Sales Professional Resume | An Ultimate Guide to Making a Job Winning Resume

A recruiter will expect you to sell and market yourself efficiently to prove that you are the right candidate for the position. Whether you are an experienced sales person or a fresher looking for that big break, we’ve got you covered. In this extensive yet easy to follow guide, we will demonstrate with resume examples the art of writing a professional resume and also provide you with expert tips and tricks to get your sales resume all the attention it deserves.

Sales Resume Examples

To effectively demonstrate the art of resume writing, we have included a few sales resume samples for you to get an idea of what all needs to be covered in your own resume. If you would like to explore more options, we have a vast list of resume examples, samples and templates available.

Sales Associate Resume Example

Sales Executive Resume Sample

How to Write a Professional Sales Resume?

Your sales representative resume acts as your primary introduction to hiring managers and it is extremely important to leave a good first impression. A well-curated and detailed sales resume needs to convey your high aptitude for a sales position and highlight all your necessary skills that you possess to excel in the sales industry. There are certain key to-dos that you need to remember while crafting your resume. In this section, we will extensively go through all those sections that need to be included in your sales resume and the features that can enhance your professional resume and ensure that it lands you a suitable job and position in the company that you want.

Choose a Suitable Resume Format

Choosing the correct resume format is the first crucial step to take while you begin making your sales resume. It is important to accurately highlight your key qualifications and skills to market yourself as the most suitable candidate to a potential employer. Let’s take a look at the three most commonly used resume formats used by job seekers.

Chronological Resume Format

The chronological format uses your professional experience as the main focal point of your sales resume. The work experience section of your resume is showcased in a reverse chronological format, which starts with the most recent job position you held and works backwards from there. This is a great format for sales professionals who have an extensive work background and a lot of experience in the sales field as it is designed to highlight one’s career progression. Following is the structure used in a typical chronological resume format.

• Header section
• Resume objective section
• Job experience section
• Education section
• Skills section
• Certifications (If applicable)
• Optional additional sections-Professional memberships and affiliations, languages, extra curricular activities

Functional Resume Format

A functional resume format is aimed at giving more weightage to your skills and qualifications rather than your work history. This resume format is ideal for candidates who are freshers, changing their field or have huge gaps in their professional history. But, job seekers need to keep in mind that this is the least preferred resume format by hiring managers and recruiters as their main criteria is to focus on the work experience section during the hiring process. The following sections need to be included in the functional resume format.

• Header section
• Resume objective section
• Skills summary section
• Achievements section
• Job experience section
• Education section
• Optional additional sections- Professional memberships and affiliations, languages, extra curricular activities

Hybrid/Combination Resume Format

The hybrid or combination resume format incorporates the key features of both the chronological and functional format. It gives you the opportunity to draw attention to your skills and qualifications as well as your professional history. In case you are an entry level sales executives, then through the combination format you can help showcase your skills and qualifications and your professional capabilities at the same time.

• Header section
• Resume summary section
• Skills summary section
• Job experience section
• Education section
• Optional additional sections- Professional memberships and affiliations, languages, extra curricular activities

Create a Resume Header

Your sales resume header is where you put your contact information. It is an easy section to get through and all you need to do is add in all your relevant contact information.

• Full name
• Job title
• Phone number
• Email address
• LinkedIn Profile (If applicable)

It is important to note that these details need to be accurately logged in and no mistakes can be made here as this is how a hiring manager or recruiter will get in touch with you. Let’s simplify this by showing you what a correct and incorrect resume header looks like.

Incorrect Resume Header Example

Pete Johnson
petejohnson@example.com

Correct Resume Header Example

Pete Johnson

Sales Director

(000)-222-2222
petejohnson@example.com
linkedin.com/in/pete-johnson

Write an Effective Objective Summary

• Job title
• Key sales experience (mentioning the number of years worked )
• Top sales skills and qualifications
• The unique expertise you bring to the position you are applying for

Incorrect Professional Summary Example

Sales executive with experience in selling a variety of products across industries. Looking for an opportunity to contribute my skills and expertise to a sales team. Proficient in microsoft office.

