How to Negotiate a VP Sales Offer: What the Postings Don't Tell You

VP sales salary negotiation used to be a black box. You'd get an offer, compare it against two or three data points from your network, and make a gut call. That's changing. 54.8% of executive sales postings in our dataset now disclose salary ranges, which means there's a real benchmark pool to pull from before you ever counter. Across 1,349 executive postings tracked weekly by The CRO Report, 739 include comp data. That's enough to see patterns, spot leverage, and know when an offer is below market before the recruiter finishes the sentence.

Here's what the numbers actually show, broken down by seniority, company stage, geography, and the parts of a compensation package that rarely make it into the posting.

The Disclosure Rate Is Your First Lever

Of 1,349 executive sales postings we track, 739 include salary data. That's a 54.8% disclosure rate.

Five years ago, you'd have been lucky to see 20% disclosure at this level. State and local transparency laws in Colorado, New York City, California, and Washington have forced the shift. Companies posting in those jurisdictions now include ranges by default, and many have extended disclosure to all postings rather than maintaining separate listings.

What this means for negotiation: if you're looking at a role that discloses a range, you have an anchor. If the posting shows $180,000 to $250,000 base, you know the budget exists for $250,000. The bottom of a range is the minimum they've approved. The top is what they'll pay for the candidate who checks every box. Most offers land in the middle third, which means the top third is available if you can articulate why you warrant it.

Wide ranges tell you something else. A $150,000 to $300,000 range isn't sloppy. It usually means the company hasn't fully decided on seniority level, or they're willing to flex the title and scope based on who they find. That's leverage. If the range spans $150K, there's room to negotiate not just comp but role definition.

The other 45.2% of postings that don't disclose? That's where caution lives. Some are headquartered in states without transparency requirements. Others are deliberately withholding to maintain leverage. Both scenarios require you to bring your own data to the table.

What the Ranges Actually Look Like by Level

Seniority is the most predictable variable in executive sales comp. Here's what the data shows across 739 postings with disclosed salary.

Level	Roles w/ Salary	Avg Base Range	Median Base Range
VP	636	$167,295 - $251,443	$159,200 - $220,500
SVP	37	$202,153 - $262,432	$182,400 - $270,000
C-Level	26	$231,873 - $302,246	$220,450 - $263,750
EVP	5	$248,000 - $292,000	--

A few things stand out.

The VP-to-C-Level jump on average base is roughly $65K on the low end and $51K on the high end. That's the premium for owning the full revenue number, carrying board-level accountability, and (usually) managing a larger team with more go-to-market functions under your purview.

SVP sits in a middle zone. At $202K-$262K average, it's above VP but below C-Level. The SVP title often means one of two things: you're leading a major region or segment within a larger sales org, or you're at a company that uses SVP as its top sales title instead of CRO. The comp reflects that ambiguity.

EVP data is thin. Five roles. Not enough to draw broad conclusions, but the $248K-$292K range tracks with what you'd expect for a title that typically appears at large enterprises with layered sales hierarchies.

The spread between average and median tells you about distribution skew. VP median base tops out at $220,500 while the average max is $251,443. That gap means a cluster of high-paying outliers pulls the average up. Companies like HPE (posting ranges up to $652K) and AVEVA (up to $628K) create that upward skew. For most VP-level roles, the median is a more realistic target than the average.

Company Stage Is the Biggest Comp Variable

After seniority, nothing moves the number like company stage. The difference between a Series A and a Late Stage offer can be $130K+ on base alone.

Company Stage	Avg Base Range
Series A/B	$147,000 - $183,000
Series C/D	$222,000 - $314,000
Late Stage / Public	$224,000 - $318,000

Series A/B tops out at $183K average base. That's roughly $135K below the Late Stage ceiling. The logic is straightforward: early-stage companies have less cash, more equity to give, and a higher risk profile. You're trading guaranteed comp for upside.

Series C/D is where base comp starts looking like a real executive salary. At $222K-$314K, you're in the range where the company has proven product-market fit, raised significant capital, and can compete on cash. The equity is still meaningful at this stage, though less than at Series A/B as a percentage of the company.

Late Stage and Public companies pay $224K-$318K average base, nearly identical to Series C/D on the low end and marginally higher at the top. The trade-off shifts: base and variable are strong, equity is typically RSUs rather than options, and the risk profile is lower. You won't get a 10x outcome on your equity at a public company, but you also won't watch it go to zero.

The negotiation implication is direct. If you're evaluating an offer from a Series A company at $160K base, that's within market. Pushing it to $200K is likely outside their budget. The lever at that stage is equity, acceleration terms, and variable comp structure. At Late Stage, base has more room because cash isn't the constraint.

The Variable Comp Conversation

Postings almost never disclose variable comp structure. Base ranges show up because laws require it. The variable plan stays behind the curtain until the offer stage, sometimes later. That's a problem, because variable comp represents 40% to 50% of total cash compensation for most VP Sales roles.

Standard structures look like this:

• 60/40 split: 60% base, 40% variable. A VP with $200K base carries $133K in variable comp for a $333K OTE.
• 70/30 split: 70% base, 30% variable. Same $200K base, $86K variable, $286K OTE.

The 60/40 is more common at companies where the VP Sales carries a direct quota or a team number with personal overlay. The 70/30 appears at companies where the VP role is more operational, focused on building process and team rather than closing deals directly.

