Building Trust and Growing Your Business in Latin America An interview with Anouk Snijders, Commercial Manager, LATAM

Latin America is a complex, fast-moving, relationship-driven region that demands local knowledge, experience, and strong relationship-building skills. KGL Accucoms is fortunate to have Anouk Snijders – who has spent two decades working in and alongside the region’s library and publishing communities – leading the way.

After 20 years living and working in Costa Rica, Anouk recently returned to her native Netherlands, but her professional life has been firmly rooted in the Latin American library and publishing market since joining Accucoms in 2004. Over the years, she has spearheaded the company’s regional development and built a strong network of representation services for the publishers KGL Accucoms represents.

“I’ve built very strong relationships with librarians and consortia across the region,” Anouk says. “It’s been a long-term investment, but those connections are the backbone of what we do.” She is also quick to credit her team for their local insights, language skills and cultural understanding. As well as Anouk, the KGL Accucoms LATAM team includes sales managers Juan Manuel López based in Mexico, Luiz Baginski based in Brazil, and Marketing manager Léia Leal, also based in Brazil.

“Between us we have built up a wealth of knowledge, experience and connections in the region” Anouk notes.

What Makes Latin America Different?

Unlike the email and online focussed working environments of Europe or North America, business in LATAM is rooted in trust, personal contact, and cultural nuance. Relationships take time to develop and often require face-to-face meetings. “People are more likely to purchase if they know and trust someone, and that will require in person contact, it’s a real investment in time.” Anouk explains.

In-person interaction remains vital and in countries like Mexico, being physically present can make all the difference between progress and a stalled conversation. These visits deepen relationships, reveal on-the-ground realities, and build lasting trust.

Language also plays a key role. Even when customers understand English, many prefer communication in their native tongue. This isn’t just courtesy; it shows respect and commitment to understanding and investing in the region.

It’s also a fair challenging market operationally, lead times can be long, and libraries expect flexibility in pricing and terms. “If you want to do business in LATAM, you have to be flexible and realistic about what that means in practice, for example we are still chasing 2025 renewals in the region and that is not unusual” warns Anouk.

Natalya Smyslova, Senior Sales Support Executive – American, Royal Society of Chemistry comments on this from a client’s perspective

I’ve seen first-hand how Accucoms’ long-standing presence and hands-on approach in Latin America have made a real difference. Their deep local knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and strong network of relationships have consistently helped the Royal Society of Chemistry navigate a complex region and achieve meaningful results. Particularly, working with Anouk Snijders and her team has been a real pleasure. Their professionalism, insight and commitment are outstanding. Anouk combines deep understanding of the market with a genuine dedication to building lasting partnerships, making collaboration both effective and enjoyable.

Regional Diversity

Latin America is far from a single, unified market. With over 30 countries, each with its own political, economic, and cultural context, local expertise is essential. KGL Accucoms’ team brings country-specific knowledge to tailor strategies for each market.

Open Access and Consortia Opportunities

Open access (OA) is becoming an important business model in the region. National and regional consortia negotiate transformative agreements that combine reading access with publishing rights. For example, Brazil’s CAPES deal with the Royal Society, which was developed with KGL Accucoms, enables researchers to publish OA without individual charges while maintaining access to high-quality content. This was an extremely important deal for all parties involved and KGL Accucoms is proud of their involvement in progressing talks and ultimately getting the deal signed. Open Access is also gaining traction in Mexico, but the deals tend to sit at the institutional level rather than via a Consortia.

Graham Anderson, Head of Sales & Marketing, The Royal Society reflected on KGL Accucoms contribution to their Transformative Agreement in Brazil:

“Since we moved to work with Anouk and her team in LATAM, we have strengthened the awareness of our portfolio in the region. This has led The Royal Society being one of the first publishers to sign a Transformative Agreement in Brazil, which was supported and made possible through working with KGL Accucoms. Anouk and the team are clearly well connected across the region to their library and librarian communities and can represent us at events and site visits throughout the year. KGL Accucoms can help to built trust between Publishers and their customers.”

Anouk and her team are constantly monitoring the business environment and can feed back to the publishers represented in the region.

For publishers, success in the region comes from demonstrating results: increased research output, greater visibility for Latin American scholarship, and clear institutional value. OA here is not just compliance; it’s a chance to raise the profile of local science and expand global reach. Therefore, success here is not solely focussed on sales but on marketing and brand awareness too. Both areas where KGL Accucoms can add value and expertise in the form of webinar, author training, and author and researcher marketing activities.

Relationship-Driven Sales in Practice

We talk a lot about relationship driven sales, but what does it mean in practice. For Anouk’s team, it starts with outreach in the local language, attending conferences, visiting libraries, and engaging with consortia year-round – not just at renewal time. This ongoing contact creates partnerships that last.

Five Takeaways for Publishers who want to do business in LATAM

1. Invest in relationships before expecting results.

2. Speak the language customers prefer.

3. Be present in person when it matters.

4. Adapt to local differences – every country is unique.

5. Stay flexible in changing political and economic climates.

Reflections

Technology and younger generations are changing communication, but the fundamentals remain: people, trust, and cultural understanding. As Anouk says, “Before you can sell a product, you need to earn a place at the table, and in Latin America, that place is for trusted partners, of which KGL Accucoms is one.” The team in LATAM have worked for many years to build that trust.

Amy Harris Ryan, Regional Sales Director, Americas at PLOS has this to say about working with KGL Accucoms in LATAM:

“Latin America is a diverse and often challenging market where strong relationships are essential for identifying opportunities and closing sales. In my conversations with customers, it’s clear they value and trust Anouk and her team. The Accucoms representatives in the region – both past and present – have also impressed me as savvy professionals who can recognize customer needs in ways that create opportunities for publishers where none seemed to exist before.”

What’s Next?

Latin America is full of potential for publishers, but it rewards those who invest in trust, presence, and local understanding. Open access, transformative deals, and new business models are creating fresh opportunities but only if you take the right approach.

With more than 20 years’ experience on the ground, the KGL Accucoms team has the connections, insight, and track record to help publishers succeed.