UK

United Kingdom · Sales · Principal/Manager (12-16 years)

Manager, Vertical Sales

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

See how AI is changing this job, and get the full read by email.

Start my free Growth Mindset module

The first step towards Revenue Operations (RevOps) Fluency is taking your people with you, so start with Building a Department's Capacity to Learn, free.

Free to start, no card.

Keep this job description

Where should we send it?

One email: what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for, where it leads, and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

Your employer, or 'self-employed'

Leading a team? Try this with up to five of them for 14 days, free.

  • Experience bandPrincipal/Manager (12-16 years)
  • Direct reports5-8 reports
  • Reports toDirector, Vertical Industries
  • UK framework levelUsually a manager, or the deepest specialist in a team

Also advertised as Vertical Sales Team Lead · Regional Sales Manager (Vertical) · Head of Vertical Sales (Mid-Market)

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
Automation Fluency building AI into how work runs
Systems Fluency seeing the whole picture

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Manager, Vertical Sales?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • Revenue Operations (RevOps) Fluency
  • AI-Driven Coaching & Performance Management
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Manager, Vertical Sales plan as you set up, starting with the free Growth Mindset module. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

Ready to pay? Subscribe for £70 a month

Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

This job means leading a team of account executives to hit sales targets within a specific industry sector.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Salesforce Sales Cloud Strategic Command

Defining CRM strategy for the vertical, specifying custom object requirements, using data for high-level forecasting, and ensuring team adoption and data hygiene.

Clari Advanced

Using AI-driven forecasting to predict team revenue, identify pipeline risks, and coach AEs on deal progression and next steps.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator & ZoomInfo Expert

Evaluating and selecting data providers for the vertical, integrating intelligence tools into the go-to-market strategy, and coaching the team on advanced prospecting techniques.

Outreach / Salesloft Advanced

Designing and optimising sales sequences for specific personas within the vertical, analysing engagement data to coach the team on messaging effectiveness, and ensuring compliance.

Gong / Chorus Advanced

Analysing competitor mentions, identifying team-wide coaching opportunities from call recordings, sharing best-practice call snippets, and tracking vertical-specific topics.

Anaplan / Workday Adaptive Planning Intermediate

Using for complex territory carving, quota modeling, and long-range financial planning for the vertical. This helps you strategically plan your team's efforts.

Tableau Server / Power BI Intermediate

Presenting vertical performance summaries using dashboards to leadership, identifying trends, and drilling down into team metrics.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Team Hiring & Firing No authority; assist with interview scheduling. Participate in interviews, provide feedback on candidates. Recommend candidates, conduct final interviews, influence hiring decisions.
Discounting & Deal Terms None; escalate all requests. Recommend standard discounts (up to 5%) to manager. Approve standard discounts (up to 10%), recommend non-standard terms to manager.
Territory & Account Allocation None; works within assigned accounts. Suggest minor adjustments to personal territory. Propose strategic account re-allocations within a workstream.
Vertical Strategy & GTM None; executes defined tasks. Contributes ideas during team meetings. Provides input and recommendations on specific vertical initiatives.
Budget Allocation (Team) None. Requests specific tools or training. Proposes budget for specific projects (e.g., a new sales tool trial).

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Team Quota Attainment
The percentage of the overall revenue target your team achieves each quarter and annually.
Target · 100%+ of the vertical's overall revenue goal

If your team's quarterly target is £2M and they close £2.1M, that's 105% attainment. Simple, right?

Forecast Accuracy
How close your team's revenue forecast is to the actual revenue closed. We need to know what's coming.
Target · +/- 10% accuracy on the quarterly forecast submitted to leadership

Forecasting £1.5M for Q2 and closing £1.48M means you're within 1.3% accuracy. That's good. Forecasting £1.5M and closing £1.2M is a problem.

Market Share Growth (Vertical)
The increase in our company's share of the total addressable market within your specific vertical.
Target · Increase market share within the vertical by 5% year-over-year

If our estimated market share in the UK Financial Services sector was 12% last year, we'd expect it to be 12.6% or more this year. This shows we're truly winning.

