose several-FTE, 12-month minimums. That model suffocates high-growth companies that need flexibility. My rule is simpler: if the work fits our talent stack, we engage.
- Micro engagements – We’ll dispatch a specialist for a scoped task as small as eight billable hours.
- Ramp-friendly contracts – Start with one engineer; scale to a squad when funding or roadmap demands it.
- Graceful downsizing – If the scope shrinks, the team can too—no hidden penalties.
Pilot quickly, prove value, and scale on your timetable.
1. “What are your rates?”
Money is the deal-breaker, so I tackle it head-on. I share a realistic hourly range on the very first call, making a client wait for a formal proposal is typically unnecessary.
- Individualized cost model – Each quoted candidate has an individual expectation, using a fixed rate card would mean that, by nature, I have to underpay someone, or overcharge my client.
- Role-based tiers – A senior DevOps engineer costs more than a mid-level QA analyst, and I say so up front.
- Location truth-telling – Costa Rica and Mexico may command different rates than Bolivia or Peru, but that’s not always the case; globalized hiring means costs have normalized over time, we pay much more attention to the talent quality.
If your target rate sits outside our feasible band, you hear it immediately, better a short call than a long disappointment.
Conclusion: Turning Questions into Confidence
Security, risk, tech fit, flexibility, and rates all ladder up to one theme: trust. You don’t just need cheaper code; you need certainty that your nearshore partner can scale, protect, and deliver without drama. By putting real numbers, clear policies, and enforceable guarantees on the table from call one, we turn abstract worries into manageable facts.
Ready to test these answers? Hand me your toughest role or tiniest pilot, and let’s prove what a purpose-built Latin American team can do—on your terms, at your pace.