Correct Professional Summary Example

Experienced sales executive with 6+ years of experience in retail sales with a proven track record of meeting revenue targets and driving business growth. Experienced in getting accurate customer feedback ensuring repeat business and high customer satisfaction. Demonstrate strong negotiation and relationship building skills and committed to delivering high sales results.

Put a Spotlight on Your Professional Experience

In a professional resume the work experience section is the most important section. This section is given the most attention by hiring managers and recruiters. Here are a few pointers on how to effectively highlight your work experience on your professional sales resume.

• It is highly recommended to list your work experience in a reverse chronological order which means you will begin with the most recent job title you have held.
• Add the company name, location, job title and mention your employment tenure with the company including start and end dates.
• Use bullet points and always begin the sentence with an action verb while listing the responsibilities you held with each job.
• If you are looking to highlight achievements, ensure you do so using specific metrics and examples.

Incorrect Work Experience Example

Sales Manager ABC Company 2017-19

• Managed and led a sales team
• Responsible for meeting sales target
• Responsible for working with customers

Correct Work Experience Example

Sales Manager ABC Company, San Francisco, California January 2017- March 2019

• Led and monitored a team of 10 sales representatives, setting and ensuring quarterly sales targets were met.
• Negotiated and closed high-value contracts resulting in 40% increase in the company’s annual sales revenue.
• Developed and executed sound sales strategies resulting in 20% increase in annual revenue sales targets.
• Implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) system to streamline internal sales processes resulting in 50% increase in customer satisfaction points.

Mention Any Relevant Skills

This section of your professional resume gives you the chance to highlight the key skills and qualifications that can position you as one of the most suitable candidates for the position. We recommend you to use bullet points to list down your skills for clarity as it is extremely easy and convenient for an employer to scan through. As a sales representative, you will need a balanced skill set which comprises of both technical and soft skills. Here are a few of the important skills required in the sales industry which you can add in the skills section of your sales resume.

Hard Skills

• Proficient in sales techniques (inbound and outbound sales,consultative selling)
• Product knowledge
• Proficient in CRM software (Salesforce, HubSpot)
• Negotiation skills
• Presentation skills
• Current Market knowledge
• Generating leads

Soft Skills

• Strong communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Active Listening
• Relationship building
• Time management
• Project management
• Problem solving

Education

In the sales industry, usually there is no arbitrary requirement of a specific educational qualification. Usually the minimum qualification is that of a high school diploma. Having said that, we live in a world where most professionals are always upgrading their skills for better opportunities and in this case having a bachelor’s degree to enhance your credibility is highly recommended. While mentioning your academic background, include the following information,

• Name of the institution
• Degree
• Graduation Date

Incorrect Education Section Example

XYZ University
Graduation - 2018

Correct Education Section Example

Bachelor of Business Administration
XYZ university, Wisconsin
Graduation Date: January 2018

Certifications

• Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP)
• Certified Inside Sales Professional (CISP)
• Certified Professional Sales Leader (CPSL)
• Rise Up Sales
• Certified Sales Executive (CSE)

Additional Sections

If you have the required space and an inclination to enhance your resume it is a smart move to add additional sections that can further market you as the most suitable candidate for the job. However, these sections should serve the purpose of showcasing your skills and achievements in related fields to the job that you are applying for. Please don't add random hobbies and skills that have nothing to do with the job role and position that you are aiming for. You can add sections like professional memberships, languages, volunteer work to improve your chances of landing the job that you are applying for.

Professional Memberships and Affiliations

An association with a professional sales organisation cements your commitment to grow and flourish in the industry. These organisations give professionals a chance to build their network and enhance your chances of getting ahead in this field. Affiliations with these organisations look very good on your resume, and when given the opportunity you must never fail to highlight the same. Some of the sales related professional organsiations you can be a part of are as follows.