Employee Retention (Regrettable Attrition)
The percentage of your team members who leave voluntarily and that we'd ideally want to keep.
Target · <15% regrettable attrition on your team

If you have a team of 8 and one top performer leaves for a competitor, that's 12.5% regrettable attrition. We want to keep our best people, obviously.

Average Deal Size (Team)
The average value of the deals your team closes, indicating their ability to sell larger, more impactful solutions.
Target · Maintain or increase average deal size by 10% year-over-year

If your team's average deal was £50K last year, we'd want to see it at £55K or more this year. It means we're selling more value.

Team Coaching Effectiveness
The observable improvement in your team's sales skills, deal execution, and overall performance through your coaching.
  • Regular 1:1s with clear action plans
  • improved call recordings (as seen in Gong/Chorus)
  • AEs consistently hitting individual targets
  • positive feedback in skip-level meetings
  • measurable skill development (e.g., better discovery questions, stronger objection handling).
Vertical Strategy Contribution
Your proactive input and influence on the broader vertical strategy, beyond just hitting your numbers.
  • Proposing new go-to-market initiatives for the vertical
  • identifying new market segments
  • providing actionable feedback to Product and Marketing on vertical-specific needs
  • leading internal workshops on vertical best practices
  • being consulted by senior leadership on strategic decisions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
How effectively you work with other departments (Marketing, Product, RevOps) to support your team and the vertical.
  • Positive feedback from peers in other departments
  • successful joint projects (e.g., a new vertical campaign, a product feature launch)
  • proactively sharing market intelligence
  • getting other teams to genuinely 'buy in' to your vertical's needs and priorities.
Team Morale & Culture
The overall health, engagement, and positive atmosphere within your sales team.
  • High participation in team meetings
  • low regrettable attrition
  • positive feedback in engagement surveys
  • team members openly sharing challenges and successes
  • a supportive environment where people feel comfortable taking risks and learning from mistakes.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Building and Developing Talent

You spend a good chunk of your day in 1:1s, listening to call recordings, role-playing scenarios, and helping your team members craft personalised outreach. You get a real buzz from seeing an AE close their biggest deal yet, knowing you played a part in their growth.

An AE on your team lands a £250K deal after you coached them on a specific objection handling technique. That's a huge win for them, and for you.

Achieving Collective Success

Hitting the team's quarterly quota is your primary driver. You're constantly looking at the pipeline, identifying risks and opportunities, and strategising with your team to pull deals over the line. The team's victory is your victory.

The final week of the quarter, the team is £50K short. You rally everyone, identify two key deals, and help them close, hitting 101% of target. That feeling of collective achievement is what you live for.

Strategic Market Impact

You're not just executing; you're thinking about how to win more market share in your vertical. This means working with Marketing on new campaigns, giving Product feedback on features, and analysing competitor moves. You want to see our footprint grow.

You identify a new sub-segment within your vertical that's ripe for disruption, propose a targeted campaign to Marketing, and your team lands the first two deals in that space.

What frustrates people
  • Generic Marketing Support: Constantly receiving 'MQLs' that are completely irrelevant to your vertical, forcing your team to do all their own prospecting.
  • Horizontal Product Roadmaps: Fighting tooth and nail with the product team to get critical, vertical-specific features prioritised over features for a broader audience.
  • Procurement Purgatory: Watching your team's deals get stuck in the customer's legal or procurement department for months over minor contract clauses.
  • The New VP's 'Big Idea': A new sales leader arrives, doesn't understand your vertical, and imposes a generic sales process that breaks your successful model.
  • Explaining Your World: Constantly having to justify to internal stakeholders why your vertical requires different messaging, pricing, or contract terms.
What this role does not give you
  • A purely individual contributor sales role – you're leading, not just selling.
  • A 'set it and forget it' management style – active coaching and involvement are essential.
  • A role where you can ignore internal politics – you'll need to navigate them constantly.
  • A fully defined, static market – your vertical will evolve, and you need to evolve with it.

8Who you work with

You'll directly own a significant chunk of our company's revenue within your specific vertical. Your team's performance directly impacts our market share, brand reputation, and overall growth strategy. You're essentially running a mini-business unit, responsible for its financial health and talent development.

