VP of Sales

Role Purpose & Context

Role Summary

The VP of Sales is responsible for driving the entire sales function, ensuring we meet and exceed our revenue targets across a business unit or the whole company. You'll be the architect of our sales strategy, building and leading a large team of sales professionals and managers. This role sits right at the heart of our commercial success, translating company objectives into actionable sales plans and making sure we're always growing. When you do this well, we hit our P&L targets, expand our market share, and build a reputation for consistent growth. If it's not done right, we miss our numbers, lose market relevance, and frankly, the company struggles. The challenge? It's the constant pressure of the number, the need to adapt quickly to market changes, and keeping a large, diverse team motivated. The reward? Seeing your strategic vision turn into tangible revenue, building a world-class sales organisation, and making a real impact on the company's trajectory.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
• Direct reports: Typically 5-10 direct reports (Sales Directors/Managers), overseeing a total team of 25-100+ sales professionals.
• Matrix relationships: Sales Director (Global), Head of Revenue (Sales), EVP Sales,

Key Stakeholders

Internal:

• Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
• Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
• Chief Product Officer (CPO)
• Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• Legal Counsel
• Sales Operations Leadership
• Customer Success Leadership

External:

• Key Enterprise Clients
• Strategic Partners (Channel, Alliance)
• Industry Analysts
• Investors (occasionally)
• Recruitment Agencies

Organisational Impact

Scope: This role directly impacts the company's top-line revenue, market position, and overall profitability (P&L responsibility typically £2M-£10M+). Your decisions on go-to-market strategy, sales force effectiveness, and talent development directly shape the company's growth trajectory and investor confidence. You're not just managing sales; you're driving business unit transformation.

Performance Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

1. Metric: Business Unit Revenue Attainment
2. Desc: Achieving or exceeding the annual revenue target for your assigned business unit or the entire company.
3. Target: 100%+ of annual revenue target (e.g., £5M-£10M+ ARR)
4. Freq: Quarterly, Annually
5. Example: Delivering £10.5M ARR against a £10M target, representing 105% attainment for the year.
6. Metric: Sales Forecast Accuracy
7. Desc: The precision of your team's quarterly and annual revenue forecasts compared to actual closed business.
8. Target: Within +/- 5% variance for quarterly forecasts
9. Freq: Monthly, Quarterly
10. Example: Forecasting £2.5M for Q3, with actual closed revenue coming in at £2.4M, a 4% variance.
11. Metric: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
12. Desc: The total cost of sales and marketing efforts required to acquire a new customer.
13. Target: Reduce CAC by 10-15% year-on-year
14. Freq: Quarterly
15. Example: Lowering CAC from £5,000 to £4,250 per new customer through optimised sales processes and better lead qualification.
16. Metric: Pipeline Coverage & Velocity
17. Desc: Ensuring a healthy pipeline of opportunities (coverage) and the speed at which deals move through the sales stages (velocity).
18. Target: Maintain 3-4x pipeline coverage; increase pipeline velocity by 10% YoY
19. Freq: Monthly, Quarterly
20. Example: Consistently having £30M in pipeline for a £10M quarterly target, and reducing average deal cycle from 90 to 81 days.
21. Metric: Sales Team Attrition & Productivity
22. Desc: The retention rate of your sales force and the average revenue generated per sales professional.
23. Target: Annual attrition below 15%; 10%+ increase in average productivity per rep YoY
24. Freq: Quarterly, Annually
25. Example: Achieving 12% annual attrition while increasing average revenue per rep from £500K to £550K.

Qualitative Metrics

1. Metric: Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy Effectiveness
2. Desc: The clarity, adoption, and success of the GTM strategy you define and implement.
3. Evidence: Regular positive feedback from Marketing and Product on GTM alignment; measurable improvements in target market penetration; successful launch of new products/segments; clear documentation and communication of GTM strategy across the organisation.
4. Metric: Sales Leadership & Team Development
5. Desc: Your ability to inspire, coach, and develop your direct reports (Sales Directors/Managers) and the broader sales organisation.
6. Evidence: High engagement scores in sales team surveys; successful internal promotions from within your team; positive 360-degree feedback from direct reports and peers; active participation in company-wide leadership initiatives; a demonstrable succession plan for key roles.
7. Metric: Cross-Functional Collaboration
8. Desc: How effectively you work with other departments (Marketing, Product, Finance, Legal) to achieve shared business objectives.
9. Evidence: Being proactively invited to strategic planning meetings by other department heads; successful resolution of inter-departmental conflicts; joint initiatives with Marketing leading to improved lead quality; Finance reporting accurate sales data due to your team's rigour.
10. Metric: Market Intelligence & Competitive Positioning
11. Desc: Your understanding of the competitive landscape and market trends, and your ability to position the company effectively.
12. Evidence: Regular, insightful updates to the executive team on competitor activities; successful development of competitive playbooks for the sales team; positive feedback from industry analysts on our market messaging; identifying and capitalising on emerging market opportunities.

