What a sales manager does
The sales manager is close to the sellers and close to the deals: running the pipeline meeting, coaching calls, holding people accountable to activity and commitments, and making sure nothing stalls for lack of a next step.
What a VP of Sales does
A VP of Sales operates a level up — territory design, compensation structure, hiring plans, cross-functional alignment with marketing and product, and reporting to the board. It's a strategic and organizational role as much as a management one.
Why companies often hire too senior, too early
A VP of Sales title feels like the obvious next hire when a founder is overwhelmed. But a team of 5 sellers usually doesn't need someone designing comp plans and building an org chart — it needs someone running the pipeline meeting every week and coaching deals in real time. Hiring a VP for a management-shaped problem is expensive, and it often leaves the actual gap — day-to-day management — unfilled, because VPs are rarely eager to do hands-on management work at that level of detail.
How to decide
Ask what's actually broken: if deals are stalling and sellers are inconsistent, that's a management problem. If the company needs a go-to-market strategy, comp redesign, or a sales org built from scratch, that's a leadership problem. Many companies need the first role now and the second role later — sometimes never, if the company stays in the 3–10 seller range.
Not sure where you stand?
The Floor Check is a one-week diagnosis of your team, pipeline and management gap — $1,500, with a specific 30-day action plan.