Inside the business
  • Sales Operations (for forecasting and pipeline health)
  • Marketing (for vertical-specific campaigns and content)
  • Product Management (for feature requests and roadmap alignment)
  • Customer Success (for smooth handovers and expansion opportunities)
  • HR (for hiring, performance management, and talent development)
Outside the business
  • Key clients and strategic accounts within your vertical
  • Industry associations and thought leaders
  • Potential new hires for your team

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • Proven track record of 5+ years as a top-performing individual contributor in vertical-specific sales, consistently exceeding quota.
  • At least 3 years of experience managing or leading a sales team, with demonstrable success in coaching and developing sales talent.
  • Deep, verifiable expertise in a specific industry vertical (e.g., Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Public Sector). You'll need to prove you 'speak their language'.
  • Strong understanding and practical application of complex sales methodologies like Challenger Sale, MEDDPICC, or similar.
  • Experience with strategic territory planning and account management for enterprise-level clients.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced CRM & Sales Intelligence Strategy

As CRM platforms become more customisable and integrate with more AI tools, you'll need to define how they serve your vertical's unique needs, not just use them. This means working with RevOps to specify requirements and leverage advanced analytics.

Custom Object Design · Intent Data Integration · Predictive Analytics for Pipeline · CRM Workflow Automation

  • This quarter: Work with RevOps to map out the current sales process in Salesforce for your vertical, identifying 2-3 areas for improvement.
  • This month: Research advanced Salesforce features relevant to sales managers (e.g., forecasting tools, reporting capabilities).
  • Month 2: Lead a project to clean up stale data in your vertical's accounts within Salesforce, improving data quality for your team.
  • Month 3: Propose a new dashboard to leadership that provides a clearer view of your vertical's pipeline health.

Quick win: Ensure every AE on your team is logging their activities consistently in Salesforce. You can't manage what you can't see.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attending industry-specific conferences and webinars relevant to your vertical (e.g., 'Future of Fintech Summit', 'Healthcare Innovation Expo').
  • Subscribing to and actively reading key trade publications and analyst reports for your assigned industry.
  • Participating in sales leadership forums or peer groups to share best practices and challenges.
  • Mentoring junior sales professionals, either formally or informally, to hone your coaching skills.
  • Taking advanced courses in strategic planning, financial management, or people leadership.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

Revenue Operations (RevOps) Fluency

Sales is becoming increasingly data-driven and interconnected with Marketing and Customer Success. Understanding RevOps isn't just for operations folk anymore; it's critical for sales leaders to optimise the entire customer journey and remove friction points for their team.

  • Sales Process Optimisation
  • Data Governance & CRM Hygiene
  • Sales Tech Stack Integration
  • Compensation Plan Design

AI-Driven Coaching & Performance Management

AI tools like Gong and Chorus are getting incredibly sophisticated, offering real-time coaching suggestions and deep insights into sales conversations. As a manager, your ability to leverage these for your team's development will be a major differentiator.

  • AI Call Analysis
  • Real-Time Coaching Prompts
  • Performance Anomaly Detection
  • Personalised Learning Paths

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Vertical Acumen & Fluency
  • Challenger Sale Methodology
  • MEDDPICC Qualification
  • Value-Based Selling
  • Multi-Threading & Champion Building
  • Territory & Account Planning

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    From Senior Vertical Account Executive (L3)

    3-5 years as a Senior AE

    Skills to master

    • Consistently exceeding quota, mentoring junior reps, leading complex deals, and demonstrating strategic thinking beyond your own book of business. Basically, proving you can do the job before you get the title.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistent 110%+ quota attainment for 2+ years.
    • Formally mentored 1-2 junior AEs with measurable performance improvement.
    • Led significant cross-functional projects or initiatives.
    • Proactively contributed to vertical strategy discussions.
    • Demonstrated strong leadership potential in team settings.
  2. 2

    From Principal Vertical Account Executive (L4)

    1-3 years as a Principal AE

    Skills to master

    • Influencing vertical strategy, handling 'must-win' deals, acting as a player-coach for the team, and demonstrating a readiness to take on full team accountability. This is a natural step for an L4 who wants to move into formal management.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Proven ability to close the largest, most strategic deals.
    • Consistently acted as an informal leader and mentor for the wider team.
    • Significant contributions to the overall vertical go-to-market strategy.
    • Expressed a clear desire and aptitude for formal people management.
  3. 3

