How to hire an associate director of sales

How to hire an associate director of sales, step by step

Here's a step-by-step associate director of sales hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an associate director of sales job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new associate director of sales
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an associate director of sales do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The associate director of sales hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An associate director of sales's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, associate directors of sales from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of associate directors of sales.

   Type of Associate Director Of Sales	Description	Hourly rate
   Associate Director Of Sales	Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations’ sales representatives.	$44-91
   Sales Vice President	Sales vice presidents are top-level executives at a sales, retail, or marketing corporation. Primarily these executives are tasked to direct and lead a sales department or team within the organization... Show more	$43-108
   Regional Sales Vice President	A regional sales vice president is responsible for monitoring the sales performance of the whole sales team within the assigned region, conducting data analysis and market research, and adjusting sales goals and objectives as needed to meet client demands and public interest. Regional sales vice presidents coordinate with each sales team lead to identify business opportunities that would generate more resources for revenues and attract potential clients for business partnerships... Show more	$45-106

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Portfolio
   • CRM
   • Booking
   • Training Programs
   • Sales Process
   • Sales Leadership
   • Sales Operations
   • Business Development
   • Sales Training
   • Business Plan
   • Sales Strategies
   • Account Management
   • Sales Professionals

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all reservations by phone and online.
   • Manage RFP process and contribute to budget development.
   • Manage guests itinerary including but not limit to dinning reservations and tours.
   • Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.
   • Design, implement and maintain a highly-customize CRM that track all aspects of the sales process.
   • Direct sales and marketing programs for one of Pennsylvania's premier ski and golf resorts.

   More associate director of sales duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the associate director of sales job description is a good way to get more applicants. An associate director of sales salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an associate director of sales in Nebraska may be lower than in Maine, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level associate director of sales. Additionally, an associate director of sales with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average associate director of sales salary

   $132,949yearly

   $63.92 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level associate director of sales salary

   $92,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average associate director of sales salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$144,864	$70
   2	Pennsylvania	$141,328	$68
   3	California	$138,636	$67
   4	New Jersey	$134,924	$65
   5	New York	$130,754	$63
   6	Massachusetts	$129,398	$62
   7	Ohio	$129,087	$62
   8	Texas	$126,990	$61
   9	Connecticut	$126,509	$61
   10	Washington	$125,543	$60
   11	North Carolina	$118,930	$57
   12	Minnesota	$118,499	$57
   13	Florida	$114,101	$55
   14	Georgia	$113,962	$55
   15	Illinois	$112,330	$54
   16	Colorado	$94,413	$45

   Average associate director of sales salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Novartis	$159,615	$76.74	11
   2	Allergan plc	$158,679	$76.29	5
   3	Cytokinetics	$156,342	$75.16
   4	Accenture	$154,161	$74.12	741
   5	The Knot	$153,532	$73.81
   6	Pharmacyclics	$153,222	$73.66
   7	Gilead Sciences	$152,442	$73.29	8
   8	Community Coffee	$150,951	$72.57	1
   9	Amneal Pharmaceuticals	$150,755	$72.48
   10	Novavax	$148,460	$71.38
   11	Sony Music Entertainment	$148,130	$71.22	3
   12	iGATE Global Solutions	$142,497	$68.51
   13	Wayfair	$141,984	$68.26
   14	Marlabs	$141,841	$68.19
   15	CitiusTech	$140,378	$67.49
   16	Commonwealth Bank of Australia	$139,410	$67.02
   17	Walmart	$139,110	$66.88	34
   18	The Kraft Heinz Company	$138,802	$66.73	8
   19	Condé Nast	$138,138	$66.41	2
   20	Gartner	$137,517	$66.11	65

4. Writing an associate director of sales job description

   An associate director of sales job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of an associate director of sales job description:

   Associate director of sales job description example

   GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by developing pioneering technology to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types early. The company is using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to enhance the scientific understanding of cancer biology, and to develop its multi-cancer early detection blood test. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. GRAIL, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN). For more information, please visit www.grail.com.
   