Primary Traits

• Trait: Decisive
• Manifestation: You're the person who makes the tough calls, even when they're unpopular. That means disqualifying a major prospect if they're a bad fit, reassigning territories to optimise performance, or making a firm 'commit' to the board without hedging. When a deal is stuck, you cut through the noise and tell the team what needs to happen. No dithering, just clear direction.
• Benefit: A sales organisation thrives on clear direction and quick decisions. Indecision at this level creates massive drag, kills momentum, and ultimately means we miss our numbers. Your team needs to trust that you'll lead them with conviction, especially when things get messy.
• Trait: Influential
• Manifestation: You can persuade the CFO to approve a non-standard discount for a strategic client, even if it's outside policy. You're able to convince Product to prioritise a feature that's blocking a multi-million-pound deal. You rally your entire team around a new, sometimes difficult, strategy and get them bought in. It's about getting people to move in the same direction, not just telling them what to do.
• Benefit: As a VP of Sales, you're constantly working across departments. You can't just command; you need to build strong relationships, negotiate, and get buy-in from Marketing, Product, Finance, and Legal. Without influence, you'll constantly hit roadblocks and struggle to get the resources your team needs to win.
• Trait: Accountable
• Manifestation: When we miss the quarterly target, you're the first to say, 'I missed the forecast,' not 'The team underperformed.' You own the messy CRM data problem and put a plan in place to fix it, rather than just complaining. You take full responsibility for the wins and the losses, and you don't shy away from difficult conversations about performance.
• Benefit: This builds unbreakable trust—both with the executive team and with your sales floor. It creates a culture where everyone takes ownership of their results, rather than making excuses. Your team needs to see you lead by example, especially when things go wrong. It's how you build credibility and respect.

Supporting Traits

• Trait: Resilient
• Desc: Bounces back instantly from a lost enterprise deal or a challenging quarter. You see setbacks as learning opportunities, not reasons to give up. The sales world is full of 'no's, and you need to be able to shake them off and keep pushing the team forward.
• Trait: Commercial Acumen
• Desc: Thinks like a business owner, not just a sales leader. You understand the P&L, the cost of acquisition, customer lifetime value, and how sales decisions impact the broader business. You're not just chasing revenue; you're chasing profitable, sustainable growth.
• Trait: Innate Competitiveness
• Desc: Possesses a deep-seated desire to win—against the competition, against last year's numbers, and against your own personal best. This isn't about being cutthroat, but about a healthy drive to be the best and to see your team succeed.
• Trait: Empathetic Coach
• Desc: Understands the personal drivers of your team members and coaches to their individual strengths and weaknesses. You know when to push, when to support, and how to get the best out of each person, from a junior manager to a seasoned director.

Primary Motivators

1. Motivator: Driving Business Growth
2. Daily: You'll spend your days strategising how to unlock new markets, optimising sales processes, and developing your team to hit ambitious revenue targets. Seeing the company's P&L grow directly because of your efforts is a huge buzz.
3. Motivator: Building High-Performing Teams
4. Daily: You'll be hiring, coaching, and mentoring a large team of sales leaders and individual contributors. The satisfaction comes from seeing your directors grow, your managers hit their team targets, and individual reps exceeding their quotas, knowing you helped build that capability.
5. Motivator: Strategic Impact & Influence
6. Daily: You'll be at the executive table, shaping the company's overall commercial strategy, influencing product roadmaps, and making critical decisions that affect the entire business. Your voice will carry weight, and your ideas will drive change.

Potential Demotivators

Honestly, this role isn't for everyone. You'll inherit a 'house of horrors' CRM system that makes accurate forecasting a nightmare for the first few quarters. You'll constantly be fighting with Marketing over the quality of leads they're sending, often feeling like you're handed low-quality webinar attendees to hit a volume target. Expect last-minute roadblocks from Finance or Legal on deal approvals when you're right up against quarter-end, and sometimes, the product roadmap will change, forcing you to go back to a key prospect empty-handed. If you need a predictable, calm environment where every piece of your strategic work makes it to market exactly as planned, you'll struggle here. The reality is messier, more political, and often more frustrating than the job posting suggests.

