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Permanent VP of Sales · hiring brief

Hire a VP of Sales

Hire a VP of Sales: write the team, territory and forecast the VP of sales owns, their line to a CRO or CEO, and test them on your own pipeline.

Brief us on this role →See VP of Sales roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 4 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
Hire a VP of Sales: a marketing leader walking her team through campaign concepts (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which roles are on the board now?

Permanent VP of Sales roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.

Roles

See every role on the board →

Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.

In the press

The brief

Hire a VP of Sales: what must the role own?

Sellers and managers they lead.

  • 01TeamSellers and managers they lead.
  • 02TerritoryMarkets and segments.
  • 03ForecastThe number they commit to.
  • 04LineTo a CRO or the CEO.

Role reference: Institute of Sales Professionals: sales capability framework. The ISP sales capability framework describes sales leadership capabilities to test before you hire a VP of sales.

VP or CRO

Hire a VP of sales or a CRO?

Scope decides.

Hire a VP of sales to lead sellers and the forecast. Hire a CRO when revenue needs one owner across functions.

In the UK the same seat is often called sales director.

The working pattern

What changes when the VP of Sales is permanent?

A VP of sales leads the sales team and owns the sales forecast. A CRO owns revenue across sales, marketing and customer success.

The illustrative brief: a company moving from founder sales. The founder sells; four account executives need leading.

The appointment owns: The company hires a VP of sales reporting to the CEO.

Another owner retains: The CEO keeps pricing; marketing reports separately.

The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.

From brief to start

How do you hire a VP of Sales, step by step?

Hire a VP of Sales, in practice: the first three steps are ours; the last four are what has to be true before the first day. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date.

  1. Day 0
    01
    The 15-minute call
    What the VP of Sales must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.
    You and us
  2. Week 1
    02
    Scope agreed in writing
    The outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.
    Us
  3. Weeks 1–3
    03
    Search, references, shortlist
    We approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.
    Us
  4. Week 4
    04
    Targets
    Agree targets and territory.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Data
    CRM and pipeline.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Team
    Meet the sellers.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First output
    A pipeline review in the first fortnight.
    You

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

Hire a VP of Sales on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable work
    Ask for a team they built and its results.
  2. Authority
    Test a discount above their limit.
  3. Team
    Ask how they coached a seller.
  4. Handover
    Ask what process they left.

Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.

Vetting

What happens before anyone reaches your shortlist?

Five stages before a candidate reaches a shortlist of three to five.

  1. Pedigree screen
    Tenure
    We verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
  2. Mandate fit
    Fit
    Fit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
  3. Reference deep-dive
    Verify
    We take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
  4. Shortlist
    Shortlist
    Three to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  5. Kick-off
    Start
    Scope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.

The full process is on how we vet.

The right pattern

Does this hiring pattern fit the work?

Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.

Questions

Hire a VP of Sales: questions, answered

A brief to hire a VP of Sales begins with team: Sellers and managers they lead. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • the-isp.org
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    Institute of Sales Professionals: sales capability framework the-isp.org
  2. 2
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  3. 3
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  4. 4
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

For hiring managers

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  1. A shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position
  2. Fractional, interim, part-time, temporary or permanent — and non-executive directors
  3. Every candidate through our five-stage vetting
  4. Your briefs and their candidates, in one room