• American Association of Inside Sales Professionals (AA-ISP)
• Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP)
• National Association of Sales Professionals (NASP)
• National Association of Women’s Sales Professionals
• Sales Management Association

Languages

If you are fluent in more than one language, that automatically opens many professional doors for you. As a sales professional, it is an added advantage if you are multilingual and also makes you globally viable and you needn't be restricted to one area. In your sales resume, mention the languages that you speak and also mention your level of proficiency in each of them (Basic or fluent)

Formatting and Styling Tips for Your Sales Representative Resume

There are many technicalities one needs to keep in mind while making a professional sales representative resume. Your professional sales resume needs to be clean and structured. Formatting your resume is as important as structuring and filling in the section headers in your resume. In this day and age, where there is stiff competition for most sales jobs and positions, the aesthetics and styling of your resume has become equally important. Let’s explore some of the ground rules of formatting your sales resume.

Use a Professional and Easy to Read Font

• Always use legible fonts like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica or Times New Roman.
• Avoid using any decorative fonts.
• Keep the font size for the main text at 10-12 points and the headers at 14-15 points.
• Maintain consistency in the font size throughout your sales resume.

Make Sure Your Resume has Consistent Formatting

• Use the same formatting for headings, subheading and bulleted lists.
• Use bold, italics, underline, capitals sparingly for emphasis and ensure that you use the same formatting throughout the resume.
• Keep simple and consistent and avoid excessive formatting.

Make sure to leave enough white space

• Leave enough white space on your sales resume to avoid a cluttered look.
• There should be enough white space between the sections and within the content .
• Do not crowd your resume with too much text and extra formatting.

Always Use Bullet Points

• Use bullet points to highlight your skills, qualifications and professional background.
• Most recruiters prefer scanning through bullet points rather than long paragraphs.
• Start each bullet point with an action verb while enlisting your prior professional experience.

Use Clearly Defined Sections

• Your sales resume needs to be organised and divided into clear sections.
• Divide you resume into clear sections like professional summary, work experience, skills, education, achievements, certifications.
• Use slightly bigger font size for headings and make them bold so that they stand out.

Align Your Text Consistently

• Your resume’s text alignment needs to be consistent throughout.
• It is recommended that you use left alignment for most of your resume text.
• Ensure that the dates and locations are aligned in the same way (left or right) in every section.

Keep it Short

• If you are an entry level sales representative then your resume should not be more than one page long.
• If you are an experienced sales representative with an extensive work history then you may extend it two pages but not more than that.
• Prioritize relevant information and avoid unnecessary details that havent been mentioned in the job description.

Always Proofread

• Always proofread your resume, this step is extremely crucial.
• Scan for typos, grammatical errors and any kind of content and formatting inconsistencies.

Learn How to Make Your Sales Resume ATS friendly

Most companies and brands have adopted the use of an applicant tracking system software during the recruitment process. ATS software is designed to automate, manage and streamline the hiring process. When a company posts a job listing, the first round of filtering of candidates happens through an ATS software. So, if your sales resume isn't ATS friendly chances are it will get thrown out by the software and never reach an actual human hiring manager.

How Does ATS Software work?

An ATS software scans a resume for relevant information like contact details, work history, education skills and other qualifications. It also mainly looks for relevant keywords used by the employers in the job description section. ATS software basically assigns scores and ranks to resumes based on their relevance to the job posting. Resumes that score well and meet a certain criteria are pushed to the next phase of the recruitment process and the ones that don't meet the necessary requirements get rejected immediately.

Tips to Make an Outstanding ATS Friendly Sales Resume

Creating an ATS friendly resume is a sure shot way to get a hiring manager’s attention. Here are some simple methods to ensure that your sales resume doesn't get filtered out by ATS software.

Use an ATS Friendly Resume Format

The most common resume format, the chronological format is the one that is highly preferred by an ATS software and hiring managers. Ensure that you list your work experience in a reverse chronological order beginning with your most recent job and ending with the first ever job you held. Follow the chronological format to the tee, and put your section headings in the same order that this format demands, and you will ensure that your sales representative resume doesn't get filtered out.