   GRAIL's multi-cancer early detection product, Galleri, was first made available through physician networks and employers. GRAIL is now actively deploying Galleri to in-force life insurance customers, and has created a new leadership position to drive growth in the life insurance channel.
   
   GRAIL is seeking an Enterprise Sales Associate Director to represent the Galleri multi-cancer early detection test and GRAIL's policyholder program to insurance distributors and related parties. This individual will possess the capabilities to fully represent GRAIL's product portfolio and technology platform with distributors. The Associate Director will be responsible for building a network of high performing distribution firms that serve and partner with carriers offering Galleri, including education, training, and relationship management to enable them to facilitate Galleri adoption. We are looking for an ambitious, results-driven individual with excellent communication skills and a consistent track record of partnering with life insurance distribution networks.
   
   You Will:Build and execute an engagement strategy with an emphasis on moving forward corporate objectives, revenue, and growth within your accounts Lead efforts across distribution partners, including prospecting new opportunities and driving them through the pipeline to become advocates for GalleriLeverage your relationships with industry contacts and consultants to identify key distribution firms and other organizations that influence the life insurance sales strategy Through a consultative approach, work directly with life insurance distributors (i.e.: MGAs, BGAs, IMOs ) to educate them about Galleri and the existing carriers in their network that offer GalleriBe responsible for activating distributors to provide Galleri to their policyholders, through strong lead generation, cold-call/email, education, training, and ensuring the use of key marketing collateral tactics Develop close collaboration with Customer Success and Marketing to elevate go-to-market efforts, including positioning and messaging and drive pull-through of carrier policyholders Inform development and execution of performance data tracking to enable learning and iteration to improve strategy Prepare integrated account plans to help identify challenges while implementing the right internal mechanisms to mitigate them Work to ensure distributors' needs are appropriately met, while ensuring that GRAIL delivers a patient-focused customer experience Deliver results in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment Understand current state and emerging trends in the life insurance industry affecting carrier initiatives, distribution partnerships and policyholder offerings Engage, participate and represent GRAIL at virtual and in-person industry events Ensure access to GRAIL products is achieved in a compliant manner 50% travel required
   
   Your background should include:BS/BA degree preferably with business, marketing, or actuarial studies 8+ years in a B2B enterprise sales role in the life insurance industry, with demonstrated success leading substantive revenue-generating accounts Experience with life insurance Carriers and Distributors Ability to build and develop customer relationships including the ability to effectively represent GRAIL and its products to senior levels of management and key thought leaders Innovative thinking and exceptional business acumen, analytical and problem-solving skills Strong understanding of compliance-related concepts including the laws, regulations, and policies that govern marketing and sales activities in the life insurance industry and the importance of compliance in all job-related functions Ability to understand, distill, and communicate complex scientific and life insurance related concepts Experience managing innovative strategies with carriers, mutuals, or distributors (e.g new products, Insurtech, innovation); preference for a growth/distribution background Proven track record of success working with distributor executives, preferably in a growth role introducing new partnerships and/or technologies Track record of exceeding expectations with objective-based goals
   
   GRAIL is an Equal Employment Office and Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We will reasonably accommodate all individuals with disabilities so that they can participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
   Following extensive monitoring, consideration of business implications, and advice from internal and external experts, GRAIL US has made the decision to require that all U.S. employees be “Fully Vaccinated” with the COVID-19 vaccine. “Fully Vaccinated” is defined as two weeks after both doses of a two-dose vaccine (e.g. Pfizer or Moderna) or two weeks since a single-dose vaccine (e.g. Johnson & Johnson) has been administered. Absent a qualifying exemption, all GRAIL US employees are to comply with this requirement, including providing documentation of such vaccination status, as a condition of employment. Anyone unable to be vaccinated, either because of a sincerely held religious belief or a medical condition or disability that prevents them from being vaccinated, can request a reasonable accommodation for consideration by GRAIL.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find associate directors of sales for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any associate directors of sales they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level associate directors of sales with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your associate director of sales job on Zippia to find and recruit associate director of sales candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting associate directors of sales requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new associate director of sales

   Once you've decided on a perfect associate director of sales candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new associate director of sales. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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