What NOT to Do in Your First 90 Days as a VP of Sales [A Better ‘VP of Sales 90 day plan’]
When Sarah was promoted to VP of Sales at a promising SaaS company, she was eager to prove herself. Armed with strategies from her previous role, she thought she knew exactly what the sales team needed to hit their ambitious goals.
On Day 1, she dove headfirst into making changes—tweaking processes, introducing new KPIs, and holding endless meetings to get the team on board.
By Day 30, Sarah was frustrated. Her team was disengaged, the numbers were stagnant, and her initial excitement was quickly turning into stress.
What went wrong?
Cue – She should have had a better ‘VP of Sales 90 day plan’ 🤔
She made those ‘inevitable’ mistakes
It’s just as important to know what NOT to do as it is to know what to focus on
Like many new sales leaders, Sarah made a critical mistake—she focused on immediate changes without understanding the team’s dynamics and challenges. If you’re stepping into a VP of Sales role, especially in your first 90 or even 100 days, avoid the common pitfalls that can set you back.
Mistake 1: Making Immediate Changes Without Context
Many new VPs feel the pressure to make an impact right away. But diving in and making changes without first understanding your team’s strengths, weaknesses, and the broader company culture can do more harm than good.
What to Do Instead: Spend your first few weeks observing, listening, and gathering insights. Talk to your team members, listen to customer feedback, and understand the sales processes from the ground up. This approach builds trust and helps you identify what truly needs change.
Mistake 2: Focusing Only on Short-Term Metrics
It’s easy to get caught up in immediate wins. But over-prioritizing short-term metrics like MQLs and SQLs without thinking about the long-term pipeline can lead to a reactive, unsustainable sales strategy.
What to Do Instead: Yes, short-term wins are important, but balance them with a long-term vision. Create a 30-60-90 day plan that focuses on understanding your customer’s journey and building a scalable sales strategy that supports future growth.
Check out this list of key sales metrics to track for sales leaders. You’d want to adjust these to suit your business needs, though.
Mistake 3: Neglecting Relationship Building
As a new VP of Sales, you’re not just responsible for the numbers—you’re also leading a team. Failing to invest time in building relationships with your team, peers, and key stakeholders is a mistake that can cost you down the road.
What to Do Instead: Take time to connect with your sales team on a personal level. Understand their pain points, celebrate their successes, and involve them in shaping the strategy. Building these relationships fosters collaboration and improves team performance in the long run.
Mistake 4: Micromanaging Your Team
In an effort to control outcomes, many new VPs fall into the trap of micromanagement. However, this not only stifles creativity but also erodes trust and autonomy among the sales team.
What to Do Instead: Set clear expectations and empower your team to achieve them. Avoid hovering over day-to-day activities and focus instead on guiding your team towards long-term goals.
Key mistakes to avoid during your first 90 days as a VP of Sales
Jumping into conclusion (literally)
It’s important to avoid making changes in the first 30 days before you fully understand the organization. Instead, take this time to observe, listen, and learn about the company’s culture, processes, and team dynamics.
Lack of transparency
Be open and honest from the start. Avoid hiding mistakes or playing political games; own up to any errors and foster a culture of transparency within your team.
Trying to do everything yourself
Don’t take on everything alone. Focus on empowering your best performers to increase their productivity and identify opportunities to bring in top talent who can drive sales growth.
Getting distracted by social media
While social media can be valuable, it’s essential to first master the basics of sales, your product, and your offer before diving into it. Stay focused on your core responsibilities.
Overemphasizing processes
While processes are important, they shouldn’t be your sole focus. As a VP of Sales, concentrate on the bigger picture, such as team development, strategy, and long-term growth.
A better ‘VP of Sales 90 Day Plan’
30-Day Plan
Goal: Build foundational relationships, understand existing processes, and establish baseline metrics.
Why such a plan
The key here is to understand each other.
In your first 30 days, as a new VP of Sales, you should focus on building relationships. Understand the sales processes, and gain in-depth product and market knowledge.
By meeting key stakeholders and the sales team, you would establish trust and communication. A deep dive into sales methodologies, tools, and team performance helps identify areas for improvement.
Familiarizing yourself with the product and market is crucial to confidently present demos and address customer needs. Setting initial KPIs aligned with company goals and implementing quick wins create momentum.
This approach ensures a strong foundation for long-term success and team alignment.
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🤝Best Practice Tip: Focus on being a “listener” rather than immediately trying to overhaul processes.
Mark Roberge emphasizes that early wins come from understanding the team and internal dynamics before proposing significant changes.
60-Day Plan
Goal: Gain traction on productivity improvements, align teams on KPIs, and develop deeper customer insights.
Why such a plan
You should focus on optimizing processes, enhancing team training, and driving cross-functional alignment in your next 30 days.
By redesigning sales workflows, implementing standardized scripts, and optimizing CRM usage, you can reduce the sales cycle length by 10%.
Launching targeted training programs and coaching sessions aims to improve SDR conversion rates by 15%. Real-time dashboards enhance KPI tracking, while joining key client meetings provides valuable feedback. Regular syncs with Marketing and Product teams foster alignment, leading to joint initiatives.
Finally, organizing team-building activities can boost morale and increase team satisfaction by 20%.
🤝 Best Practice Tip: In his book, Jeb Blount highlights the importance of “time discipline” for sales teams. Help your team focus on high-impact activities, such as customer-facing time and relationship-building, by minimizing administrative work.
90-Day Plan
Goal: Solidify strategic initiatives, complete client engagements, and refine long-term sales and customer success strategies.
Why such a plan
The final 30 days of the 90-day plan focus on achieving sales targets, strategic planning, and ensuring long-term scalability.
This phase is critical for meeting or exceeding quotas while developing a 12-month sales strategy that includes market expansion and sales forecasting. Aligning talent management through performance-based incentives reduces turnover by 15% and enhances engagement.
Ensuring scalable sales processes prepares the team for 25% growth. Close collaboration with Customer Success boosts retention rates by 10%, while fostering a culture of innovation encourages continuous improvement. This comprehensive approach ensures long-term success and positions the sales team for future growth.
🤝 Best Practice Tip: By the 90-day mark, you should have a clear vision for how to refine the team’s focus on strategic goals, build deeper customer relationships, and drive revenue growth.
As suggested by Roberge, ensure you have scalable processes and forecasting metrics that will support future growth.
Lead with strategy, not the mistakes
Your first 90 days as a VP of Sales set the tone for your leadership. Instead of jumping into action without context, take the time to observe, listen, and plan.
Avoid focusing too much on short-term wins, build strong relationships, and lead with trust, not micromanagement.
Also, don’t forget to check out the 90 day plan template. Follow the well-structured VP of Sales 90 day plan for long-term success.