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

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

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Edward Liebow

A vice president of sales operations is an individual who manages and oversees sales staff for a company or an organization. These individuals have a lot of responsibility, and they ensure that sales teams act to successfully promote and secure contracts for products or services, and manages functions that boost sales force productivity. The vice president is involved in all aspects of the sales process, from production to distribution, and also creates relationships with customers and clients. These individuals also hire sales staff, provide training, and implement company practices to achieve the financial, operational, and sales goals of an organization.

A vice president of sales and operations typically has a bachelor's or a master's degree in marketing, sales, or business administration, as well as several years of experience in sales and operations. These executive professionals should be comfortable interacting with clients, customers, upper management and staff, and should possess strong communication, organizational, management, and multi-tasking skills.

A vice president of sales and operations can make up to $159,000 annually, and these individuals work in a variety of industries from computers, to manufacturing to retail. This field is expected to grow by 5% in the next 10 years and can be both a lucrative and rewarding career for any individual who enjoys managing sales and operations.

What general advice would you give to a Vice President Of Sales & Operations?

Edward Liebow

Executive Director, American Anthropological Association

First off, graduates should know there is strong demand in business, public, and non-profit settings. An anthropology degree signals great preparation for a variety of meaningful career track jobs. However, most of these positions are not labelled "anthropologist" or "archaeologist." A quick search of the big job ad aggregator websites (e.g., Indeed, Monster, Idealist) using keyword terms like "ethnography," "qualitative research," and "cultural resource management" returns many, many jobs in the tech, healthcare, finance, and environmental planning sectors. Other relevant search terms include "contact tracing," "user experience," "consumer research."

In the past several months, we have seen an uneven recovery from the early 2020 economic calamity: relatively narrow uptick in services, but a substantial recovery in manufactured goods. There are plenty of manufacturers that employ anthropologists and can expect the need for careful observation and cross-cultural sensitivity to grow. The workplace of the future will be changed by the pandemic, and user experience research is needed to drive product development. Companies like Steelcase and Humanscale are looking for talent. Innovations in the healthcare, telemedicine, and public health spaces require evaluation for safety, effectiveness, and patient satisfaction. Transportation technology is changing, and everything from intelligent highway/vehicle systems and driverless vehicles to onboard operating systems need reexamination. Efforts to bridge the deep chasm of socioeconomic inequality will require public/private partnerships and understanding culturally diverse ways in which households and extended families manage finances to develop products and services that will help move people along the path to financial self-sufficiency. Significant public investments in infrastructural improvements are coming, along with a growing need to "look before you leap" at the impacts of these investments, including the protection of important environmental and cultural heritage resources. Firms in the business of environmental planning and cultural resource management will likely be looking for candidates. Be creative. Be flexible. Use your whole biography as a resource. Some great career-track experiences await you.

ScoreVice President Of Sales & OperationsUS Average

Salary

9.2

Avg. Salary $162,997

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 16.88%

male 83.12%

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

Newest jobs for Vice President Of Sales & Operations in Columbus, OH

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Key steps to become a vice president of sales & operations

Explore vice president of sales & operations education requirements

Most common vice president of sales & operations degrees

Bachelor's

75.2 %

Master's

12.5 %

Associate

7.8 %

Start to develop specific vice president of sales & operations skills

Skills	Percentages
Sales Operations	9.37%
CRM	6.87%
Customer Service	6.81%
Revenue Growth	6.74%
Salesforce	6.13%

Complete relevant vice president of sales & operations training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New vice presidents of sales & operations 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 vice president of sales & operations based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real vice president of sales & operations resumes.

Research vice president of sales & operations duties and responsibilities

Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.
Identify gaps, needs, opportunities, formulate recommend solutions, and develop ROI calculations and implementation plans.
Launch innovative processes that generate significant ROI for the company, including a new method for pricing digital books.
Identify and integrate digital document delivery and e-signature system into CRM platform.

Get vice president of sales & operations experience

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

Prepare your vice president of sales & operations resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your vice president of sales & operations 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 vice president of sales & operations resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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Apply for vice president of sales & operations jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a vice president of sales & operations job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average vice president of sales & operations salary

The average Vice President Of Sales & Operations salary in the United States is $162,997 per year or $78 per hour. Vice president of sales & operations salaries range between $112,000 and $236,000 per year.

Average Vice President Of Sales & Operations Salary

$162,997 Yearly

$78.36 hourly

How do vice presidents of sales & operations rate their job?