Common Frustrations

1. The Marketing-Sales Divide: Fighting over lead definitions and quality, feeling like Marketing isn't delivering what Sales needs.
2. The Quarter-End Squeeze: Last-minute legal or finance hurdles blocking critical deals when the pressure is highest.
3. Product Roadmap Whiplash: Selling a future feature only for it to be deprioritised, impacting credibility and deals.
4. Inheriting a 'House of Horrors' CRM: Dealing with years of inconsistent, incomplete, and useless data.
5. The CEO's 'Pet Project': Being forced to chase a poorly qualified, high-profile prospect that diverts resources.
6. Talent Challenges: The constant battle of hiring, retaining, and developing top sales talent in a competitive market.

What Role Doesn't Offer

1. A quiet, predictable 9-to-5 job – expect late nights, especially at quarter-end, and constant pressure.
2. A role where you only focus on individual sales – your success is entirely dependent on your team's performance.
3. Complete control over all variables – you'll need to influence and negotiate, as many factors are outside your direct command.
4. An environment free from internal politics or cross-functional friction – navigating these is a core part of the job.

ADHD Positives

1. The fast-paced, high-stakes nature of sales leadership can be incredibly engaging for those with ADHD, providing constant novelty and challenges.
2. The need for quick decision-making and rapid problem-solving aligns well with ADHD strengths in thinking on your feet.
3. Managing multiple strategic initiatives and a large team offers varied tasks, preventing boredom and allowing for hyperfocus on urgent priorities.

ADHD Challenges and Accommodations

1. **Challenge:** Sustained focus on long-term, detailed strategic planning or meticulous data hygiene can be difficult. **Accommodation:** Use project management tools with clear milestones, delegate detailed analytical tasks to Sales Operations, and schedule dedicated 'deep work' blocks.
2. **Challenge:** Managing a large volume of emails and communication threads can be overwhelming. **Accommodation:** Implement strict email management rules, use communication platforms that consolidate information, and empower direct reports to filter non-critical updates.
3. **Challenge:** Impulsivity in high-pressure negotiations. **Accommodation:** Develop a clear negotiation framework, use a 'cooling-off' period for major decisions, and rely on trusted advisors for second opinions before committing.

Dyslexia Positives

1. Excellent verbal communication and storytelling skills often found in dyslexic individuals are invaluable for motivating a sales team and presenting to the board.
2. Strong spatial reasoning and big-picture strategic thinking can help in territory planning, market analysis, and visualising complex sales processes.
3. The ability to connect disparate ideas and think creatively can lead to innovative sales strategies and problem-solving.

Dyslexia Challenges and Accommodations

1. **Challenge:** Reading and writing extensive reports, proposals, or detailed compensation plans. **Accommodation:** Use dictation software, leverage AI tools for drafting and summarising, and rely on visual aids (charts, diagrams) for presentations. Proofreading support for critical documents.
2. **Challenge:** Organising complex written information or detailed administrative tasks. **Accommodation:** Use mind-mapping tools for strategy development, employ digital note-taking apps with search functions, and delegate administrative tasks where possible.
3. **Challenge:** Processing large amounts of text-heavy data quickly. **Accommodation:** Focus on executive summaries and key data visualisations, use text-to-speech software, and have analysts summarise key findings verbally.

Autism Positives

1. A strong logical and analytical approach can be highly beneficial for data-driven sales strategy, pipeline analysis, and forecasting accuracy.
2. A dedication to process and structure can lead to highly efficient and predictable sales operations and methodology implementation.
3. Direct and honest communication, when understood, can build trust and clarity within the team and with external partners.

Autism Challenges and Accommodations

1. **Challenge:** Navigating complex social dynamics, unspoken rules, and political manoeuvring common at the executive level. **Accommodation:** Provide clear expectations for communication, offer a trusted mentor for navigating organisational politics, and encourage direct reports to be explicit in their feedback.
2. **Challenge:** Adapting to frequent, unexpected changes in strategy or market conditions. **Accommodation:** Communicate changes with as much lead time and detail as possible, explain the 'why' behind decisions, and provide structured frameworks for adapting to new situations.
3. **Challenge:** Sensory overload in busy, open-plan office environments or during large conferences. **Accommodation:** Offer a quiet workspace option, allow for remote work flexibility, and provide noise-cancelling headphones. Clearly define expectations for social events.

