About the Sales Director role
A Sales Director owns a company's revenue engine. They set sales strategy and targets, design territories and compensation plans, hire and develop sales managers and reps, own the forecast that leadership plans around, and step into the largest deals when their weight moves the outcome. The role is accountable for the number, but the daily work is building the system and the people that deliver it.
Scope varies widely with company stage. In a scale-up, a Sales Director may be the most senior sales leader, building process, hiring the first managers, and still carrying strategic deals personally. In an enterprise, they typically run a region or segment, manage managers rather than reps, and spend more time on planning, forecasting, and cross-functional alignment with marketing, finance, and product.
In your posting, be clear about team size, whether the role manages managers or reps directly, the revenue target range, and how much personal selling is expected. Candidates at this level also want to know reporting lines and decision rights over pricing, hiring, and compensation, so state them explicitly.
Sales Director job description template
Job brief
We are looking for a Sales Director to lead our sales organization and own our revenue targets. You will set the sales strategy and annual plan, design territories, quotas, and compensation, hire and coach sales managers and representatives, and run a disciplined forecasting cadence that leadership can rely on. You will join strategic deals where your seniority matters and align sales with marketing, finance, and product. Success means the team hits plan predictably, forecast accuracy holds quarter after quarter, and you build a bench of sellers and leaders who grow with the company.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute the sales strategy and annual revenue plan across segments and territories
- Set quotas, design territories, and shape compensation plans that reward the right behavior
- Hire, coach, and develop sales managers and representatives, and manage out underperformance fairly
- Own the revenue forecast and run a weekly pipeline and deal review cadence
- Sponsor and join strategic deals, negotiations, and executive-level customer relationships
- Define and refine the sales process, methodology, and playbooks the team runs on
- Align with marketing on pipeline generation targets and lead quality standards
- Partner with finance, product, and operations on pricing, capacity planning, and market feedback
- Track performance through metrics such as quota attainment, win rate, pipeline coverage, and sales cycle length
- Build a culture of accountability and ethical selling that protects the company's reputation
Requirements and skills
- Proven experience as a Sales Director, Head of Sales, or senior sales manager with multi-year target ownership
- Track record of meeting or exceeding revenue targets with teams you built or grew
- Experience hiring, coaching, and managing sales managers and quota-carrying reps
- Strong command of forecasting, pipeline management, and CRM-based reporting
- Experience designing quotas, territories, and compensation plans
- Executive presence and negotiation skill for late-stage strategic deals
- Analytical fluency: you diagnose revenue problems with data before changing tactics
- BSc or BA in Business Administration or a relevant field; an MBA is a plus, not a requirement
Nice to have
- Experience scaling a sales team through rapid growth or a new market entry
- Background in your industry or sales motion, such as SaaS, enterprise, or channel sales
- Experience with sales methodologies such as MEDDIC, SPIN, or Challenger and training teams on them
- International sales leadership across regions or languages
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