Use Simple and Professional Font

It is important to use fonts that are extremely easy to read and are not difficult for an ATS software to decipher. Fonts like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica and Times New Roman are ideal for an ATS friendly sales resume. Keep a font size of 10-12 points for the main text and 14-15 points for the headers depending on the number of sections your resume has.

Avoid Excessive Formatting

It is important to keep your sales resume format clean and uncomplicated. Avoid using tables, columns, graphics and images as the ATS software might have trouble deciphering these.

Label your resume with commonly used resume headings like “Professional Summary”, “Work Experience”, “Skills”, “Education”, “Achievements”, “Certifications”. This will enable the ATS software to clearly identify the main sections of your resume and give your resume a better chance of not getting filtered out or rejected.

Match Keywords from the Job Description

Incorporating keywords is probably the most important measure you can take to make your sales resume ATS software compatible. To accomplish this, you will need to read the job description with utmost scrutiny and identify all the relevant keywords that have been used. Then you need to seamlessly add them into your resume sections wherever possible. It is important to match and use the exact wordage that has been used by the recruiters in the job posting.

Use Bullet Points

It is important to note that long paragraphs do not fare well with an ATS software or a hiring manager. It is essential that you only use bullet points to ensure that your resume can be easily read and scanned through. Start each bullet point with an action verb while elaborating on your responsibilities and achievements.

Avoid the Use of Abbreviations

ATS software is not used to acronyms and abbreviations and it is also simple professional practice to spell out the full form of the abbreviation at least once in your resume so there is no cause for confusion. You should ensure that you provide as much information from your end to give your resume the best chance of being selected.

Check Your Resume File type

It is always good practice to check if the job posting has a particular file type mentioned for your resume. PDF is usually accepted and can be read by most ATS softwares however some older models have trouble deciphering data in the PDF format. In that case you can upload a Word document (.docx) version of your resume instead.

Proofread

Grammatical errors and typos are a sure shot way of getting your application rejected by ATS softwares. This is one of the final and most important steps to ensure your resume is ready for perusal. Take your time proofreading and editing your sales representative resume till you are absolutely satisfied with the final version.

Test Your Resume Online

There are several ATS compatibility tools available online to make sure your resume is ready to go through the software. We recommend taking your sales resume for a test run on one of the many ATS resume checkers online, review your score and make any necessary adjustments. This sort of due diligence will fare you well and ensure that your resume is not bypassed by any software.

Customise Your Sales Resume for Each Job Application

This step may seem tedious but we cannot stress enough how important it is. You need to understand that you cannot have one general sales resume that can be possibly relevant for all job applications. Each job posting has distinct requirements and you need to tailor your resume to align with these requirements every time before you apply to a company. This is the only way to ensure that your sales resume gets shortlisted and increases your chances of landing an actual interview with a hiring manager, potential employer and recruiter.

The Role of a Sales Representative

A sales representative, also known as a sales rep, plays a crucial role in acquainting clients with the company’s product in order to drive sales and generate revenue. As a sales rep your primary role is to efficiently and effectively sell the company’s products. Let’s take a look at some of the main responsibilities of a sales rep.

• Sales representatives present a company’s products and services to clients and customers using consumer market research to best represent the company and its products.
• A sales rep is responsible for lead generation and identifying potential clients and customers via cold calling, attending relevant events, social media etc.
• A sales representative is expected to engage with potential and existing customers to build lasting relationships and be intuitive about their needs and demands to serve them well.
• A sales rep is required to meet their sales targets and sales quotas within the stipulated time.
• Sales executives need to be proficient in maintaining and documenting accurate records of customer interactions, sales activities in a customer relationship management (CRM) software.
• Sales representatives need to be aware of industry trends and market conditions to effectively adapt their sales strategies and stay relevant.
• Closing sales and securing contracts is one of the most important parts of the sales job. They need to use various sales techniques to encourage customers to purchase the company’s products and services.
• Client account management is also offered by a sales rep post the closing of sales and this includes ensuring customer satisfaction and being available to address any issues or concerns that may arise.
• A sales representative’s constant endeavor is to improve products and services, based on the customer feedback and heighten the overall customer experience.
• Cross-functional team collaborations are also part of the sales job where you are expected to align strategies with the marketing, customer support or other teams to deliver high quality customer service.