Key Responsibilities

Experience Levels Responsibilities

1. Level: Director/VP (16-20 years)
2. Responsibilities: Drive the overall sales strategy and execution for a significant business unit or the entire company, ensuring we hit our annual revenue targets (typically £2M-£10M+ P&L).
3. Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of Sales Directors and Managers, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and winning.
4. Architect and implement our go-to-market (GTM) strategy, aligning Sales with Marketing, Product, and Customer Success to maximise market penetration and customer lifetime value.
5. Define and optimise sales processes, methodologies (e.g., MEDDPICC, Challenger Sale), and compensation plans to drive desired behaviours and predictable revenue growth.
6. Present sales performance, forecasts, and strategic initiatives to the C-Suite and Board of Directors, answering tough questions and providing clear, data-backed insights.
7. Negotiate and close complex, strategic enterprise deals personally, often stepping in on the largest or most challenging opportunities to get them over the line.
8. Manage key strategic partnerships and channel relationships, identifying opportunities for growth and ensuring mutual success.
9. Supervision: You'll be largely autonomous, reporting directly to the CRO or CEO with monthly strategic alignment meetings. The expectation is that you'll define the 'how' and 'what,' with oversight on the 'why' and 'when' from the executive team. You're expected to operate with full strategic authority within your business unit.
10. Decision: Full strategic authority for your business unit or sales function, including P&L responsibility typically ranging from £2M to £10M+. You'll have final say on sales methodology, compensation plan design, territory allocation, hiring for your direct reports, and vendor selection up to £500K. Decisions impacting overall company strategy or requiring M&A involvement will be made in consultation with the C-Suite and Board.
11. Success: Hitting or exceeding the annual revenue target for your business unit. Building a stable, high-performing sales leadership team with clear succession plans. Demonstrable improvement in sales efficiency metrics (e.g., CAC, pipeline velocity). Consistently accurate forecasting within a 5% variance. Positive feedback from C-Suite and Board on strategic contributions and market insights.

Decision-Making Authority

• Type: Sales Strategy & GTM
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Defines and implements the overall sales strategy and GTM plan for the business unit, with C-Suite alignment.
• Type: P&L Management & Budget Allocation
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Owns the P&L for the sales function (£2M-£10M+). Allocates budget for headcount, tools, and programmes. Board-level decisions require CEO/CRO alignment.
• Type: Compensation Plan Design
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Designs, implements, and iterates on sales compensation plans for the entire sales organisation, with CFO approval.
• Type: Hiring & Organisation Design
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Full authority for hiring Sales Directors and Managers. Designs the organisational structure for the sales team. Key hires for C-Suite direct reports require CEO/CRO approval.
• Type: Major Client Negotiations
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Leads and closes the largest, most strategic enterprise deals. Approves non-standard terms or discounts up to a defined threshold (e.g., 25% discount, £1M+ deal value) with Legal/Finance consultation.

Competency Requirements

Foundation Skills (Transferable)

As a VP of Sales, your foundation skills need to be rock solid. It's not just about what you know, but how you lead, influence, and adapt in a constantly changing market. You're setting the tone for a large organisation, so your leadership and strategic thinking need to be exemplary.

• Category: Strategic Leadership & Vision
• Skills: Defining and communicating a compelling sales vision that aligns with overall company objectives.
• Translating high-level business goals into actionable sales strategies and operational plans.
• Building and inspiring a large, diverse sales organisation to achieve ambitious targets.
• Anticipating market shifts and competitive threats, adapting strategy proactively.
• Category: Executive Communication & Influence
• Skills: Presenting complex sales data and strategic recommendations clearly and concisely to the C-Suite and Board.
• Negotiating high-stakes deals and strategic partnerships with external stakeholders.
• Influencing cross-functional leaders (Marketing, Product, Finance) to secure resources and align priorities.
• Coaching and providing direct, constructive feedback to Sales Directors and Managers.
• Category: Problem-Solving & Decision-Making
• Skills: Diagnosing complex sales performance issues and implementing effective corrective actions.
• Making high-impact decisions under pressure, often with incomplete information, that affect P&L.
• Structuring and solving organisational challenges related to sales team structure, compensation, and territory design.
• Identifying and mitigating risks across the sales pipeline and GTM strategy.
• Category: Organisational Development & Change Management
• Skills: Designing and implementing effective sales organisational structures that scale with growth.
• Leading significant change initiatives within the sales function (e.g., new methodologies, tech stack).
• Developing talent pipelines and succession plans for key sales leadership roles.
• Fostering a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and high performance.

