Head of Sales
Job Summary:
The Head of Sales serves as the strategic and operational leader of your B2B sales organization, directly accountable for revenue performance, team development, and sales strategy execution. This senior leadership position shapes go-to-market approach, builds high-performing teams, and establishes frameworks that drive sustainable growth. The Head of Sales combines strategic vision with practical execution—designing sales structures, implementing effective methodologies, developing leaders, and engaging with key accounts—while translating business objectives into cohesive sales plans, resource allocation decisions, and performance expectations.
Head of Sales Responsibilities:
Sales Strategy and Go-to-Market Design:
Shape the overall sales approach and go-to-market model aligned with business objectives and market opportunities.
Design sales structures, territory models, and account segmentation strategies that optimize market coverage.
Develop long-term sales capability plans that balance immediate results with sustained organizational development.
Define sales methodologies and processes appropriate for your offering and competitive positioning.
Revenue Accountability and Performance Management:
Own complete accountability for revenue performance and sales organization effectiveness.
Establish cohesive sales plans that connect business goals to executable team objectives.
Monitor organizational performance against targets and implement interventions to maintain momentum.
Drive both short-term achievement and long-term revenue trajectory through balanced leadership.
Sales Organization Building and Transformation:
Build or transform sales organizations to meet evolving market demands and business requirements.
Recruit, develop, and retain top-tier sales talent across individual contributor and leadership levels.
Create organizational structures that enable scalability, efficiency, and market responsiveness.
Lead sales transformations including methodology adoption, digital selling integration, or team restructuring.
Sales Leadership Development:
Develop sales managers and leaders through structured coaching, mentoring, and capability-building programs.
Articulate clear strategies for talent identification, onboarding, and high-performer retention.
Foster cultures that balance accountability with motivation, driving performance while maintaining engagement.
Build leadership bench strength that supports organizational growth and succession planning.
Sales Operations and Infrastructure:
Build or refine sales operations capabilities that improve visibility, execution, and decision-making.
Implement compensation structures that incentivize desired behaviors and align with business priorities.
Establish performance metrics, reporting frameworks, and analytics infrastructure for data-driven management.
Deploy sales technologies and enablement platforms that amplify team effectiveness.
Strategic Account Engagement:
Engage directly with key accounts requiring senior leadership involvement or strategic relationship management.
Navigate sophisticated buying processes and complex stakeholder dynamics in high-value opportunities.
Provide executive sponsorship for strategic customers and critical revenue relationships.
Guide teams through intricate negotiations and multi-layered decision-making processes.
Cross-Organizational Collaboration:
Align sales execution with marketing initiatives, product development priorities, and customer experience strategies.
Work extensively with marketing teams on demand generation, messaging alignment, and campaign effectiveness.
Collaborate with product organizations to inform roadmap decisions and solution positioning based on market intelligence.
Partner with customer success functions on retention strategies and expansion opportunity identification.
Engage finance teams on planning, forecasting, and investment prioritization for sales resources.
Market and Competitive Intelligence:
Maintain deep understanding of market landscape, competitive positioning, and value demonstration approaches.
Monitor buying process evolution and adapt sales approaches to align with changing customer preferences.
Analyze competitive dynamics and adjust strategies to maintain differentiation and market advantage.
Identify market trends and opportunities that inform strategic direction and tactical adjustments.
Pipeline and Forecast Management:
Establish rigorous disciplines for pipeline development, opportunity qualification, and forecast accuracy.
Implement review cadences and management processes that improve predictability and execution visibility.
Utilize analytics to understand pipeline health, conversion trends, and revenue trajectory.
Address pipeline risks proactively and deploy resources to protect revenue commitments.
Sales Efficiency and Effectiveness:
Drive continuous improvement in sales efficiency, win rates, and customer acquisition economics.
Identify and eliminate execution barriers that impede team productivity or deal progression.
Optimize sales processes based on performance data, market feedback, and competitive insights.
Balance activity metrics with outcome measures to ensure quality and quantity of sales efforts.
Change Leadership and Adaptation:
Lead organizational adaptation as B2B buying processes and market conditions evolve.
Champion adoption of new methodologies, tools, or approaches that enhance sales effectiveness.
Manage resistance to change while maintaining performance during transition periods.
Position the sales organization for future success amid market disruption and innovation.
Vision Communication and Organizational Alignment:
Communicate sales vision, priorities, and performance expectations throughout the organization.
Serve as primary architect of sales organization strategy and execution approach.
Translate executive direction into sales initiatives that teams can understand and implement.
Represent sales perspectives and requirements in senior leadership discussions and strategic planning.
Requirements of a Head of Sales:
Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or related field. MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.
12-15+ years of B2B sales experience with extensive leadership responsibility at senior levels.
Proven record of consistent revenue achievement and evidence of building or transforming sales organizations.
Demonstrated success improving sales efficiency, win rates, or customer acquisition costs through strategic leadership.
Specific expertise in relevant industry sales motions (enterprise technology, professional services, manufacturing, distribution, or applicable sector).
Deep contextual understanding of buying processes, competitive dynamics, and value demonstration in target markets.
Clear leadership philosophy with proven strategies for recruiting, developing, coaching, and retaining high-performers.
Expertise in sales strategy design including territory planning, account segmentation, process optimization, and compensation modeling.
Proficiency building or refining sales operations for improved visibility, execution, and analytical decision-making.
Strong collaboration capabilities working with marketing, product, customer success, and finance functions.
Data-driven leadership style leveraging analytics and sales technologies beyond basic revenue measurement.
Change management experience leading sales transformations, methodology implementations, or organizational restructuring.
Industry knowledge providing nuanced understanding of market landscape, competitive positioning, and solution demonstration.
Executive presence and communication skills for diverse internal and external stakeholder engagement.
Leadership approach and values that embody organizational culture while building high-performance sales environments.
Note:
This job description is intended to convey essential job functions and responsibilities. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the position's qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities.
