Why Every Company Is Replacing Their VP of Sales| 02/25/2026 | Stephen Says Column Edit Dele

Dear Stephen,

I’m an Area Vice President for one of the major manufacturers and I have gotten no less than 10 calls from headhunters (sorry to tell you, none of them were you), about VP of Sales jobs. It’s not just recruiters calling me, I even find Presidents of companies or owners of mid-sized companies making the calls themselves because I guess I have a good reputation in the industry. By the way, all these companies mention these searches are confidential.

I’ve noticed that sometimes companies gussy up the title to make the job seem more important but it’s essentially always the same thing. For instance, some companies call a VP Sales job a Chief Sales Officer (CSO), or Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) or another company will call it President of Sales or Senior VP of Sales. . . It reminds me of that old expression “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.”

Why all this feverish recruiting? What gives?

Without exception, everyone seems to be looking to replace somebody right now in the market, which, to me, is striking. Many of the recruiters calling me are not from the industry at all, so, when they’re talking to me, I can tell they don’t “get” the position that they’re recruiting for, but that’s a whole other story. . . For the most part, if I didn’t already know that some of these were good brands calling, I probably would never interview.

For me it would be a next step career move, so of course I’m interested. I do have many peers, including at the VP level where it is a lateral move, but everybody’s got their price, I suppose. Here’s my question: what’s going on in our industry right now? Why are there so many openings at this level? What’s the shift? Could there really be that many bad VPs of Sales out there? Just checking with you on the state of our industry and this phenomenon.


Signed,
Confounded, But I’ll Take the Interview

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Dear Confounded,

You are not imagining it. There are more VP of Sales searches open right now than I have seen in years. Both directly from companies recruiting themselves and outside recruiters.

First, to address the outside recruiter thing you’re mentioning – when firms from outside our industry take these assignments, candidates can tell. Here’s what happens: if the recruiter is from outside the industry and they cannot explain the dealer channel, the A&D community, or how specifications actually convert to an order, the recruiter loses credibility with the candidate in the first five minutes. The hard part of recruiting is not finding the name of a candidate; it’s identifying the truly great candidate and influencing and persuading them to leave their job to take your job. That takes industry fluency and inside information. Trust me, I know.

That said, fresh blood is not a bad thing. Competition keeps all of us sharp, so I don’t have an issue with companies using outside the industry recruiters – the results generally speak for themselves. Now to the real question: why all the openings?

Most manufacturers run on calendar fiscal years. They are looking at 2026 and beyond. The economy has been resilient. Companies are bringing people back to the office. Leadership teams want growth and they want it now. If sales are flat or lagging, the first head on the block is usually the VP of Sales.

I’m aware of a lot of these assignments, and most of these searches have been open since early Q4 2025. The longer they stay open, the more revenue leaks out of the company. By the way, there is almost no such thing as a confidential search in this industry. If you are a VP of Sales, assume your CEO is at least taking a look at the market right now. It’s just the environment of our industry at the moment (and many other industries too).

Here is what I tell owners and presidents all the time: replacing the sales leader is not always the answer. If your VP has strong relationships with regional leaders, independent reps, and key dealers, that institutional knowledge is valuable. Before you fire – if you’re the CEO or owner, do some serious introspection, first. Are you having product issues? Pricing pressures? Quality concerns? Discounting problems? Morale challenges? Sometimes the problem is not always the sales leader. It’s the system.

When a change is necessary, be strategic. Great sales leaders do not grow on trees. Look internally – is there a regional whose time has come to be promoted? Promoting from within can energize an organization and preserve relationships.

We are in a moment of high expectations and growth is the mandate. Which is why the phones are ringing, long story short. The question for every company right now is not just who can sell more, but what needs to change to make selling more efficient and effective. Why not start there instead of a wholesale search?

Signed,
Stephen Viscusi
 

Stephen Viscusi is the founder of www.viscusigroup.com, an executive search firm that specializes in the interior furnishings industry. Hires made through The Viscusi Group are guaranteed a one-year free replacement. Please share your story or comment on this article and send your workplace questions to stephen@viscusigroup.com. Or give us a call at (212) 979-5700 ext. 101.

 

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