How to Be an Effective Sales Representative?

As a sales representative you should always be striving to better your skills and qualifications and figure out innovative sales techniques and strategies to further your career. Here are some tips to help you level up your sales game and be an effective sales rep.

• Understanding your company’s products and services is paramount to best serve your customers and clients. You need to stay updated with the latest developments in the products to accurately present them to your customer base.
• Identify your target audience and tailor your sales approach in accordance with the customer’s needs and demands.
• Relationship building is a key aspect of the job and a barometer of your performance as a sales representative. Active listening and understanding the customers’ needs will ensure you make lasting relationships with your customer and client base.
• One of the most important skills you need to be an effective salesperson is the gift of the gab or strong communication skills. You need to be able to reel in potential customers and clients with your persuasive language and engaging presentation skills.
• To be a successful salesperson, you need to acquaint yourself with the end to end sales process, starting from lead generation to closing the sales and continuing post-sale customer support.
• Adopt and utilise technology like CRM softwares to effectively manage customer relationships, track and record interactions.
• To better yourself as a sales representative you need to be willing to take feedback from your customers and colleagues to improve your sales approach and strategies.

Career Outlook for a Sales Representative

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the employment rate of sales managers is projected to grow at a steady rate of 4% from 2022 to 2032. There is a projection of about 43,600 openings for the sales manager position each year for the next decade. Ultimately, the employment growth of sales professionals is directly dependent on the growth of the industries that employ them. These professionals are instrumental in ensuring a company’s profitability. So, till the economy continues to grow there will always be a need and demand for sales managers to help companies meet their sales targets.

The average median salary of a sales manager was calculated at $130,600 as of May,2022. The lower 10% of this database earned around $61,040 and the upper 10% earned more than $239,200. There are multiple factors at play while calculating a sales position salary as it varies from company to company, the employee’s salary, sales commission and salary bonuses.

Add a Cover Letter to Your Sales Resume

A cover letter gives you the opportunity to personalise your sales resume for each application and shows that you are willing to go the extra mile to demonstrate your interest in the sales position that you are applying for. It helps you express and convey your enthusiasm for the sales role, a sentiment that is bound to resonate with any potential employer. You can use a cover letter to expand on your achievements and provide more details and context that may have been left out from your sales resume. You can utilise this space to touch upon your career goals and how the company aligns with your personal work ethic to demonstrate that you are a perfect fit for the sales position. Remember, a cover letter can be the main differentiating factor that helps you stand out from similarly qualified applicants and helps you make a great first impression with hiring managers and recruiters.

Key Takeaways

• Pick a suitable resume format for your sales representative resume.
• Pay attention and accurately add your personal information on your sales resume header.
• List your professional experience in a reverse chronological order.
• Use bullet points and begin the phrases with action verbs.
• Mention all your relevant skills and qualifications.
• Don’t forget to mention any sales certifications you may have received.
• Maintain consistent formatting and typing throughout your sales resume.
• Ensure that you have taken measures to make your resume ATS friendly.
• Always proofread your resume to ensure that it is free of errors.
• Consider complementing your sales resume with a professional cover letter.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What should be included in a sales representative resume?

• Resume Header
• Professional Summary
• Work Experience
• Relevant skills
• Education
• Certifications
• Additional Sections (Optional)

How to write an impactful professional summary for a sales rep?

• Job title
• Key Experience (with number of years worked)
• Top skills and qualifications
• Your unique expertise and the value addition it is for the employer

What are the important skills that should be included in a sales representative resume?

• Proficient in sales techniques (inbound and outbound sales,consultative selling)
• Product knowledge
• Proficient in CRM software (Salesforce, HubSpot)
• Negotiation skills
• Presentation skills
• Current Market knowledge
• Generating leads
• Strong communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Active Listening
• Relationship building
• Time management
• Project management
• Problem solving
• Customer service skills
• Presentation skills