The instinct of most owners when sales gets messy is to hire a sales manager. The reps need oversight. The pipeline needs structure. The comp plan needs someone to enforce it. The owner is tired of doing all of it. So they post a job for a sales manager and hope the hire fixes the problem.
Most of the time, the hire does not fix the problem. The sales manager arrives into an undefined operation, builds their own version of it, and either struggles to make it work or builds something that does not match what the owner actually wanted. The right move is usually to bring in a fractional VP first, build the operation, then hire a manager into a structured system. This post lays out when each is the right call.
When a sales manager is the right hire
- The sales operation is already designed. Comp plans, pipeline stages, cadence, scorecards, and reporting all exist and work.
- The team is three or more reps. A manager hired to oversee one or two reps creates more drag than value.
- The business can absorb the cost. A sales manager in Toronto runs $80,000 to $150,000 plus variable and benefits.
- The owner is ready to actually let go of the sales function. A sales manager who has to manage around the owner usually does not last.
When a fractional VP is the right hire instead
- The sales operation is not yet designed. Comp plans, pipeline, cadence, and reporting need to be built.
- The team is one to three reps. The fractional VP can run weekly coaching and pipeline review directly.
- The business is doing $1M to $10M and a $300,000 hire is not financially sane.
- The owner wants to step out of running sales but is not yet ready to hand it to a single full time hire.
The build first, hire second sequence
The most successful pattern in SMB sales operations is: bring in a fractional VP for six to twelve months, build the operation, then hire a sales manager into the structured system. The new manager arrives into a defined comp plan, a defined pipeline, a defined cadence, and a team that already knows what good looks like. They step into a working operation instead of having to invent one.
The fractional VP can also help with the manager search. They know what good looks like in the role, they can screen candidates, and they can train the new manager in the first thirty to sixty days. Once the manager is up and running, the fractional engagement transitions to a quarterly advisory model or wraps up entirely.
What this looks like in practice
A typical sequence runs eighteen to twenty four months. Months one to twelve: fractional VP builds the operation and runs weekly cadence directly. Months twelve to fifteen: the business hires a sales manager with fractional VP support on the search. Months fifteen to twenty four: the fractional VP transitions to advisory, the new manager runs the daily cadence, and the operation continues to mature.
The total cost across twenty four months is meaningfully lower than hiring a full time VP from day one, and the operational maturity at the end is meaningfully higher than what most full time VPs produce in their first two years.
The bottom line
Build the operation first, then hire the manager into it. That is the order that produces a sustainable sales function. The fractional VP designs the system, runs it for six to twelve months, then hands it to a permanent manager who steps into a working operation. The owner gets out of running sales for the cost of a single full time hire and ends up with a more mature operation than the average business doing twice their revenue.
Service related to this post
Sales Leadership →
Fractional VP of Sales. Weekly pipeline reviews, team coaching, hiring support, role play.