Current salary data based on 79 job postings with disclosed compensation.
Late-stage private companies (Series C/D) often pay near-public-company rates while still offering meaningful equity upside. These roles typically involve managing larger teams and more complex go-to-market strategies.
Key considerations: Equity grants may be 0.05-0.25%. Assess secondary sale opportunities and realistic IPO/acquisition timelines. Many offer competitive benefits packages.
Series C/D companies pay VP Sales roles between $222K and $314K base salary, based on 79 job postings.
The 41% salary spread reflects real market variation. Key factors: (1) Company stage - Series A pays 20-30% less base but offers more equity; (2) Deal size responsibility - enterprise sales leaders ($500K+ ACV) command premiums; (3) Team size - managing 50+ reps vs 10 impacts compensation; (4) Industry - fintech and cybersecurity pay 15-20% above average. The 'right' salary depends on your specific situation.
Focus on base salary for stability and comp benchmarking, but understand the full picture. At startups, negotiate equity vesting and acceleration clauses. At public companies, ask about RSU refresh grants. For OTE, clarify quota attainment rates (ask: 'What % of the team hit quota last year?') and whether targets are realistic. A high OTE with 20% attainment is worse than moderate OTE with 80% attainment.
Our data comes from 79 actual job postings with disclosed compensation ranges, not self-reported surveys (which typically skew 10-15% high). We track VP Sales, SVP Sales, and CRO roles weekly, filtering for executive-level positions. Limitations: not all companies disclose salary, and posted ranges may differ from final offers after negotiation.
Weekly analysis of compensation trends, red flags, and negotiation insights for VP Sales and CRO roles.
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