Head of sales: duties and evaluation

Head of sales: what they are answerable for

in short

A head of sales is answerable for five things: the plan, the people, the process, the numbers, and training. They are judged not on personal sales but on the team hitting plan, on how fast new reps come up to standard, and on whether the numbers hold without their daily presence. An owner can hold the role at the start, but not for long: they have no time for weekly reviews, and without those the team goes back to running on instinct.

The five areas

The plan. Broken into weeks and drivers, with daily attention to gaps.
The people. Hiring, onboarding, replacing whoever does not reach standard.
The process. Rules followed, records filled in, automations working.
The numbers. Reporting that reconciles with the actual money.
Training. Weekly reviews happen and produce change.

The numbers to judge them on

the team hitting plan
team conversion from enquiry to payment
how fast a new rep reaches standard
turnover: how many people left in the quarter
how completely records are filled in

Personal sales are not on that list. Judged on those, the manager will sell rather than manage.

The commonest situation at the start is the owner acting as head of sales. It works until the first moment they have to choose between their own meeting and reviewing conversations. The review loses every time, and two months later the team runs on instinct again.

What to hand over first

The daily stand-up.
The weekly conversation review.
Checking that records are filled in.
Onboarding new people.

What the owner keeps

the plan and any revision to it
decisions about people
prices and terms
the weekly report from the team

Questions people ask

Can the owner be head of sales?

At the start, yes. For long, no: the first thing that drops out of their diary is the reviews, and without those the system does not hold.

What should a head of sales not be judged on?

Personal sales. Otherwise that is what they will spend their time on instead of the team.