One specific resume challenge faced by B2B sales professionals is effectively showcasing your ability to nurture long-term client relationships and negotiate complex deals. Our comprehensive guide provides you with tailored tips and examples on how to articulate these intricate skills, ensuring your resume stands out to potential employers.
- Find different B2B sales resume examples to serve as inspiration to your professional presentation.
- How to use the summary or objective to highlight your career achievements.
- How to create the experience section to tell your story.
- Must have certificates and what to include in the education section of your resume.
If the B2B sales resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:
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- Sales Officer Resume Example
- Sales And Marketing Executive Resume Example
- Sales Support Specialist Resume Example
- Commercial Manager Resume Example
- Sales Recruiter Resume Example
- Business Analyst Retail Resume Example
- Sales Administrator Resume Example
The importance of format and layout in your B2B sales resume
Consider you're an HR professional at company X, evaluating two B2B sales candidate resumes. John Smith presents a simple, traditional, and easy-to-read resume. Edward Price, however, uses a non-conventional, often illegible format. Whose resume would you spend more time on to understand their experience? This scenario underscores the importance of your B2B sales resume’s design. It should be simply formatted and clearly communicate why you are the ideal candidate for the role.
Achieve this balance by:
- Listing your experience, beginning with the most recent and relevant, in reverse chronological order;
- Ensuring your header contains essential information, such as contact details, a headline, and a portfolio link. Include a professional photo in the B2B sales resume header if you have one;
- Including only the most important and relevant resume sections to showcase your expertise and stand out from other candidates;
- Editing your B2B sales resume to be no longer than two pages if you have extensive relevant experience. Use your limited resume space judiciously.
Also, remember that your B2B sales resume might initially be scanned by an Applicant Tracker System (ATS).
When it comes to ATS:
- Opt for simple and legible fonts like Raleway, Rubik, Lato, etc., making your experience easy for the ATS to scan;
- Use serif and sans-serif fonts, both of which are ATS-friendly;
- Avoid overused options like Arial and Times New Roman, which, while suitable, may lack personality.
Contrary to a common myth, our recent study shows that the ATS can effectively process both one-column and two-column resumes. Learn more about this in the ATS myths guide.
Finally, when submitting your B2B sales resume, always export it as a PDF to ensure all information remains intact, making the document easier to print, read, and scan.
Keep in mind market-specific formats – for example, a Canadian resume might follow a different structure.
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PRO TIP
If you failed to obtain one of the certificates, as listed in the requirements, but decide to include it on your resume, make sure to include a note somewhere that you have the "relevant training, but are planning to re-take the exams". Support this statement with the actual date you're planning to be re-examined. Always be honest on your resume.
The key to your B2B sales job-winning resume - present your expertise with these sections:
- A header to make your resume more scannable
- Snapshot of who you are as a professional with your resume soft skills, achievements, and summary or objective
- Job advert keywords in the skills section of your resume
- Resume experience quantifying your past job successes with metrics
- A relevant education, certification, and technical sills section to provide background to your technological/software capabilities
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Proven sales track record with quantifiable achievements such as meeting or exceeding sales targets
- Experience in long sales cycles and negotiation skills tailored to B2B transactions
- Strong understanding of the industry and market dynamics relevant to the products or services being sold
- Excellent relationship-building and account management abilities to maintain long-term business partnerships
- Demonstrable experience in using CRM systems and sales software tools to manage and track sales efforts
What to include in the experience section of your B2B sales resume
The resume experience section is perhaps the most important element in your application as it needs to showcase how your current profile matches the job.
While it may take some time to perfect your B2B sales experience section, here are five tips to keep in mind when writing yours:
- Assess the advert to make a list of key requirements and look back on how each of your past jobs answers those;
- Don't just showcase you know a particular skill, instead, you need proof in the form of tangible results (e.g. numbers, percent, etc.);
- It's perfectly fine to leave off experience items that don't bring anything extra to your skill set or application;
- Recruiters want to understand what the particular value is of working with you, so instead of solely featuring technologies, think about including at least one bullet that's focused on your soft skills;
- Take care with wording each bullet to demonstrate what you've achieved, using a particular skill, and an action verb.
The below B2B sales resume examples can help guide you to curate your professional experience, following industry-leading tips and advice.
