Roles we recruit
Seven practices, 27 functions. Start at the practice when you cannot yet name the title; go straight to the function when you can.
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A VP of sales owns the new-business number: sales strategy, team structure, compensation, hiring and the forecast leadership relies on. Strong sellers interview well for this seat, so we screen for a team they built, a forecast they defended and leaders they hired and removed.
A new VP of sales is judged on whether the team’s number becomes predictable and the leaders underneath start to carry it. Each stage below has a signal that predicts it, and we test for that signal before you meet anyone.
The ramp, and the test behind each milestone
Weeks 1 to 3
Calls listened to, pipeline reviewed by stage, win and loss reasons, coverage by segment, quota attainment by rep and manager, and how recent hires ramped, with one-to-ones across the team.
On track looks like a written review of what wins and loses, where coverage is thin and who carries the number, shared with the CEO.
How we test for it before you meet them
A case exercise in our screen: anonymized pipeline and attainment data. We score what they notice first and what they would not change in the first month.
Weeks 4 to 6
Common stage definitions, a weekly forecast call with evidence behind every deal, and a roll-up the CEO and CFO can read and challenge.
On track looks like a weekly forecast within an agreed range of the result, built on shared definitions.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask how close their forecasts landed, quarter by quarter, and check it with a former CEO or CFO.
Weeks 7 to 10
A clear view of who leads each team, decisions on the open seats, and territory, quota and compensation plans checked for fairness and for what they reward.
On track looks like a map of who leads what, decisions made on each open seat, and a territory and pay plan the CEO has signed off.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask which leaders they hired or removed in their first year and why. References from those leaders tell us more than the VP's own account.
Weeks 11 to 13
A hiring plan by quarter, interview loops that test selling, and onboarding with a measured ramp, built with revenue operations and enablement.
On track looks like reps hired this quarter ramping on a measured plan, and pipeline coverage for next quarter's target.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask for the ramp time of reps they hired before and after they changed onboarding.
After day 90
Strong VPs review the plan monthly, move resources, coach their leaders and tell the CEO early when a quarter is at risk.
On track looks like a team that runs the plan without the VP in every deal, and no surprises at quarter end.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask how they told a CEO about a missed quarter. A plain account that names the cause and the fix predicts a leader the CEO will trust.
Five responsibilities. If the seat also owns customer success and revenue operations, it is a chief revenue officer; if it leads one segment or region, it is a sales director.
Strategy, targets and the forecast for new revenue, owned from the first call to the close.
Roles, territories, managers and the hiring plan that fits the number.
Plans that reward what the company wants and are fair across territories.
A weekly call made on evidence, with risk raised early to the CEO.
Stage definitions, playbooks and onboarding that make new reps productive.
Three neighboring seats absorb work people assume belongs here. Drawing the line wrong is how a VP of sales search ends with a strong closer who cannot lead.
That seat ownsSeveral teams or one segment: the managers, territory and quota design and the forecast for that part of the business.
Hire it instead whenthe problem sits in one segment or region and a VP is already in place.
That seat ownsEvery revenue function, usually sales, customer success and revenue operations, and the forecast to the board.
Hire it instead whenthe gap spans sales, customer success and revenue operations, not sales alone.
That seat ownsThe systems, data, process and planning behind the revenue team: CRM, forecasting, territories, compensation and reporting.
Hire it instead whenthe number is unreliable because the data and the planning are, not the selling.
The title stays the same; the company does not. Pick the one that matches your stage.
Replaces founder-led selling and builds the first management layer.
Grows a team through hiring while keeping the number, often adding segments and managers.
Moves a team that sells small deals toward larger, longer ones, with new roles and pricing.
The questions we ask in our own screen. Use them in yours; the warning signs are as useful as the answers.
