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 sales director leads the managers who lead the reps: territory and quota design, hiring and developing managers, the segment plan and the forecast leadership relies on. Strong sales managers do not always make this step, so we screen for managers they developed, a forecast they defended and a plan they built.
A new sales director changes the segment’s number through managers, so the first quarter is about knowing each manager, one forecast and territories that hold. Each stage below has a signal we test for first.
The ramp, and the test behind each milestone
Weeks 1 and 2
One-on-ones with each manager, a review of attainment by rep, pipeline coverage and the largest open deals, and time on team calls to see how each manager actually runs the week.
On track looks like a written view of each manager's strengths, gaps and team numbers, shared with their leader.
How we test for it before you meet them
A case exercise in our screen: anonymized team data from three managers. We score what they notice first and which manager they would spend the next week with.
Weeks 3 to 6
The same stage definitions and forecast rhythm across every team, a roll-up the VP can read and challenge, and a review of territories and quotas where coverage is uneven.
On track looks like a forecast within an agreed range of what closes, and territories their leader has signed off.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask how close their forecasts landed, quarter by quarter, and how manager calls were inspected. A former VP or CRO confirms it.
Weeks 7 to 10
Coaching the managers on how they coach: deal reviews, call reviews and hiring loops, with a clear decision on any manager who is not improving.
On track looks like measurable change in two managers' team results and a decision made on any manager not improving.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask for a first-time manager they developed into a result, and call that manager. A director who rescued every deal personally does not pass.
Weeks 11 to 13
A headcount plan with open seats moving, interview loops that test selling, and quota and compensation plans checked for fairness across teams and for what they reward.
On track looks like an approved hiring plan with interviews running and pay plans that no longer conflict.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask how they set quotas and what they changed after a year. Strong answers include fairness across territories and the reps who left.
After day 90
The quarter's result for the whole segment, fewer surprises in the forecast, and managers who run their own teams and are ready for more.
On track looks like a segment at or near its number, with managers who can run their teams without the director.
How we test for it before you meet them
We ask how they would grow the segment's number next year without adding headcount. A specific answer predicts a director who builds capability.
Five responsibilities. If the seat leads one team of reps, it is a sales manager; if it leads the whole sales organization and answers for the number, it is a VP of Sales.
Hiring, coaching and where needed replacing the first-line managers who run the teams.
How accounts and targets are split across teams, and the review when coverage is weak.
Targets, headcount and the mix of new and existing business for the teams in the director’s remit.
The roll-up across managers, called on evidence to the VP or CRO, with risks raised early.
Joining the deals that need an executive, and agreeing handoffs and data with marketing, customer success and revenue operations.
Three neighboring seats absorb work people assume belongs here. Drawing the line wrong is how a sales director ends up closing deals all day or setting a strategy nobody asked for.
That seat ownsOne team of account executives: coaching, deal reviews, pipeline discipline and the weekly forecast.
Hire it instead whenyou have one team and need a leader for the reps, not for managers.
That seat ownsThe whole sales organization and its number: strategy, structure, compensation and the forecast to the CEO.
Hire it instead whenyou need someone to own sales strategy and answer for the number across several directors.
That seat ownsThe systems, data, territories and reporting the sales organization runs on.
Hire it instead whenthe forecast or the territories break because the data and process do, not the leadership.
The title stays the same; the organization does not. Pick the one that matches yours.
Adds a layer above first-line managers who have reported to the VP or the founder.
Owns one segment, such as enterprise or mid-market, with its own playbook, hires and number.
Leads managers across a geography, with territories, hiring and local market knowledge.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Results through managers | Personal sales records, with team numbers left vague. | Segment attainment by quarter, with how it was spread across managers. |
| Developing managers | No example of a manager who improved under them. | First-time managers developed into results, confirmed by those managers. |
| Forecast accuracy | Cannot say how close forecasts landed. | Quarter-by-quarter accuracy and how manager calls were inspected, confirmed by a former VP or CRO. |
| Territory and plan design | Splits accounts by count and never revisits. | Territory and quota logic explained, with what changed after a year. |
| Fit with your motion | A transactional background for an enterprise segment, or the reverse. | Has led managers selling to buyers like yours, at a similar deal size. |
Public US benchmarks, read October 2026. Sales director pay is base plus a large variable: Built In’s self-reported additional cash averages $110,504 on a $154,000 average base, and Salary.com’s total cash average is $299,192. Salary.com’s employer-reported base band runs above Built In’s $149,000 median base. Team size and the variable plan 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
Sales Director
Salary.com base, Built In total
$174,921 to $214,534 base$264,504 average total
Sales Manager
Salary.com base, Built In total, the seat below
$114,937 to $144,893 base$167,231 average total
VP of Sales
Salary.com base, Built In total, the seat above
$209,153 to $243,047 base$350,465 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 1 and 18, 2026 for Sales Director, September 28 and October 7, 2026 for Sales Manager and September 29, 2026 for VP of Sales. 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 sales director leads the managers who lead the sales teams. The work is hiring and coaching those managers, designing territories and quotas, building the segment plan, rolling up and defending the forecast, and joining the deals that need an executive. The measure is the whole segment’s number, produced through managers rather than by the director closing deals.
Salary.com puts a sales director at $174,921 to $214,534 base, with a median of $190,946, and total cash averaging $299,192 (October 2026). Built In’s self-reported figures show a $149,000 median base and $264,504 average total once variable pay is included. Team size, segment and the variable plan move the number most. Ask for the full package, not base alone.
A sales manager leads one team of account executives and is judged on that team’s number. A sales director leads the managers: they hire and develop them, design territories and quotas across teams and roll up the forecast. The jump is from coaching reps to coaching managers. A strong sales manager does not always make it, so we screen for managers they developed.
When more than one team reports into the same leader and the managers lack a coach, when a segment such as enterprise needs its own owner, or when the VP of Sales spends the week on first-line management. Before that, a strong sales manager and a clear VP are usually enough. The signal is a VP too stretched to coach managers.
We look at segment results by quarter rather than personal records, ask for managers they developed and call those managers, check forecast accuracy with a former VP or CRO, and run a team data case to see how they inspect managers. 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 segment’s attainment, often paid quarterly and sometimes with accelerators above target. Paying on the whole segment’s number rather than personal deals keeps the director coaching managers instead of closing. Built In’s self-reported data shows additional cash averaging $110,504 on a $154,000 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 team data case scored and segment results checked with a former leader. Interview speed decides the rest: good sales directors 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, and we flag them on the shortlist.
Tell us how many managers the seat inherits, the segment and the number. 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 sales roles, or send your CV and we will come to you when a seat opens.
The sales director is one of eleven seats in this function. If the gap sits elsewhere, start there.