How To Become A National Vice President Of Sales: What It Is and Career Path

What is a national vice president of sales and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Bill Thorne

The average national vice president of sales salary is $149,461. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 6-8 years of experience to become a national vice president of sales. National vice presidents of sales with a Certified Sales Professional (CSP) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 23,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a national vice president of sales?

Bill Thorne

Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation

Retail is the largest private-sector employer in the country, directly employing 32 million people and supporting 52 million jobs overall - roughly one-quarter of the U.S. workforce. While COVID-19 has presented new and unexpected challenges, retailers have continued to showcase the industry's resilience and adaptability time and again. The safety and security of customers and employees remains our greatest priority. It is no doubt that the professional environment has changed this year, but retail continues to offer a plethora of career opportunities for graduates and seasoned veterans alike.

ScoreNational Vice President Of SalesUS Average

Salary

8.9

Avg. Salary $149,461

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 18.38%

male 81.62%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a national vice president of sales

Explore national vice president of sales education requirements

Most common national vice president of sales degrees

Bachelor's

77.6 %

Master's

14.1 %

Associate

4.4 %

Start to develop specific national vice president of sales skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Development	9.01%
Sales Plan	7.94%
National Accounts	7.66%
Sales Strategy	5.92%
Sales Process	5.34%

Complete relevant national vice president of sales training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New national vice presidents of sales learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a national vice president of sales based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real national vice president of sales resumes.

Research national vice president of sales duties and responsibilities

Lead efforts, prove business case, and implement an innovative corporate CRM system to simplify the process for sales representatives.
Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.
Create a new ROI analytics tool to measure sales attribution.
Restructure the national sales and support organization for this CRM provider of outsource sales and customer service.

Get national vice president of sales experience

Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a national vice president of sales. The most common roles before becoming a national vice president of sales include regional sales manager, director of sales team lead and sales vice president.

Prepare your national vice president of sales resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your national vice president of sales resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a national vice president of sales resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable national vice president of sales resume templates

Build a professional national vice president of sales resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your national vice president of sales resume.