Functional Skills (Role-Specific Technical)

Your functional skills as a VP of Sales go beyond just selling; they're about architecting the entire sales engine. You need to be a master of sales methodology, GTM strategy, and financial planning, understanding how all the pieces fit together to drive predictable revenue.

Technical Competencies

• Skill: Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy Design & Execution
• Desc: Defining the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), aligning Sales and Marketing on lead definitions (MQLs, SQLs), and developing comprehensive channel strategies (Direct, Channel, Partner) to maximise market penetration and revenue.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Sales Methodology Mastery (e.g., MEDDPICC, Challenger Sale)
• Desc: Deep, practical application of structured sales processes across a large organisation. This isn't just knowing the acronyms, but ensuring your entire team lives the process from discovery to close, and adapting it to market needs.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Compensation Plan Design & Optimisation
• Desc: Structuring plans with appropriate base/variable splits, accelerators/kickers for overperformance, and SPIFFs that drive specific desired behaviours (e.g., new logo acquisition, multi-year deals), all while managing P&L impact.
• Level: Advanced
• Skill: Territory & Quota Planning
• Desc: The strategic allocation of resources. Involves white space analysis, defining equitable territories based on TAM (Total Addressable Market), and setting challenging but attainable quotas that align with the company's financial plan.
• Level: Advanced
• Skill: Executive-Level Negotiation & Deal Structuring
• Desc: Moving beyond feature/price discussions to structure complex, multi-year enterprise deals. Includes navigating procurement, legal, and security reviews, and securing access to the Economic Buyer, often personally closing the largest deals.
• Level: Expert

Digital Tools

• Tool: Salesforce (Lightning)
• Level: Strategist
• Usage: Architecting the CRM strategy, defining required fields/workflows, managing integrations with other sales tools, and holding the organisation accountable for data hygiene and accurate forecasting. You'll use it to pull high-level reports for board meetings.
• Tool: Outreach / SalesLoft
• Level: Strategist
• Usage: Selecting and implementing the platform, defining rules of engagement for the entire sales organisation, and integrating it with marketing automation and CRM for full-funnel visibility and efficiency. You'll use the analytics to spot team-wide trends.
• Tool: Gong / Chorus.ai
• Level: Strategist
• Usage: Using platform-wide analytics to inform sales training, product marketing, and competitive strategy. You'll present data-backed insights from thousands of calls to the executive team, shaping GTM and product roadmaps.
• Tool: ZoomInfo / LinkedIn Sales Navigator
• Level: Strategist
• Usage: Negotiating enterprise contracts for data acquisition, defining the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) for lead generation, and ensuring data compliance (e.g., GDPR) across the sales organisation. You'll use it for strategic market mapping.
• Tool: Tableau / Power BI
• Level: Advanced
• Usage: Working with data teams to design and build executive-level dashboards tracking critical metrics like CAC, LTV, pipeline velocity, forecast accuracy, and market share. You'll be interpreting these dashboards to drive strategic decisions.
• Tool: Anaplan / Pigment
• Level: Advanced
• Usage: Owning the sales model within the financial planning platform. Responsible for top-down/bottom-up forecasting, quota/territory planning, and compensation modelling across the entire sales organisation, working closely with Finance.

Industry Knowledge

• Area: SaaS/Subscription Business Models
• Desc: Deep understanding of recurring revenue, churn, expansion, and the metrics unique to a subscription-based business (e.g., ARR, MRR, LTV:CAC, NDR).
• Area: Market Dynamics & Competitive Landscape
• Desc: In-depth knowledge of the specific industry sector, key players, emerging trends, and how to position our products/services competitively.
• Area: Global Sales Operations & Compliance
• Desc: Understanding of international sales best practices, legal considerations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), and cultural nuances in different markets.

