Sales Director

Salary band

Base salary, gross annual

25th percentile

€70,000

Median

€83,000

75th percentile

€98,000

For reference: the statutory minimum wage in Germany has stood at €13.90 gross per hour since January 1, 2026 — roughly €2,410 gross a month for a full-time role at 40 hours/week. (BMAS: Mindestlohn steigt zum 1. Januar 2026 auf 13,90 Euro)

Variable at OTE€30,000 – €42,000

Gross fixed salary per year for a Sales Director who owns a region, channel or product line rather than the entire sales organization (often leading 1 to 2 sales managers, or a subset of accounts directly), one step below full Head of Sales ownership. This level typically reports into a Head of Sales or directly to the managing directors, and does not yet own company-wide compensation-plan design or GTM strategy. Berlin and Munich pull the range up; regional Mittelstand locations trend downward. Variable pay follows a similar OTE logic to the Head of Sales level (see the base guide) but is tied to a narrower book of revenue.

Sources: Stepstone Gehaltsdaten Head of Sales Deutschland 2026; Stepstone Gehaltsdaten Regional Sales Director Deutschland 2026; Kienbaum Vergütungsstudie Führungskräfte 2025