How to hire an executive sales director

How to hire an executive sales director, step by step

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

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

What does an executive sales director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the executive sales director you need to hire. Certain executive sales director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect executive sales director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of executive sales directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Executive Sales Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Executive Sales Director	Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations’ sales representatives.	$40-100
   Director Of Sales & Business Development	A director of sales business development is responsible for monitoring the business and project plans, ensuring that the sales targets are met, according to project requirements and specifications. Directors of sales business development perform data analysis to track business performance and identify opportunities to grow revenues and profits... Show more	$18-84
   Director Of Sales And Operations	Directors of Sales and Operations are executives who oversee the performance of the company. They set the strategic direction for the company's sales force... Show more	$48-90

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Healthcare
   • C-Suite
   • HR
   • Sales Growth
   • Direct Sales
   • CRM
   • Sales Strategy
   • Cross-Selling
   • Account Management
   • Revenue Growth
   • Business Plan
   • Saas
   • Sales Process
   • Business Sales

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Design and lead the development, implementation and adoption of an enterprise-wide CRM and data strategy.
   • Manage cross-selling opportunities between all business segments.
   • Incorporate graphics and re-usable database into RFP process.
   • Self-Direct, building an accurate CRM and effective sales database.
   • Evaluate RFP, proposals, and bids and responsible for contract review.
   • Identify opportunities and used discretion to create sales program, reporting, communication, award coordination and ROI tracking.

   More executive sales director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the executive sales director job description is a good way to get more applicants. An executive sales director 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 executive sales director in Florida may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level executive sales director. Additionally, an executive sales director with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average executive sales director salary

   $133,544yearly

   $64.20 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level executive sales director salary

   $84,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average executive sales director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$151,815	$73
   2	District of Columbia	$146,902	$71
   3	Virginia	$146,668	$71
   4	New Hampshire	$146,222	$70
   5	Pennsylvania	$143,256	$69
   6	Rhode Island	$139,193	$67
   7	Arizona	$136,844	$66
   8	Massachusetts	$136,170	$65
   9	Utah	$135,232	$65
   10	Nevada	$135,089	$65
   11	Tennessee	$133,998	$64
   12	Indiana	$133,336	$64
   13	Texas	$132,795	$64
   14	Delaware	$132,586	$64
   15	Wisconsin	$132,384	$64
   16	New Jersey	$131,831	$63
   17	Ohio	$128,835	$62
   18	Connecticut	$128,520	$62
   19	Washington	$128,009	$62
   20	West Virginia	$126,140	$61

   Average executive sales director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$211,459	$101.66
   2	Santander Private Banking International	$202,074	$97.15	4
   3	Nomura Securities	$194,562	$93.54	3
   4	Allergan plc	$189,000	$90.87	5
   5	Shiseido	$185,118	$89.00	1
   6	Santander Bank	$183,993	$88.46	1
   7	William O'Neil + Co.	$178,933	$86.03
   8	Hearst	$178,617	$85.87	51
   9	CIBC World Markets	$174,924	$84.10
   10	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$171,915	$82.65	485
   11	UBS	$166,684	$80.14	7
   12	Visa	$159,966	$76.91	54
   13	Syniverse	$151,952	$73.05
   14	Morgan Stanley	$148,128	$71.22	27
   15	CSG	$142,521	$68.52	1
   16	CVS Health	$142,230	$68.38	409
   17	Conduent	$139,048	$66.85
   18	TierOne Bank	$134,270	$64.55
   19	Rabobank N.A.	$133,178	$64.03
   20	Aetna	$131,219	$63.09

4. Writing an executive sales director job description

   A good executive sales director job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an executive sales director job description:

   Executive sales director job description example

   Responsible for a team of sales executives charged with growing the revenue from new health system and non-traditional accounts. Develops and executes the strategies, builds key client relationship, develops comprehensive plans, marshals resources and delivers value propositions which result in the award of new contracts.
   
   Develop strategies and plans to effectively target and secure profitable health system reference laboratory and non-traditional business in line with regional growth strategy.
   
   Direct a professional sales team in collaboration with other functions in executing the strategy and achieving the growth targets.
   
   Develop reliable processes to create a robust pipeline of opportunities to ensure a close-rate that achieves the annual goal.
   
   Own relationships with influential decision-makers at targeted health systems, understand their needs, and work with the team to develop and present winning value propositions.
   
   Collaborate with the service delivery team to ensure clients receive highest level of service during their on-boarding phase and during the transition to an account manager.
   
   Engage with other sales leaders, marketing and operations in developing market plans and value propositions for targeted health systems.
   
   Remains current of marketplace changes impacting customers.Maintain a working knowledge of the company's differentiating products and those of the competitors.
   QUALIFICATIONS
   
   Required Work Experience
   Five (5) years sales management experience Track record of achieving sales results and successfully leading teams Preferred Work Experience
   
   Ten (10) years of successful sales experience in healthcare with B2B transactions preferred
   
   Physical and Mental Requirements
   
   Ability to sit or stand for long periods of time
   
   Knowledge
   Knowledge of reference laboratory business, tests and processes Knowledge of the healthcare industry, payorsand regulations Understand general economics of B2B business transactions Skills
   Business Acumen Strategic Agility Action Oriented Customer Focus Interpersonal Savvy Planning/Priority Setting Drive for Results Negotiating Manage vision and purpose Political Savvy Command Skills Builds effective teams
   EDUCATION
   Bachelor's Degree

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find executive sales directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with executive sales director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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 executive sales director

   Once you've selected the best executive sales director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new executive sales director. 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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