Sales Resume: Example, Template & How to Write Guide for 2024

You’ve just seen a job posting for a sales job that’s to die for.

An opportunity of a lifetime that’s going to boost your career path.

Applications close in two days.

But you’re still struggling to write a sales resume to impress the recruiters.

Relax – you’re at the right place.

This article shows you exactly how to do it properly.

Plus, we look at various resumes for sales positions.

You’ll find sales resume examples, resume templates, and resume sample excerpts so you can choose the best resume format.

There’s a step-by-step guide on how to write content recruiters want to see, as well.

Follow our top-rated sales resume guide and resume writing will never trip you up again.

Let’s get you started on winning that interview with the sales manager.

Sales Resume Examples

The sales industry is very broad. Every type of organization needs a salesforce, but each sector requires different sales skills.

There’s the sales representative, retail floor sales, call center sales, real estate, account manager, sales manager…

Whatever your line, you want a sales resume that - well - sells your sales experience to hiring managers.

Some resume samples are hard to find, like real estate resume examples.

That’s why we’ve included three diverse sales resume samples for you to go through.

Below are -

• A sample resume for real estate agent
• An entry level sales resume
• A sales manager resume example

Sales Resume Samples

Download This Resume Example

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How to Write a Good Sales Professional Resume in 2024: Guide to the Best Sales Resumes

Each kind of sales job has its own sales skills sets.

As a pro sales rep, though, you know first impressions are crucial, right? Well, it’s even more critical when it comes to your sales job resume.

If you want to impress, you’ve got no more than a few seconds to do so.

Your sales job description for resume must immediately give the reader the information they’re looking for. In the early stages of the hiring process, resumes for sales positions are merely scanned. The applicant tracking system and recruiters search for critical keywords only.

Should they find them, your resume moves to the interview shortlist; if not, it moves to the bin.

All good sales strategies tell you to “know your client and give them what they want”.

Do that with your sales resume.

Start by carefully studying the job posting to ensure you know what the sales manager wants. Now, research the company and check out management’s LinkedIn profiles to learn as much as possible.

Understand the business, products or services, management values and expectations and company culture. That way, you know your client and can give them what they want.

If you’ve got what it takes and the relevant skills, it’s time to get cracking on your sales jobs resume.

Each application must have a unique targeted resume, meaning you can’t send a generic sales resume. Not only would it be too long, but it would also be full of irrelevant info.

Considering all applications are only allotted a few seconds for initial scanning, multi-paged resumes are almost always excluded. There’s no time to scroll and search for vital keywords.

Limit your sales resume to one and no more than two pages. You achieve this by only including work experience and sales skills relevant to the job posting.

An excellent time-saver is to meticulously create a master sales resume.

Take your time and include every job you’ve had with a complete job description, employers and tenure dates. List your education, courses and certifications, professional memberships and achievements, too.

Save your master resume with all relevant documents in a folder and update it when anything changes. Make it a living document. That way, you can write perfect resumes for sales job in a flash.

What do you include in your targeted sales resume?

Everything you’d usually include, just refined down to only what’s mentioned in the job posting.

In other words, you only give them the sales skills, work experience and education listed in the job posting.

Starting with the resume summary for sales and ending with the reference section, ensure your sales resume is targeted toward meeting their needs.

Before we get into how it’s done, let’s get a quick low-down on applicant tracking systems or ATS.

Virtually all hiring processes today are supported end-to-end by ATS.

Written into ATS is parsing software that compares critical keywords loaded for each job title to all applications. These keywords are given to recruiters by hiring managers when they write the job description.

Sales resumes that don’t have a good ratio of keywords are never seen by a human eye. The ATS sends an auto-regret, and the job’s done.

Next up is a step-by-step guide on writing a sales resume that outshines all other job seekers.

Personal Information

Without personal information on your sales resume, you’re uncontactable.

Think that never happens?

Honestly, think again!

Every once in a while, an anonymous application comes through.

Of course, that would never happen when you use a resume builder.

You don’t want to impress here. All you want is for recruiters to be able to get in touch.

Include your full names, contact details and residential address, or just the city and state.

If you have an updated LinkedIn profile, this is the section to include the link. It’s an excellent way to showcase additional sales experience not included in your sales resume.

Personal Information Example

Make this section straightforward, self-explanatory and easy to find.

How to Format this Section

Keep this section concise in a clear business font with proper spacing to make it reader-friendly and absorbing.

Carefully edit the info before you share your sales resume. The slightest typo in your contact information can result in your application being overlooked.

Sales Resume Objective

A resume objective or resume summary opens your sales resume.

It’s the first words scanned by parsers and read by recruiters.

