Job description - VP Sales: salary, role, studies

‍VP Sales: the definition

Meaning of the word and translation

A VP Sales, translated as Vice President of Sales, aims to Define commercial strategy and to supporting Sales teams in its execution. He is generally a member of the Management Committee and works closely with his CEO. He may be in charge of a specific geographic sector to increase its turnover (e.g.: VP Sales EMEA). He is the boss among the Sales & Business Development jobs !

It is often found in Tech startups counting > 80 employees, and he will be able to manage Head of Sales (FR, UK, DE...), or even Sales Managers.

What is the role, the missions of a VP Sales?

The VP Sales has a lot of responsibilities. They vary according to the structure of the company but it is regularly required to:

· Define commercial strategy

The VP Sales must analyze the market in which his company operates: competitive offers, market developments and opportunities... It will validate thesales pitch intended for the sales team, the sales goals by zone or by team, the budgets, etc.

· Supervise and monitor team performance

The Sales VP often deals with live with Sales Team Managers who are “on the ground” in front of customers (e.g. Account Executives and Account Managers). At the margin, he can manage them directly when they manage key accounts. He monitors and analyzes the performance of his teams and reports regularly to the CEO or general management.

Above all, it plays a role in the recruitment and remuneration of Sales teams. He is responsible for the successful execution of the recruitment plan.

For the team to progress as best as possible and achieve sales goals, he is required to coach salespeople, make presentations in front of the team, and use the various sales support functions and tools. It also often validates the choice of training providers.

· Selling to key accounts

Sometimes the VP Sales intervenes personally on most strategic deals to tip the scales, like the company's CEO. He also often takes care of strategic partnerships, for example alongside the marketing department in order to push the company's growth.

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VP Sales vs. Head Of Sales vs. Sales Manager

What is the role of a Head of Sales?

The role of Head Of Sales or Commercial director is to intervene in all commercial and strategic actions (current and long-term) to increase the sales of a product or service and thus increase turnover. He is often a step below the VP Sales and will deal with slightly more operational topics.

The Head of Sales oversees all activities related to business development. His strategic vision is crucial for evolving into a role of VP Sales and developing the company's activities.

What is the role of a Sales Manager?

One Sales Manager is responsible for lead a sales team within his company. It executes business strategies, analyzes data, monitors business performance. He assigns training and sales territories, supervises his sales team members, and participates in the recruitment process.

The % of time he gives to the sale depends on the organization: 0% (and yes!) at 100%.

What is the difference between VP Sales, a Head of Sales & a Sales Manager?

These three positions are often confused even though a hierarchy exists between the three. The VP Sales supervises the Head of Sales, who manages one or more Sales Managers.

The Head of Sales and the Sales Manager are team managers. They follow the business strategy and set goals for their teams. They are both involved in the hiring process.

The Head of Sales can be responsible for a geographic sector or a specific team while the Sales Manager is responsible for managing a sales team.

Unlike the other two positions, the VP Sales mainly works on the commercial strategy of his company: often companies with at least several hundred employees. He is less in the field than the Head of Sales or Sales Manager since he is very close to the management committee.

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What are the qualities of a good VP Sales?

What is a good VP Sales?

⭐️ Be strategic and visionary

The main mission is toanalyze the market and adapt your strategy in function. A good sales VP should know anticipate trends to remain competitive. He must therefore demonstrate rigor and good organization, while resisting stress.

⭐️ Have an excellent relationship

A Sales VP should have a excellent relationship since he is required to collaborate with the various divisions of the company: the sales department, marketing, account... He must be able to lead the entire sales team to achieve the objectives he has set himself. He may sometimes have to be in direct contact with certain customers.

How do you be a good Sales VP?

⭐️ Technical knowledge

Technical knowledge is at the heart of VP Sales's business. He should know the sales and negotiation techniques to train its employees and develop strategies in the best possible way. He must have a good command of CRM software to take advantage of his relationships with his customers and show a growth rate for his company.

⭐️ Market knowledge

Since he works in collaboration with other teams at the service of the company, the VP Sales must have a perfect knowledge of the market in which it evolves. He must stay on top of trends and know how to constantly adapt to changes in order for the sale of goods and services to be successful.

⭐️ Sense of listening and communication

The VP Sales may be required to participate in events where his company is present such as trade shows, conferences... He must be an essential element for the proper functioning of the sales machine. By listening to his teams, he will be able to make them progress more easily.

