What Does a VP of Sales Do?

3 min read · Updated July 6, 2026

By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants

The short answerA VP of Sales leads a business's sales function — building and leading the sales team, setting and executing sales strategy, and driving revenue. The role is central to a company's growth, combining sales leadership and coaching with commercial strategy and the discipline to deliver targets consistently. A strong VP of Sales builds a high-performing sales organisation that reliably drives revenue.

The VP of Sales leads a business's sales function — its revenue engine. Here is what the role involves and what makes a strong one.

What the role owns

A VP of Sales owns a business's sales function and its revenue delivery — building and leading the sales team, setting sales strategy and structure, managing the sales process and pipeline, and driving the revenue the business depends on. In many businesses, especially B2B and commercial ones, this is a pivotal role: the sales function is the engine of growth, and the VP of Sales leads it. The role carries direct accountability for delivering revenue, which makes it both high-impact and high-pressure.

Leading and building the team

Sales is delivered through people, so a core part of the role is building and leading a high-performing sales team — recruiting, developing, coaching, and motivating salespeople, and creating the culture and structure for them to succeed. A strong VP of Sales is a genuine leader and coach of salespeople, getting the best from the team. The ability to build and lead an effective sales organisation, not just sell personally, is central to the role and distinguishes strong sales leaders.

Sales strategy and discipline

Beyond leading the team, a VP of Sales sets and executes sales strategy — how the business sells, to whom, through what channels and approach — and brings the discipline to deliver consistently: managing the pipeline, forecasting, and holding the organisation to targets. This combination of commercial strategy and operational sales discipline drives reliable revenue. A strong VP of Sales brings both the strategic thinking about how to win and the rigour to execute and deliver predictably.

What makes a strong VP of Sales

The strongest VPs of Sales combine sales leadership and coaching, commercial and strategic capability, and the discipline to deliver — building a high-performing sales organisation that drives revenue reliably. They are leaders and builders, not just individual sellers. For businesses where sales drives growth, hiring a strong VP of Sales is a pivotal decision, and a retained search can find a sales leader matched to the business's model and growth ambitions.

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Frequently asked questions

They lead a business's sales function — building and leading the sales team, setting and executing sales strategy, managing the pipeline, and driving the revenue the business depends on — combining sales leadership and coaching with commercial strategy and delivery discipline.

What makes a strong VP of Sales?

A combination of sales leadership and coaching (building a high-performing team), commercial and strategic capability (how the business wins), and the discipline to deliver targets reliably — a leader and builder of a sales organisation, not just an individual seller.

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