‘PERFECT’ VP of Sales

Mistakes start-ups should avoid making when assembling their sales team.

For start-ups and software companies, Sales is one of the most important divisions. If you do not sell your product, in most cases, your business will not survive.

Now, let’s dive in and gain an understanding of the structure of sales:

The sales team is one of the most interactive departments in a company. It coordinates on a daily basis with the Finance, Support, Marketing and Management teams. Therefore, when you design your sales structure, you are making significant decisions that will influence on the success of many aspects of your business.

Let’s think about who will make those decisions -- will it be the CEO or the VP of Sales?

If there is no VP of Sales, the CEO has to do the job. In my opinion, this can be problematic for the CEO. Most CEOs I know are extremely occupied with their daily workload, leading them to sometimes overlook or become unresponsive to sales members. Consequently, I advised companies that do not have a VP of Sales to acquire one.

The VP of Sales should lead and organize their sales team with a sound strategy, a problem-solving mindset, and put into practice the company’s vision.

You may be asking: What happens when you have various VPs of Sales for different regions who report to one CEO? This can cause a significant amount of confusion and frustration.

Different people practice different strategies. All VPs want to make the “right” decision; the decision, which from their perspective is the best for their specific region. Furthermore, every area is unique, but I will not get into that discussion here.

It is expected that multiple VPs may have different views, but CEOs are too busy to resolve frequent disagreements. This can lead to arguments amongst VPs, distracting people from their main goal: Sales.

Most VPs would like to make an impact and feel in control. This can cause competition between VPs, and an overall stressful work environment. As a result, when it comes to weekly meetings with other VPs, or with the CEO, people begin to feel anxious. Overall, corporate culture may be damaged, and there may be detrimental effects on the business climate.

But that is not the intention... right?

Finding the right VP to lead your sales team is not an easy job. But, I believe the right VP can revolutionize your company. When choosing someone to fill the VP of Sales position, find a person with an outstanding personality. They should be able to motivate the other members of the sales team and inspire them to have a clear strategy. Additionally, they need to have the ability to make tough decisions.

Of course, there are plenty of other responsibilities and undertakings to consider when you think about the “perfect” VP of Sales.

If you read this article, and you want to share your thoughts, comment or message me and let’s talk!

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