How to Write a Sales Resume (With Examples)

Ever wondered why a sales resume is a bit technical to craft? Well, that’s because you are selling yourself (pun intended) as being capable of acting as a bridge between a business and its customers.  

The sales department is very broad. It covers a wide range of roles, levels, mediums, and organizations. Practically every company and virtually every industry employs sales representatives. So, the demand for sales representatives is always high and you can always choose positions and organizations with ease. 

A sales representative may work for an organization, a business, or even a government agency. Your employment may also be direct or through a third-party sales agency.

Either way, you must know the duties of a sales representative before venturing into resume writing. 

What Does a Sales Representative Do?          

Sales representative sounds pretty self-explanatory, right? You can easily deduce that a sales representative represents their company in sales i.e. helps them makes sales. But that is not all they do. The functions of a sales representative are expounded below:

• Sell according to a pre-existing structure. Is it business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C)?
• Approach new and existing clients to meet and surpass sales targets.
• Conduct cost-benefit and needs-analysis of costumers (both new and existing).
• Establish and maintain business relationships.
• Arrange, sort, and stock shelves (for a brick and mortar business).
• Take part in sales meetings and business training.
• Engage in negotiations to address inquiries and complaints from clients and coworkers.
• Convey product demonstrations to customers.
• Give day by day recap of results and achievements to the supervisory team.

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How to Write a Sales Resume

A sales resume can be written by both experienced sales representatives and those just venturing into it. Certain things overlap in both resumes. They include the following:

1. Use Sales Jargon

There are certain sales-related terms that should be included in your sales resume. Bear in mind that the hiring manager would be on the lookout for specific words. 

It is also important to tailor your resume to the specific opening you are applying for. Take note of the requirements and include the keywords in your resume. 

Furthermore, the organization could have an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in place to help automate its recruitment process. As you may know, it’s software that scans for relevant keywords and discards resumes that do not include them. Unlike, human review where considerations may be applied, ATS doesn’t care. This post explains how the ATS works. 

Please do not misinterpret this as an opportunity to pad your resume with words just because they are technical.

• Account Management
• Business-to business (B2B)
• Business-to-consumer (B2C)
• Business Analysis
• Business Case
• Business Development
• C-Level Presentations.
• Channel Management
• Cold Calling
• Competitive Analysis
• Cost-benefit
• Consultative Selling
• Contract Negotiation.
• Cross-Selling / Up-Selling
• Executive Relationships
• Forecasting
• Lead Generation
• Leads
• Need-analysis
• Negotiation
• Networking
• Overcoming Objections
• Pitch Decks
• Presentations
• Prospecting
• Quota
• Relationship Management
• Return on Investment
• Sales
• Sales Cycle
• Territory

2. List Important Sales Skills

Again, you really should tailor your resume to the job opening. If you are applying for the role of a sales representative, there is no need to include that you have CPR skills. It is not relevant and it takes up valuable space.

And there is the ATS factor. To beat it, you have to optimize your keywords. You should only list skills that are most relevant in your field. Yes, it is good to show how multidimensional you are, but you can save that for the interview stage.  

In addition to the field-specific skills, do not forget to include the essential soft skills also known as employability skills in your resume. This is because employers are constantly on the look-out for these skills when hiring for any position and it is especially important for entry-level applicants. These skills are transferable and highly sought after. Read more on these employability skills and how to put them on your resume here.

What are the Important Sales Skills?

The following are vital skills that a sales professional should not have, but include in their resume:

• Product knowledge
• Client acquisition and retention
• Goal setting and forecasting
• Sales closing
• Written and verbal communication
• Self-motivation
• Organization skills
• Time management skills
• Attention to detail

3. Highlight Your Results

This part is especially true for experienced sales representatives. If you have worked in some sales capacity before, make sure you show off your numbers in your resume. 

You should highlight your results, sales targets/objectives, and other industry metrics. For instance, you make mention of generated revenue, unit sales, or targets achieved. Showing actual results backed by numbers helps convince the hiring manager of your capabilities way more than just listing your skills would.

4. Proofread

The final step in ensuring that your resume is well-written is proofreading. Make sure you cross-check it for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. You can either get one or two people to help you read through or you can use any software tool (such as Grammarly).

Sales Resume Example 

If you are an experienced sales professional, your resume should look like this:

Resume Objective

Sales manager with 4+ years of experience driving profitability through strategic growth, leading teams, and quality control. Presently seeking a suitable supervisory position with a market-leading, high-growth company that offers opportunities for advancement into sales management.

Professional Experience

Sales Manager                                                       

Green Pharmaceuticals, Lagos, Nigeria.

January 2016 – August 2020.

Key Qualifications & Responsibilities

• Led organizational sales and group of sales representatives in marketing and selling pharmaceutical equipment and medicines. 
• Built new business partnerships and maintained pre-existing ones.
• Developed and met ambitious sales targets. 
• Researched business and analysed the market and incorporated the data into business planning.
• Tracked individual sales representative’s set goals and individually mentored any representative that underperformed.
• Managed corporate and industrial client accounts.

Key Achievement

Achieved a 150% sales increase from the first quarter of 2016 till now.

Education    

University of Lagos, Nigeria

BSc Businesses Administration

First Class Honours

Skills

• Product knowledge
• Client acquisition and retention
• Goal setting and forecasting
• Sales closing
• Customer Acquisition 
• Written and verbal communication
• Self-motivation
• Organization skills
• Time management skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Problem-solving skills 
• Analytical skills 
• Collaboration skills 
• Leadership skills
• Marketing skills

If you are an entry-level sales professional, you should craft yours like the following:

Resume Objective 

Fresh graduate of actuarial science with astounding interpersonal and relationship-building abilities seeking to contribute skills and to an organization and contribute to its growth.

Professional Experience 

Customer Care Repressive

Blue Networks, Nigeria 

July 2019 – June 2020

Key Qualifications and Responsibilities 

• Resolve customer complaints via phone, email, mail, or social media.
• Contact customers to verify and update account information.
• Greet customers warmly and ascertain problem or reason for calling.
• Restore, cancel or upgrade accounts.
• Assist with placement of orders, refunds, or exchanges.
• Collaborate with customer service manager to ensure customer satisfaction 

Key Achievements

Won the ‘Best Customer Service’ award at the Business Weekly Corporate awards with the team.

Education

University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.

BSc Actuarial Science 

Second Class Upper

Skills

• Critical thinking skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Analytical skills 
• Collaboration skills
• Leadership skills
• Marketing skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills

Remember that your resume is a marketing document. It should be show off your skills and abilities in a short and concise manner. And while having a good resume is impressive, remember to prepare adequately for your interview and ready to backup and/or elucidate the content of your resume.

For guidance and tips on how to pass an interview read HERE