Three things to pin down before you sign:

Accelerators. What happens above 100% attainment? Standard accelerators pay 1.5x to 2x on variable for quota overage. A plan that pays 1x at 100% and 1x at 150% is a flat plan, meaning there's no incentive to overperform. That's a structural red flag. The best plans pay 2x or higher above plan, creating real upside for performance.

Payment frequency. Quarterly variable with monthly or quarterly measurement is standard. Annual variable paid in a single year-end payout introduces cash flow risk and gives the company an incentive to restructure territories or quotas mid-year. If variable is annual, ask about draws or guaranteed minimums in the first two quarters.

The written plan document. If the company can't produce a written commission plan before you sign the offer, that's a signal. Mature companies have plan documents reviewed by finance and legal. Early-stage companies might genuinely not have one built yet, but the commitment to produce one within 30 days of start should be in the offer letter.

Equity: What's Worth Something and What Isn't

Equity is the most misunderstood piece of an executive sales comp package. The dollar value that appears on your offer letter is a number attached to assumptions, and those assumptions deserve scrutiny.

Seed and Series A (0.5% to 1.5% typical)

Early-stage equity grants for a VP Sales typically fall in the 0.5% to 1.5% range. The math on paper looks appealing: 1% of a company valued at $50M is $500K. But the company isn't worth $50M in cash today. That's a preferred stock valuation from the last round, which includes a liquidation preference that sits ahead of your common shares. Factor in dilution from future rounds, and your 1% might be 0.4% by the time an exit happens. If it happens.

The question to ask at this stage: what's the company's path to liquidity, and on what timeline? If the answer is vague, the equity is a lottery ticket, not compensation.

Series C/D (0.1% to 0.5% typical)

At this stage, the percentage shrinks but the dollar value per point increases. A company valued at $500M offering 0.2% is a $1M paper value. The equity is more likely to be worth something because the company has revenue, product-market fit, and a path to IPO or acquisition. Dilution still applies, but there's less of it ahead.

Ask about secondary sale opportunities. Some Series C/D companies allow executives to sell a portion of vested shares on secondary markets like Carta or Forge. That converts paper wealth into real liquidity without waiting for an exit.

Late Stage and Public (RSUs)

Public company equity is RSUs, restricted stock units that convert to actual shares on a vesting schedule. This is the simplest math in the equity conversation. If the company trades at $100/share and your grant is 5,000 RSUs vesting over four years, you'll receive roughly 1,250 shares per year with a current value of $125K annually. You can sell them immediately upon vesting.

The only real variable is stock price movement. RSUs at a company whose stock has been flat for three years are still cash compensation. RSUs at a company in decline might vest at a lower value than the grant date price.

The Red Flags in the Offer Stage

Certain patterns in postings and offers correlate with below-market outcomes. Here's what the data flags.

"Competitive compensation." This phrase appears in 198 of 1,298 postings in our dataset. It's the most common substitute for an actual number. Companies that use it are disproportionately ones that decline to disclose ranges even when posting in transparency-law jurisdictions. The phrase has no informational value. Every company thinks its comp is competitive. The ones with genuinely strong packages tend to lead with numbers, not adjectives.

Vague variable comp. "Generous bonus potential" or "competitive commission structure" without any specificity about OTE, split, or plan mechanics. If the recruiter can't tell you the base/variable split by the second conversation, the plan either doesn't exist yet or falls below what they think you'd accept.

No equity discussion. At the VP level and above, equity should be part of the initial offer framework. If the company doesn't raise it, either there is no equity pool, or the grant is small enough that they'd rather not draw attention to it. Both are worth understanding before you commit.

"Commensurate with experience." This language shows up when the company wants to pay based on their assessment of your level rather than the market rate for the role. It often signals that the budget is below market and they're hoping to find someone who'll accept less. A company confident in its comp leads with a range.

Travel 50%+. 45 postings in our dataset list 50% or greater travel. That's not a red flag on its own, but it's a comp variable. Road warrior roles should carry a higher base and variable to compensate for the toll on quality of life. If the offer looks identical to a remote or hybrid role with minimal travel, the comp isn't reflecting the full cost of the position.

Geography and Remote as Negotiation Factors

Location still moves comp, even in a remote-first market.

Metro Area	Avg Base Range
San Francisco / Bay Area	$244,000 - $347,000
Boston	$201,000 - $282,000
New York	$180,000 - $250,000

San Francisco leads at $244K-$347K average base. The Bay Area premium is driven by concentration of well-funded tech companies competing for a local talent pool, combined with cost-of-living adjustments. That $347K ceiling is $65K above Boston's top end and $97K above New York's.

The remote premium is smaller than most people expect. Remote roles in our dataset pay $6,809 to $8,935 more on average than on-site equivalents. That's a real premium, but it's modest. The data suggests companies are largely paying market rate for the role regardless of location rather than applying steep geo-adjustments. A few large employers do tier comp by cost-of-living zone, but the aggregate effect in our data is less dramatic than the discourse around remote pay cuts would suggest.

If you're negotiating a remote role from a lower-cost market, the data supports asking for national market rates rather than accepting a local adjustment. The company is already saving on office space, and the disclosed ranges in our dataset don't show large remote discounts.

For roles anchored to a specific metro, know the local benchmark. A $200K base offer for a San Francisco-based VP Sales role is below the $244K average floor. That's a data point you can bring to the table directly.