Regulatory Compliance Regulations

• Reg: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• Usage: Ensuring all sales activities, including prospecting, data handling, and customer communication, comply with GDPR regulations, especially when operating in the EU or with EU citizen data. You'll be responsible for setting and enforcing these standards across your team.
• Reg: UK Bribery Act 2010
• Usage: Understanding and enforcing anti-bribery and corruption policies within the sales organisation, particularly when dealing with government contracts or international business. You'll need to ensure your team adheres to ethical sales practices.
• Reg: Consumer Protection Regulations (UK/EU)
• Usage: Ensuring sales practices and customer agreements comply with relevant consumer protection laws, especially if selling to smaller businesses or directly to consumers. This involves working with Legal to review sales collateral and contracts.

Essential Prerequisites

• Proven track record of building and leading large sales organisations (25+ people) to consistently exceed revenue targets (£2M-£10M+ P&L responsibility).
• Extensive experience in designing and implementing successful go-to-market strategies for complex products or services.
• Demonstrable expertise in sales methodologies (e.g., MEDDPICC, Challenger Sale) and their practical application across a team.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience with P&L management, budget allocation, and sales compensation plan design.
• Experience presenting to and influencing C-Suite executives and Board members.
• A history of successfully attracting, developing, and retaining top sales leadership talent.

Career Pathway Context

Before stepping into a VP role, you'd typically have spent several years as a Sales Director, managing multiple sales managers and owning a significant regional or segment revenue target. You'd have already proven your ability to scale teams, hit numbers, and contribute to strategic planning, often reporting directly to a VP or CRO. This role is about taking that experience and applying it at a broader, more impactful level.

Qualifications & Credentials

Emerging Foundation Skills

• Skill: AI-Driven Sales Strategy & Orchestration
• Why: AI is moving beyond just rep productivity; it's now capable of informing macro sales strategy. Competitors are using AI to predict market shifts, optimise GTM motions, and even automate large parts of the sales cycle, giving them a significant edge in efficiency and predictability.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Predictive Analytics for GTM', 'description': 'Using AI to identify emerging market segments, predict customer churn, and pinpoint optimal pricing strategies based on vast datasets.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI-Powered Sales Process Automation', 'description': 'Orchestrating AI tools to automate lead qualification, personalised outreach, meeting scheduling, and even parts of proposal generation, freeing up human sellers for high-value interactions.'}, {'concept_name': 'Ethical AI in Sales', 'description': 'Understanding the biases in AI models and ensuring fair, transparent, and compliant use of AI in all sales activities, especially concerning data privacy and customer interaction.'}, {'concept_name': 'Sales Copilot Implementation', 'description': "Integrating AI assistants (like Microsoft Sales Copilot or Salesforce Einstein Copilot) at an organisational level to augment sales leaders' decision-making and team productivity."}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Attend industry webinars on AI in sales leadership; identify 2-3 AI tools that could transform your GTM.
• Next 6 months: Pilot an AI-driven forecasting or territory optimisation tool within a small team; measure its impact rigorously.
• Next 12 months: Develop a clear roadmap for AI adoption across your sales organisation, including training and change management plans.
• Ongoing: Stay current with AI developments by reading industry reports and engaging with AI thought leaders.
• QuickWin: Start experimenting with AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude to draft internal communications, summarise lengthy reports, or brainstorm GTM ideas. No formal approval needed, immediate productivity gains.

Advancing Technical Skills

• Skill: Advanced Revenue Operations (RevOps) Data Strategy
• Why: As sales, marketing, and customer success converge, a holistic view of the customer journey is critical. You'll need to understand how to build and maintain a unified data model that provides end-to-end visibility, enabling true RevOps. This is about making data a strategic asset, not just a reporting function.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Unified Customer Data Platforms (CDP)', 'description': 'Understanding how to consolidate customer data from disparate systems into a single source of truth for better targeting and personalisation.'}, {'concept_name': 'Attribution Modelling (Multi-Touch)', 'description': 'Moving beyond last-touch attribution to understand the true impact of various sales and marketing efforts across the customer journey.'}, {'concept_name': 'Data Governance & Quality', 'description': 'Establishing and enforcing policies for data accuracy, consistency, and compliance across all revenue-generating functions.'}, {'concept_name': 'Predictive LTV & Churn Modelling', 'description': 'Using advanced analytics to forecast customer lifetime value and identify at-risk accounts, informing sales and customer success strategies.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Partner closely with your Sales Operations and Marketing Operations leaders to understand their data challenges and current tech stack.
• Next 6 months: Lead an initiative to audit your current data quality and identify key areas for improvement; research CDP solutions.
• Next 12 months: Work with your CRO to define a unified RevOps data strategy and begin implementation, focusing on key metrics and dashboards.
• Ongoing: Regularly review data quality reports and hold your team accountable for data hygiene standards.
• QuickWin: Identify one critical sales metric (e.g., pipeline conversion rate) and work with your RevOps team to ensure its data source is clean and consistently reported across all dashboards.