    From Sales Manager (Generalist) at another company

    Varies, usually 2-4 years in a similar role

    Skills to master

    • You'll need to quickly get up to speed on our specific vertical, its nuances, and our product offering. Your core sales management skills will transfer, but the vertical acumen will be key.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Demonstrable success managing a sales team in a complex B2B environment.
    • Strong foundational sales management skills (coaching, forecasting, performance management).
    • A clear passion and aptitude for quickly learning and mastering a new industry vertical.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This role can lead to a VP of Global Verticals role, a Chief Revenue Officer post, or an Industry Principal role for those who prefer deals over management.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Manager, Vertical Sales is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Manager, Vertical Sales
  • Vertical Acumen & Fluency
  • Challenger Sale Methodology
  • MEDDPICC Qualification
  • Value-Based Selling
  • Multi-Threading & Champion Building
  • Territory & Account Planning
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Manager, Vertical Sales is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Director, Vertical Industries (Level 6)

    3-5 years in this role

    This is a significant step up, moving from managing a team to owning the entire P&L and go-to-market strategy for a specific vertical or group of related verticals. You'll be setting the strategic direction.

    • Multi-Vertical Strategy Managing multiple vertical segments or sub-segments.
    • Advanced Financial Modelling Owning larger P&L statements and complex budget allocation.
    • Strategic Partnership Development Building relationships with key industry partners.
    • Market Expansion Identifying and executing strategies for new market entry within your vertical.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, managing a sales team is tough. You're juggling coaching, forecasting, strategy, and a mountain of admin. What if you could give your team back hours every week, letting them focus on selling? And what if you could gain deeper insights into your vertical's market faster than ever before? That's where AI comes in.

We're not talking about replacing your team; we're talking about making them—and you—superhuman. AI tools are already transforming how sales managers operate, from streamlining prospecting for your AEs to giving you real-time coaching insights. Here's a glimpse of how you and your team will use AI to win more in your vertical:

Automated Prospecting Research for Your Team

Imagine AI tools scanning thousands of industry news articles, company reports, and social media posts, then drafting hyper-personalised outreach emails for your AEs. It'll reference specific vertical initiatives or pain points for target accounts, saving your team countless hours of manual research and boosting their hit rate.

Insight-Driven Call Preparation & Coaching

AI can analyse a prospect's industry, role, and company, then generate a 'briefing doc' for your AEs with key pain points, relevant vertical case studies, and a list of insightful questions to ask. For you, it means faster, more effective coaching sessions, pinpointing exactly where your team needs help before they even get on the call.

Real-Time Conversation Coaching & Analysis

Using platforms like Gong or Chorus, AI provides real-time prompts during a live call—for your AEs, it's like having a co-pilot. For you, it means quickly identifying team-wide coaching opportunities, spotting competitor mentions, and sharing best-practice call snippets across your vertical team. It's truly transformative for skill development.

Vertical-Specific Content Generation & Enablement

AI assistants can take a generic case study or whitepaper and instantly rewrite it using the specific terminology, KPIs, and context for a different vertical. This means your team always has tailored collateral at their fingertips, making their pitches more relevant and impactful, and saving Marketing loads of time.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Manager, Vertical Sales?

Common routes in include From Senior Vertical Account Executive (3-5 years as a Senior AE), From Principal Vertical Account Executive (1-3 years as a Principal AE) and From Sales Manager (Generalist) at another company (Varies, usually 2-4 years in a similar role). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Manager, Vertical Sales progress to?

This role can lead on to Director, Vertical Industries (3-5 years in this role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Manager, Vertical Sales?

Increasingly, Revenue Operations (RevOps) Fluency and AI-Driven Coaching & Performance Management. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

Read the Zavmo manifesto to understand how you will be taught Meet your tutors

Or try another one

17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 5

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

 More jobs in sales

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The leadership and strategic skills built in this role transfer well beyond one industry. You could move into general sales leadership, broader market development, or apply the same skills to a different sector. Building and leading a strong sales team is a skill that carries across industries.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my free Growth Mindset module What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.