Every candidate we put forward is scored on these five, and the scores travel with the shortlist, gaps included. Four out of five with a named weakness beats a clean sweep you cannot verify.
| What we score | Weak evidence | Strong evidence |
|---|---|---|
| New-business results | A personal record, with team numbers left vague. | The team’s new-business attainment by quarter, with how it was spread. |
| Forecast accuracy | Cannot say how close forecasts landed. | Quarter-by-quarter accuracy, confirmed by a former CEO or CFO. |
| Building the sales team | Inherited a team and kept it unchanged. | Leaders hired and removed, with reasons and results, confirmed by those leaders. |
| Pay and territory design | Copies the last company’s plan. | Plans designed for this motion, with what was changed after a year. |
| Fit with your motion | A different deal size, buyer or sales cycle. | Has led sales to buyers like yours, at a similar deal size and cycle. |
Public US benchmarks, read October 2026. VP of sales pay is base plus a large variable: Built In’s self-reported additional cash averages $143,217 on a $207,248 average base, and Salary.com’s total cash average is $382,965. Salary.com’s employer-reported base band runs above Built In’s $195,000 median base. Company stage and quota size move the number most.
Each bar runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile, the middle half of reported pay.
Base salaryWages including commission (BLS)Average total pay, base plus variable
VP of Sales
Salary.com base, Built In total
$209,153 to $243,047 base$350,465 average total
Sales Director
Salary.com base, Built In total, the seat below
$174,921 to $214,534 base$264,504 average total
Chief Revenue Officer
Salary.com base, Built In total, the seat above
$313,212 to $373,741 base$416,766 average total
Sales managers
BLS, all industries, wages include commission
$100,360 to $207,340
Bars: Salary.com base salary, 25th to 75th percentile, United States, as of October 1, 2026. Rings: Built In average total compensation (base plus additional cash, self-reported), reviewed October 16 and 17, 2026 for VP of Sales, October 1 and 18, 2026 for Sales Director and September 29 and October 14, 2026 for Chief Revenue Officer. Sales managers: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, annual wage at the 25th and 75th percentiles (SOC 11-2022), all industries; BLS wages include commission. Public aggregates, not ZaphyrRecruit placement data.
A VP of sales owns the new-business number. They set sales strategy and team structure, hire and develop the sales leaders, design compensation and territories, run the forecast and report it to the CEO and board. The measure is the team’s number, produced through leaders rather than by the VP closing deals personally.
Salary.com puts a VP of sales at $209,153 to $243,047 base, with a median of $225,097 and total cash averaging $382,965 (October 2026). Built In’s self-reported figures show a $195,000 median base and $350,465 average total once variable pay is included. Company stage, quota size and equity move the number. Ask for the full package, not base alone.
A sales director leads several teams or one segment: the managers, the territory plan and the forecast for that part of the business. A VP of sales owns all new-business selling: strategy, structure, compensation, hiring and the forecast to the CEO, and manages directors or managers. The jump is from running a segment to running the whole motion, so we screen for results across segments.
When sales has outgrown founder-led selling, when the current leader cannot scale the team you need next year, or when the forecast changes every week. Before that, a strong sales director or a player-coach may be enough. The signal is a founder still on every large deal and managers with nobody to coach them.
We look at team results by quarter rather than personal records, check forecast accuracy with a former CEO or CFO, call leaders they hired and removed, and run a pipeline data case to see what they notice first. Every candidate is scored against the five criteria on this page, and the scores travel with the shortlist, gaps included.
Most plans pair a base salary with a variable tied to the company’s new-business number, often paid quarterly with accelerators above target, and sometimes equity. Paying on the whole team’s number keeps the VP building the team rather than closing deals. Built In’s self-reported data shows additional cash averaging $143,217 on a $207,248 average base, so the variable is a large share of the package.
Ten working days from a signed brief to a shortlist of three to five calibrated candidates, each with our pipeline case scored and team results checked with a former CEO or CFO. Interview speed decides the rest: good sales leaders rarely run one process at a time, so a decision within two weeks of the first interview keeps them. Notice periods at this level are often long.
Tell us the stage, the number and who sells today. We come back within one business day with how we would run the search and what the seat pays.
We build shortlists from people doing this work now, often before a seat is advertised. Set up a job alert for executive roles, or send your CV and we will come to you, in confidence, when a seat opens.
The VP of sales is one of fourteen seats in this function. If the gap sits elsewhere, start there.