Education Requirements

• Level: Minimum
• Req: Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field
• Alts: Extensive (20+ years) and demonstrable experience in sales leadership roles, with a proven track record of exceeding revenue targets and managing large teams, can be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Level: Preferred
• Req: Master's degree (MBA) in Business Administration or a related discipline
• Alts: Relevant executive education programmes or certifications in strategic sales leadership.

Experience Requirements

You'll need at least 16-20 years of progressive experience in sales, with a significant portion (8-10+ years) in senior leadership roles managing large, multi-level sales organisations (25-100+ people). This should include direct P&L responsibility for a business unit or entire company sales function (typically £2M-£10M+), and a proven track record of consistently exceeding revenue targets. We're looking for someone who has designed and executed successful go-to-market strategies, built high-performing teams from the ground up, and regularly presented to C-Suite and Board-level stakeholders.

Preferred Certifications

• Cert: MEDDPICC Certification
• Prod: Various (e.g., MEDDPICC.com)
• Usage: Demonstrates a deep understanding of a rigorous, enterprise-level sales qualification and execution methodology, critical for driving predictable revenue.
• Cert: Challenger Sale Certification
• Prod: CEB/Gartner
• Usage: Shows an ability to lead value-based, insight-driven sales conversations at a strategic level, which is crucial for complex deals and executive engagement.
• Cert: Strategic Account Management (SAM) Certification
• Prod: SAMA
• Usage: Highlights expertise in managing and growing the most strategic client relationships, often critical for a VP's direct involvement in key accounts.

Recommended Activities

• Regularly attend industry conferences and executive forums (e.g., Sales Leaders Summit, Dreamforce, SaaStr) to stay abreast of market trends and network with peers.
• Participate in executive coaching or leadership development programmes focused on scaling organisations and strategic influence.
• Actively mentor emerging sales leaders, both within your organisation and externally, to refine your coaching and leadership skills.
• Contribute to industry thought leadership through articles, webinars, or speaking engagements.

Career Progression Pathways

Entry Paths to This Role

• Path: Sales Director (Large Enterprise/Regional)
• Time: 3-5 years as a Director
• Path: Head of Sales (High-Growth SME/Scale-up)
• Time: 4-6 years as Head of Sales

Career Progression From This Role

• Pathway: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
• Time: 3-5 years as a VP of Sales

Long Term Vision Potential Roles

• Title: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
• Time: 3-5 years
• Title: General Manager / Business Unit Leader
• Time: 5-7 years
• Title: Board Member / Non-Executive Director (NED)
• Time: 7-10+ years

How Zavmo Delivers This Role's Development

DISCOVER Phase: Skills Gap Analysis

Zavmo maps your current competencies against all requirements in this job description through conversational assessment. We evaluate your foundation skills (communication, strategic thinking), functional skills (CRM expertise, negotiation), and readiness for career progression.

Output: Personalised skills gap heat map showing strengths and priorities, estimated time to competency, neurodiversity accommodations.

DISCUSS Phase: Personalised Learning Pathway

Based on your DISCOVER results, Zavmo creates a personalised learning plan prioritised by impact: foundation skills first, then functional skills. We adapt to your learning style, pace, and neurodiversity needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism).

Output: Week-by-week schedule, each module linked to specific job responsibilities, checkpoints and milestones.

DELIVER Phase: Conversational Learning

Learn through conversation, not boring modules. Zavmo uses 10 conversation types (Socratic dialogue, role-play, coaching, case studies) to build competence. Practice difficult QBR presentations, negotiate tough renewals, and handle churn conversations in a safe AI environment before facing real clients.

Example: "For 'Stakeholder Mapping', Zavmo will guide you through analysing a complex enterprise account, identifying key decision-makers, and building an engagement strategy."

DEMONSTRATE Phase: Competency Assessment

Zavmo automatically builds your evidence portfolio as you learn. Every conversation, practice scenario, and application example is captured and mapped to NOS performance criteria. When ready, your portfolio supports OFQUAL qualification claims and demonstrates competence to employers.

Output: Competency matrix, evidence portfolio (downloadable), qualification readiness, career progression score.