Three Rules for a Great Sales Resume

What is a bigger challenge: hiring a pro salesperson or writing an appealing CV for the position? That is the question that starts arguments between HR managers and salespeople. Instead of taking sides, we offer you a chance to take a walk in your opponent’s shoes. If you’re a salesperson who’s struggling with composing a CV, become your own HR manager!   This overview unveils why writing a great sales resume is similar to sales itself and how your professional knowledge will help you on this path. PS: It’s worth reading even if you’ve only just started your career.      

Content of a Sales Resume 

 You can find multiple variations of CVs on the net. But what should you include in your resume to ensure you are invited to a job interview? There are two major components in any of the sales resume examples you will ever come across: content and formatting.   The first one depicts who you are; the second one – is your ability to comply with official requirements. In other words, it’s an adequacy test. We’re going to start with what to write in your resume for a salesperson. And don’t worry if you’re an aspiring sales star - there are hacks for you, too!    

Candidates with Little or No Experience

 Salespeople know how to sell anything - or at least, they think they do. For inexperienced but ambitious people, here’s some advice: handle resume writing in the same way you’d handle a deal. Imagine describing a product.   We usually highlight its strong points and benefits for the buyer, right? So, try to transfer the same approach to your sales job resume. For instance, your babysitting duties with your younger brother have taught you time management and responsibility.   Also, here’s a small writing tip to show your motivation and leadership qualities. When composing your sales position resume, use active verbs more than passive ones.  

Emphasize Your Present Achievements:

 

• Transferable skills: When you can’t boast impressive experience, describe what you can do. This might be leadership skills, active listening, or collaborative and interpersonal skills.
• School/college accomplishments: Have you participated in an activity that involved organizing a group of people? If you have done some form of entrepreneurial activity (even selling homemade lemonade to your neighbors for fun), reflect it on your resume for a salesperson. 
• Job requirements are not the ultimate truth. If they want someone with sales experience, you can still submit your application and give it a try. A healthy portion of self-assurance tempered by a willingness to learn makes you a worthy candidate.

   

Experienced Salespeople

 Are you a sales expert struggling with reflecting it in your CV? If so, don’t worry: you can either follow our guide to create a powerful self-introduction or download a pre-prepared sales resume template. Just include the following information:  

• Indicate the location of your sales activity, i.e., the city or district.
• What you were selling and to whom, i.e., B2B, B2C, and your industry.
• Most frequent interactions: e.g., with designers, marketers, or CEOs.
• In a resume for the salesperson, precise numbers are a must: how many deals you closed, the highest profit you achieved, and how many times you were promoted.

    The best CVs feature statistics, which can be easily checked and take up less space than a lengthy description.  

Sales Summary Resume

 If you are a veteran of the sales industry, you are probably used to proving yourself through results, but writing a complimentary cover letter may feel confusing. Try a sales summary resume. This is where you highlight your level of expertise, detailing your skills and how they will be beneficial for your future boss.   Compose 2-3 sentences or bullet points. Place them above the main text in your resume for the salesperson. People tend to remember short and clearly formulated phrases, so don’t neglect this tip. Besides, it saves the HR manager’s time.   The best sales resume examples show that a bit of boasting produces better results.  

Contact Information

Don’t forget to provide channels for connecting with you. This is an important section of a salesman job resume, so make it neatly laid out and noticeable. The information typically included in this section includes your:  

• Full name
• Phone number
• Email
• Address

  Sometimes links to social media accounts are required. Make sure your account looks acceptable. Imagine a resume for a salesperson stating they have strong communication skills. If their recent social posts are very much like “I’d rather live in the woods than work,” that’ll be an unwelcome flag for the HR manager.  

Include Additional Information

You may wonder, ‘Who wants to know about my hobbies if I apply for the job?’ Actually, some HR managers will pay attention to that part of your sales job resume.   The corporate culture of some companies involves team-building activities. Often that means arranging hangouts outside of work hours. In that case, your potential boss will be delighted to discover that you fit into the company philosophy. Fancy playing badminton or football? Join the team!  

Formatting a Resume for the Salesperson

We’re done with what to write, so now let’s move on to how to write it. It’s less complicated than content but has its special requirements, too. Though ready-made sales resume examples make life easier, check out the following recommendations.   Take a moment and appreciate the HR workload: they receive dozens of resumes daily and complete a lot of other paperwork. So, make your sales CV easy to read:  

• The spacing should be comfortable for the eyes
• Use bullet points to save space and time
• Bold headers will organize the text and make it easier to digest
• One page is sufficient for a sales job resume 

  Decide how you want to tell your story. Choose a type that will put you in a better light.  

Format Options

 Inversion type:

• Put your most recent position at the top of the list; your first job will be at the bottom.  Just don’t go as far back as your teenage years.
• Due to the descending order of jobs and your achievements there, HR will be able to evaluate your progress.

  Functional type:

• It works great to emphasize your skills while de-emphasizing your experience level.
• This is the perfect sales resume type if you have little or no experience.

  Hybrid type:

• The two above-mentioned types will demonstrate your outstanding career path and abilities.
• This type gives HR a clear view of your accomplishments. Still, it requires more effort to lay it out in a clear fashion.

 

Personalize Your Offer

 Check up on the application requirements. These will help you to figure out if you need a cover letter, references from a previous employer, or any special kind of resume - for instance, a video sales CV.  Adapt your offer for every new job.   ‘But it’s still the sales I’m applying for! Why bother changing anything? As a salesperson, you know the power of personalized offers, so why not use them to your advantage? Put the skills they’re looking for in your sales job resume to grasp their attention.   How? When you read the job description, determine the pain points of your potential employer.    

How to Write a Sales Resume Takeaway

So, let’s sum up how to write a CV that might become a ticket to a job interview. In short, put yourself in the HR manager’s place. Reread job descriptions several times and determine the pain points of that position. This will make it easier for you to compose a perfectly matching CV.   Don’t forget to be precise: Good sales resume examples always contain numbers and the results you have achieved. And on top of that, show your adequacy, but at the same time, your ability to think outside the box.   After all, that’s what salespeople do most of the time.