Does landing your dream sales job feel like an uphill battle? Let's turn the tables and help make your sales resume a powerful asset for your job hunt! In this blog post, we’ll take you through the essential components of a standout sales resume and share valuable tips and examples to best showcase your unique skills and achievements. Ready to make your mark in the sales industry? Let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
- Make your resume stand out from the competition with clear formatting, a solid branding statement, clear core competencies, and a relevant, tailored experience section
- Showcase work history specific to the job description, and highlight relevant quantitative data to support your described experience
- Utilize keywords and industry phrases to win over Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
- For ensured success and guidance, check out our blog on how to find a certified resume writer
Crafting a Winning Sales Resume
A well-crafted sales resume is your golden ticket to showcase your skills, experience, and achievements to potential employers. Highlighting your experience for a sales job begins with understanding the key components of an impactful resume.
Your resume should include the following:
- Reverse-chronological order formatting
- Branding statement
- Core competencies
- Professional experience
- Notable skills, awards, and achievements
Laying Out Your Contact Information
An often overlooked but vital aspect of a sales resume is the presentation of your contact information. Your full name, location, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn should be provided.
Accurately presenting your contact details ensures that hiring managers can easily reach out and connect with you to discuss your potential value to their team and schedule an interview.
Moreover, mentioning your location can be advantageous, as recruiters may use location screeners that automatically eliminate applicants from other states or regions when applying for a sales position. So, make sure your contact information is up-to-date and accurately presented to avoid missing out on potential opportunities.
Create a Captivating Branding Statement
A strong branding statement sets the tone for your resume and effectively communicates who you are at a high level. Whether you are an experienced sales manager or entry-level sales representative, your branding statement should be personalized to you and focus on your specific sales knowledge and industry skillsets. Your branding statement is your chance to emphasize how you differ from your peers and competition.
✨ Tip: Don’t forget to review and update your branding statement regularly to keep it fresh and engaging.
To craft a powerful branding statement, follow these tips:
- Stay true to yourself, your personality, and your actual experience
- Keep it short and sweet (1-3 sentences)
- Showcase your unique value in the sales field
- Utilize industry words or phrases that pertain to the job you are applying for
- Highlight the benefits you bring to the company
✨ Tip: Remember, a certified professional resume writer can help you craft an impactful branding statement if you need expert assistance!
Display Your Relevant Core Competencies
Highlighting your core competencies is another key element of a successful sales resume. By aligning your essential sales skills with specific sales jobs and their descriptions, you can navigate ATS successfully and demonstrate how you are a match for the role.
Here are a few examples of core competencies for the sales industry:
- Negotiation
- Client relationship management (CRM)
- Business development
- Prospecting
- Cold calling
- Sales leadership
- Salesforce
- Hubspot
- Sales forecasting
- Proposal development
✨ Tip: Update your core competencies section to align with each job application!
Showcase Your Professional Experience
Your experience section should be the bulk of your sales resume and is a compilation of your time in the industry thus far. This section will highlight not only the basics of your work history like job title, company, location, and time frame, but also outline your specific job duties, achievements, and experience. The goal of this section is to give the recruiter a detailed, but seemingly high-level overview of your time in the sales industry- what specific knowledge and expertise are you bringing to the table?
✨ Tip: Providing metrics and quantifiable data is important for any professional resume, but it's particularly critical for sales resumes. Here's an example of a bullet point – one without data and one with:
- Before: Developed and maintained strong relationships with key clients to build long-term loyalty and satisfaction.
- After (with Quantifiable Data): Increased quarterly revenue by 25% through implementing targeted upselling strategies that catered to individual customer needs.
When you are building out your experience section, it is important to intentionally utilize not only industry keywords, but action words to make your work experience sound as specific and honed in as possible. Here are a few action words that are specific to the sales industry and will help amplify and highlight your experience section:
👍 Examples of action words:
- Accelerated
- Closed
- Negotiated
- Cultivated
- Generated
- Optimized
- Targeted
- Drove
- Spearheaded
- Leveraged
- Secured
- Converted
- Expanded
- Strategized
- Maximized
- Enhanced
- Revitalized
- Outperformed
- Retained
- Promoted
✨ Tip: Tailoring your experience section with keywords that align with the specific job you are applying for will not only further highlight your relevant experience and expertise, but enhance your likelihood of passing ATS and securing an interview.
Listing your Education, Certifications, and Technical Skills
The last portion of your resume should display your education, sales certificates, trainings, awards, and highlight your relevant technical skills.
This is your last opportunity to grab the attention of the hiring manager, so be sure to think back on any standout items and list them accordingly!
Sales Resume Examples
Having discussed the key components of a successful resume, let’s examine a few sales resume examples:
Sales Manager
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Pg 1
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Regional Sales Director
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Pg 1
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VP of Sales
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Pg 1
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Pg 2
For further inspiration and guidance, check out our arsenal of professionally formatted sample resumes.
Summary
In conclusion, crafting an impactful, winning sales resume is an essential step in landing your dream job. By focusing on key components such as contact information, branding statement, core competencies, professional experience, and essential skills, you can create a resume that captures the attention of hiring managers and showcases your unique personal and professional value. Remember to tailor your resume to the specific job description, use industry keywords, and draw inspiration from successful sales resume examples. With dedication and persistence, you are well on your way to making your mark in the sales industry.
Q&A
We understand that building a sales resume can be a daunting task, and you may have questions about the process. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help you navigate the world of sales resumes and build an application that showcases your unique skills and expertise.
What should I write in my sales resume?
Highlight your accomplishments with numbers and figures, incorporate relevant qualifications and certifications, list key skills, employ an ATS-friendly design, and provide data to quantify experience.
How do you stand out in a sales job application?
In addition to tailoring your resume and cover letter to match the given job description, it can be best practice to personally reach out to the hiring manager via email or LinkedIn and introduce yourself! This is a surefire way to get yourself to stand out of the crowd.
Should I include a cover letter when applying for a sales position?
Yes, include a cover letter when applying for a sales position to demonstrate your skills and make your application stand out! Always research the company beforehand and tailor your message to best align yourself with their culture.
Ready to Write Your Sales Resume, But Need a Bit of Help?
ResumeSpice is here to help! Our team is comprised of actual recruiters who know the ins and outs of the industry, and have top-tier knowledge on how to spotlight candidates in today's competitive job market. Additionally, our array of #1 ranked resume writing services are made possible by our experienced, always in-house resume writers. We are proud to have helped thousands of sales professionals land their dream jobs, and are prepared to help you next! Our team is here to provide tailored resume writing, help you navigate best practices, provide career guidance, interview prep, and more. Check out all of our career services here. You can also call us at 832.930.7378 or connect with us online.