Since it carries so much weight, you must craft a compelling resume summary for sales. Include the right keywords and crucial info to make it engaging.

This is your only opportunity to hook them in and make them continue reading.

Should you write a resume objective or a sales resume summary?

A resume objective details what you offer and intend to achieve, including your sales goals. It’s used mainly by entry-level sales representatives or candidates looking to change careers.

Conversely, a sales resume summary is a brief synopsis of work experience, sales skills and achievements aligned with the job.

Recruiters and hiring managers only want to see what you offer and how it will help the business. Set that out very clearly, and confidently in your summary for sales resume.

Is a Cover Letter the Same as a Resume Summary for Sales?

No, they differ entirely in presentation and purpose.

A is a brief synopsis of your career and achievements. Similarly, a condenses your work experience and future goals.

A resume summary and objective are openers on sales resumes giving recruiters brief insight into an applicant.

In comparison, a cover letter is formal and addressed to a specific person.

It refers to the addressee by name and motivates your application.

While there’s no limit to a cover letter’s word count, it shouldn’t exceed one page. The longer the content, the more tiresome it becomes for the reader.

There’s more room to go into your abilities and motivations, but still only include stated job requirements.

Use a cover letter sparingly, and never keep a generic copy to go with every job application.

There are two instances when you send your resume for sales job with a cover letter –

1. Where the job posting asks for a cover letter
2. If you’re applying directly and not responding to a public job ad

Usually, direct applications are entry-level sales candidates who submit their new sales resume with a cover letter.

A potential employer open to direct applications may exclude recruiters and ATS.

However, don’t do this for public job posts. Businesses have transparent hiring processes, requiring all applicants to apply via the same channels. Direct applications are usually excluded.

Summary for sales resume examples to see how it’s done -

Resume Objective for Entry Level Sales Resumes

Note how this sales resume objective uses soft skills and preferences to showcase suitability.

Resume Summary for an Experienced Resume for Sales Position

This resume summary for sales makes perfect use of numbers, values and stats to highlight many years of experience.

How to Format this Section

Conjure up all your sales skills to convince recruiters you’re worth interviewing in no more than 80 words.

Make it powerful and persuasive to convince them they need to hire you. Use action verbs, numbers and statistics to spur the reader’s curiosity.

Use the opportunity to elevate your career highlights, successes and impressive sales track record. Make it qualifiable by adding stats, figures and currency for maximum impact.

Write a new resume objective for each job application and include specific keywords from the job posting.

Professional Work Experience

The experience section lists all your professional sales knowledge mentioned in the job ad.

Together with the skills section, it’s the first place recruiters and ATS visit.

Extract details for your master sales resume and tailor it to match the job you’re applying for. Avoid the temptation to include inessential details, but also don’t exclude essential info.

Ensure you use the same job title and keywords in the job description per the post. List your responsibilities in the same order of importance as well.

Effectively, you want your sales experience resume to mirror the sales job advertisement.

Each business is unique and has its own jargon and keywords. These are some typical sales keywords to look out for when crafting your sales job description for resume –

• Account manager
• BtoB
• BtoC
• Business development
• Cold calling
• Communication skills
• CRM
• Internal sales
• Metrics
• New sales
• Outside sales
• Problem-solving
• Product knowledge
• Prospecting
• Sales associate
• Sales experience
• Salesforce
• Sales goals
• Salesperson
• Sales team
• Sales pitch
• Sales representative
• Sales strategies
• Sales targets
• Social media
• Time management
• Track record

Professional Work Experience Example

See how this sales job description resume mentions only essential experience stated in the job post.

How to Format this Section

The experience section must be easy to follow but still contain pertinent info.

Opt for a reverse-chronological resume for sales jobs because it works best and shows a potential employer your worth.

Use bullet points, clear business fonts and plenty of white space to make scanning easy for readers.

Craft each core responsibility into a single bullet point, and don’t combine critical duties.

Various hiring team members will view your sales representative resume in the hiring process. It will also be referred to during interviews, so keep navigation simple.

Include quantifiable results in values, stats, metrics and percentages for greater impact in less words.

Finally, always follow the same order as the job posting.

Education and Courses

As a sales professional, you may or may not require a degree, depending on your industry.

Many companies hire salespersons with a high school diploma and develop them within the industry.

Frequently, highly specialized top sales professionals started in entry-level sales roles. They gain on-the-job experience while doing short courses to further their product knowledge.

The fewer years of experience you have in sales, the more relevant your education is.

Where you’ve got less than three years in sales, mention your highest education. If it’s high school, include your GPA if it’s around 3 to 3.5. Don’t mention a lower than 3 GPA.