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How do I become a VP Sales?

Skills required

- Team management and leadership

- Rigor and organization

- Mastery of CRM software

- Strong relational

- Analytical mind

Degrees, training and studies required

As a general rule, a VP Sales has completed sales studies (BTS, DUT, bac+2) or even a business school or IAE. Most businesses require a minimum baccalaureate +5. It is possible to access the position after accumulating An experience of 10 years in the field.

There are other alternatives such as short and intensive courses to learn sales jobs. Akimbo offers a 9-week full-time Sales Bootcamp. These courses allow you to acquire all the skills and knowledge necessary for business development jobs: Business Developer, Account Executive, SDR, BDR. A good start to gain experience.

Adapted conversion profiles

In general, people who can become VP Sales have many years of management and management experience. It is a highly placed position in the company that is not easy to access. By planning for this movement and with some training, a VP Marketing can move towards the position of VP Sales.

What career developments are there for this position?

A VP Sales after several years of experience, can evolve into a position of Senior VP or even in General Management such as CEO, COO or CEO. He can also evolve into the position of sector manager on even higher average baskets.

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What is the salary for a VP Sales?

The Salary for a VP Sales depend on several factors such as the number of years of experience, seniority, size of the company, the market in France or abroad.

How much does a VP Sales make?

VP Sales “Junior” salary (1st VP Sales position)

A Junior Sales VP earns between €80K and €100K per year, at the start of their career.

VP Sales “Senior” salary

Senior VP Sales salaries, after 7 years of experience, can reach between €150,000 and even €200-300K per year.

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The different jobs around the VP Sales

Some titles you should know

• Head of Sales
• Sales Manager
• Sales Coach
• Sales Engineer

What is a Sales Coach?

The role of a Sales Coach is coordinate training courses dedicated to sales teams. He provides mentoring, individual or team training courses and produces all the educational materials so that salespeople overcome the difficulties of their position. For example, it will develop the essential soft skills, develop technical skills. Depending on this, a Sales Coach can also intervene at the management level to help structure its strategy, better segment the market, build forecasts and action plans...

What is a Sales Engineer?

The sales engineer (Sales Engineer) has a double hat, both technical and commercial. He is first a salesman before being an engineer: he brings his knowledge and skills to sell products or services. Its main role is to identify new customers for the company and to monitor the contracts completed.

It also offers solutions for businesses to boost their sales. As an engineer, he has extensive knowledge of sales techniques.

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Our tips for finding a VP Sales job

Job offers are numerous and you can sometimes drown in them. To find offers, there are many platforms such as Welcome To The Jungle, JobTeaser, or LinkedIn. This will allow you to filter offers, apply directly and save time. You will also be able to judge the relevance of the job thanks to the numerous data.

It is necessary to identify the following information to know if the position suits you: size of the company, management style, corporate culture, sector of activity...

Make sure you know the main axes of the position:

- Responsibilities, missions

- The tools used

- The market in which the product or service is located

- The product or service sold

- But also working conditions: teleworking or not, salary...

There are many candidates, even if you have all the skills, you will have to make a difference with your motivation, your experience and commercial fiber to convince HR and directors.

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How do you hire a good VP Sales?

Hiring a VP Sales can help your sales get off the ground if you find the right person.

To do this, you will be looking for the future Vice President Sales with the confidence to effectively manage his teams, whether with the Sales Director, Head of Sales or Sales Manager. Indeed, he is constantly negotiating, challenging and stimulating his employees.

The perfect candidate must also have a strategic and global vision to make marketing recommendations, boost recruitments and show growth within the company.

A VP Sales must be very curious and constantly be interested in sales, new customers, and sales performance. This allows him to have a clear vision of the key elements that make up the Board. It can thus help to adjust the variable salaries of employees.

To find the perfect candidate, you have several options. It is essential to draw up a list of expectations: skills, experiences, soft-skills... You can then find talent through LinkedIn, a recruitment firm... You can also publish your recruitment offer on the various hiring sites and internally.

To better identify candidates, you can create a Business Case where the candidate will be confronted with the reality of his future position: sector of activity, geographical area (regional, national, in France or abroad: EMEA, America)...

You can also check his past experiences with the recommendations or former directors:

- What percentage of growth?

- What turnover generated?

- Have the goals been achieved?

- Was the sales, business and marketing team satisfied?

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