Most VP of Sales searches that go wrong do so before the first candidate is approached. The brief is vague, the people deciding disagree about what the role is for, or the package and process only get settled halfway through. A search firm can find and assess candidates, but it can only search for the role you describe. This guide sets out what a hiring company should prepare before starting a VP of Sales search, and what to ask any search partner before appointing one.
Start with why the role exists now
A VP of Sales hire usually follows a change: a founder stepping back from selling, a new funding round, entry into a new market, or a sales team that has outgrown its current manager. The reason shapes the profile. A company replacing founder-led sales needs someone who can build process and hire a first team. A company with an established team that has stalled needs someone who can diagnose and reset. Write down, in two or three sentences, what has changed and what this person must fix or build. If the leadership team cannot agree on those sentences, settle that first.
It is also worth checking that VP of Sales is the right level. Some businesses need a hands-on Head of Sales; others need a Chief Revenue Officer who owns sales, customer success and revenue operations together. Our article CRO or VP Sales? Choosing the Right Leader for Your Next Stage sets out how to tell the difference.
Define success at 12 months
The most useful part of a brief is a short list of outcomes the new VP of Sales should have delivered after a year. For example: a team of a stated size hired and ramped, a forecast the board trusts, a repeatable process for a defined segment, or a first set of customers in a new region. Outcomes like these give everyone, including candidates, a shared picture of the job, and they turn interviews into evidence-gathering rather than impressions.
Describe the sales motion honestly
Candidates who have succeeded in one motion do not always succeed in another. Before the search starts, be specific about:
- Who you sell to: the size of customer, the buyer’s job title and the sector.
- How deals are won: typical deal size, sales cycle length, and whether new business or expansion of existing accounts matters more.
- The current team: how many people, at what level, and how well they are performing.
- What already exists: CRM discipline, sales process, pipeline coverage, marketing support and partner channels.
An honest description protects you from hiring a leader whose experience fits a different business, and it helps strong candidates judge whether the role suits them.
Agree the package range and reporting line before you start
Experienced sales leaders will ask early about base salary, variable pay, equity and how commission is measured. If the range is unclear, or depends on a decision nobody has made, good candidates lose interest while the internal discussion continues. Agree the range, the split between fixed and variable pay, and any equity in principle before the first approach.
Be equally clear about the reporting line: whether the VP of Sales reports to the CEO, a CRO or a regional leader, and how they will work with marketing, customer success and finance. A role that reports to the CEO and owns the full number is a different job from one that sits under a CRO.
Set the interview process and decision-makers
Decide who will interview, in what order, and who makes the final decision. Keep the panel small enough to move quickly, and give each interviewer a defined area to assess. A typical process covers commercial track record, team leadership and hiring, forecasting and pipeline management, and fit with the leadership team. Many companies add a short exercise, such as a 90-day plan or a review of a real pipeline problem.
Track record is the area most often taken on trust. Ask how candidates’ quota attainment and team results will be checked, and by whom. Our guide on how to verify a sales leader’s quota attainment covers the questions and references that help.
Decide how confidential the search needs to be
Many VP of Sales searches are confidential: the incumbent may not yet know, or the company may not want competitors or customers to see the hire. Agree what can be said to candidates at first approach, when the company name can be disclosed, and whether a non-disclosure agreement is needed before detailed conversations. A confidential search changes how candidates are approached, so settle this before the search firm starts.
Questions to ask a search firm before appointing one
Whichever firm you speak to, these questions help you judge whether it can deliver this particular search:
- Which VP of Sales and sales leadership roles has the firm filled in a similar market, motion and region?
- Who will run the search day to day, and who will speak to candidates?
- How will the firm identify candidates who are not actively looking?
- How will candidates be assessed before you meet them, and what evidence will you see?
- How and how often will progress be reported, and what happens if the shortlist is not right?
- What are the commercial terms, and is the search retained or contingent?
The answers matter more than the firm’s size. A specialist who understands technology sales leadership can usually describe the candidate market in detail at the first meeting.
A simple brief checklist
Before the search starts, a hiring company should be able to answer each of these in a sentence or two:
- Why the role exists now, and what the person must fix or build.
- What success looks like at 12 months.
- Who you sell to, how deals are won, and the state of the current team.
- The package range, reporting line and key working relationships.
- The interview panel, the stages and who decides.
- The level of confidentiality and what can be said at first approach.
With these settled, a search can start quickly and candidates hear a consistent, credible story from the first conversation.
Talk to us about your brief
Selective Search has specialised in senior technology sales recruitment since 2005, recruiting VPs of Sales and other sales leaders for SaaS, AI and enterprise technology businesses across the UK, US, EMEA and APAC. To discuss a VP of Sales search, see our VP Sales recruitment page or talk to us about your brief.