When you’ve been in sales for several years, you can focus on courses and certifications instead and omit your high school education.

Staying at the cutting edge of your sales game means ongoing learning is essential. Not only to hone your sales skills but to keep abreast with sales tech and improve product knowledge.

Short courses and certifications in sales will help you carve a successful career path in sales.

Ongoing learning platforms are excellent for keeping your skills up-to-date. Refresher courses help you stay with the latest sales trends, making you more employable than other job seekers.

Registrations and courses with professional sales industry bodies count for a lot, too.

Education & Courses Example

Generally, only include your highest level of education and most recent courses unless the job asks for something specific.

How to Format this Section

Make the courses and education section reader-friendly and accurate.

If you have several qualifications, list them in descending order, starting with the most recent.

Separate formal education from short courses if you have both and they’re relevant to the job.

Write the institution first, the qualification and dates.

Omit outdated education from years ago unless the post states it specifically.

Only include GPAs, subjects and marks if you have little to no prior working experience.

Sales Resume Skills

The sales resume skills section is another hangout for ATS, hiring managers and recruiters.

Each sales role requires different hard and sales skills depending on the product or service and the target market.

Sound product knowledge is essential for any professional salesperson. Equally, understanding your target market builds your sales skills.

For instance, selling B2B requires an entirely different approach to selling B2C.

On the other hand, soft skills in sales are more general.

Differentiating between hard and soft skills can be tricky, so consider it this way –

• Hard skills refer to learnable and teachable skills we acquire through education and hands-on experience
• Soft skills are associated with personality traits we’ve developed, known as interpersonal skills

Take them from the job advert and keep them in the same order on your sales resume.

Examples of hard skills include –

• Costing
• Pricing
• CRM
• Data analysis
• Market research
• Metrics
• Microsoft Applications
• Sales initiatives
• Sales pitch
• Sales quotes
• Sales strategy
• Sales targets
• Social media
• Time management

Soft skills include –

• Active listening
• Adaptability
• Communication skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Empathy
• Initiative
• Innovation
• Leadership
• Openness to feedback
• Problem-solving
• Teamwork

Sales Skills Example

As in this resume for sales and marketing, list and rate your relevant skills for easy assessment.

How to Format this Section

Only list skills featured in the post. You can elaborate further during interviews on other relevant skills you have that aren’t mentioned.

In the application stage, focus on getting parsers to find your skills and move your sales resume to the shortlist. Make your resume wording short and mirror the phrases from the job post.

As well, honestly rate each skill to your level of proficiency. Don’t overstate or claim to have sales resume skills you haven’t got. It could cost you the opportunity.

References

Close your marketing resume with the references section.

There’s always a margin of risk when applying for jobs in the public domain. Usually, you know very little about the company besides what they put online.

For privacy and security reasons, avoid giving referees full contact details. Sharing referees’ names, contact numbers, and emails could result in misuse

If the sales job posting doesn’t ask for contactable references, opt for listing references available on request.

Two references are adequate. Always confirm upfront that referees are still available and willing to provide a reference. That way, they know to expect a call, and you can confidently give their contact details.

An uncontactable reference or one who doesn’t remember you creates a wrong impression which could cost you a perfect career move.

References Example

Clean and clear without any unnecessary details is all that’s required.

How to Format this Section

Accurate and precise details are all that’s necessary.

Just as with your own contact information, don’t overlook the importance of correctness when providing names and contact details.

Hiring managers are unlikely to pursue uncontactable references, which can reflect poorly on your application.

Other Resume in Sales and Marketing Templates

If these sales resume examples aren’t exactly what you’re looking for, we’ve got loads of other sales resume templates –

• Retail Sales Associate Resume Example
• Product Manager Resume Sample
• Business Consulting Resume Sample
• Customer Service Resume Example
• Sales Manager Resume Example
• Sales Representative Resume Example

Final Points on Sales and Marketing Resumes

Resume writing takes time if you want flawless results.

Thorough work upfront before submitting resumes for sales position pays off during interviews.

A resume builder makes the process much easier and delivers an uber professional result. Perfect your content, select from a host of sales resume templates, and you’re ready to impress.

And if the resume template you’ve chosen doesn’t look right, you can change it with a single click.

Let’s recap on the essentials for writing your best resume for marketing -

• Write a master resume and keep it as a living document
• Target each job individually
• Researching companies before applying
• Extract keywords from each job post
• Take time selecting info from your master resume
• Craft a persuasive resume summary
• Back it up in your skills and work experience section
• Stay with a one to two-page sales resume
• Use professional but easy-to-read wording
• Include numbers and statistics for impact
• Use action verbs and positive language to keep it engaging
• Submit your resume in pdf format