- Developed and executed strategic plans to achieve sales targets and expand customer base among SMEs, leading to a 25% annual growth in client acquisitions.
- Managed negotiations of sales contracts for technological solutions, improving average deal size by 18% over the 2-year period.
- Fostered client relationships, resulting in a 40% increase in repeat business and securing a 95% client satisfaction rate as indicated in annual surveys.
- Identified and penetrated new market segments in the manufacturing sector, contributing to a 20% boost in sales volume.
- Led a cross-functional team in the successful launch of a CRM platform tailored for B2B sales, which captured a 15% market share within the first year.
- Implemented a sales forecasting model that increased accuracy by 30%, enabling better inventory management and reducing overhead by 10%.
- Championed a SaaS solution to Fortune 500 companies, with a successful conversion rate leading to a $1.2M increase in annual recurring revenue.
- Conducted comprehensive market analysis to tailor pitches for industry-specific needs, enhancing proposal acceptance rates by 25%.
- Implemented a referral program that incentivized existing customers, generating an additional 35 qualified leads per quarter.
- Independently managed a sales pipeline that consistently outperformed targets by 20%, securing an average of $500K in monthly contracts.
- Coordinated with marketing to develop targeted content for B2B clients, resulting in a 50% improvement in lead conversion rates.
- Spearheaded the transition to a digital sales platform, contributing to a streamlined sales process that cut lead times by an average of 15%.
- Led a sales team to consistently exceed quota by an average of 30% quarterly through effective training and performance incentives.
- Negotiated and closed complex contracts with key accounts that contributed to a 40% increase in market share within the enterprise software sector.
- Pioneered a consultative sales approach tailored for B2B clients that enhanced customer engagement and sped up the sales cycle by 22%.
- Grew the customer base by targeting and converting high-value accounts in the healthcare industry, resulting in a 45% enhancement of annual sales figures.
- Streamlined sales and CRM processes by integrating cutting-edge technology, leading to operational efficiency and a 25% reduction in sales cycle duration.
- Directed the B2B department's participation in regional trade shows that increased brand visibility and generated over 200 viable leads annually.
- Drove multinational sales initiatives that penetrated new markets in Asia-Pacific and Europe, expanding the company's global footprint by 20%.
- Collaborated with product development teams to inform the design of user-centric software solutions, bolstering customer retention by 35%.
- Championed a data-driven sales approach, which leveraged analytics to optimize marketing campaigns and elevate lead generation by 40%.
- Cultivated a deep understanding of client business challenges to advise on bespoke tech solutions, leading to a top performer status with $750K in sales for Q2 2013.
- Revamped the customer feedback system to provide actionable insights to the product team, leading to improvements that reduced churn by 18%.
- Developed and nurtured C-level executive relationships that led to strategic partnerships and a 60% client retention rate over 3 years.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- List the percentage by which you exceeded your sales targets to demonstrate your ability to deliver above expectations.
- Include the exact number of new accounts you secured to showcase your business development skills.
- Mention the total revenue generated to highlight your direct impact on the company's growth.
- Specify the size of deals closed, for example in dollar terms, to illustrate your capacity for handling high-value transactions.
- Document the efficiency improvements you made, quantified by time saved, to show your proactive approach to streamlining processes.
- Indicate the number of team members you led or trained to establish your leadership and mentoring capabilities.
- Provide the percentage increase in customer satisfaction or retention to underline your client management and service skills.
- Cite the reduction in sales cycle length, in percentage or days, to prove your effectiveness in closing deals more rapidly.
Action verbs for your B2B sales resume
Four quick steps for candidates with no resume experience
Those with less or no relevant experience could also make a good impression on recruiters by:
- Taking the time to actually understand what matters most to the role and featuring this within key sections of their resume
- Investing resume space into defining what makes them a valuable candidate with transferrable skills and personality
- Using the resume objective to showcase their personal vision for growth within the company
- Heavily featuring their technical alignment with relevant certifications, education, and skills.
Remember that your resume is about aligning your profile to that of the ideal candidate.
The more prominently you can demonstrate how you answer job requirements, the more likely you'd be called in for an interview.
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PRO TIP
List all your relevant higher education degrees within your resume in reverse chronological order (starting with the latest). There are cases when your PhD in a particular field could help you stand apart from other candidates.
Featuring your hard skills and soft skills on your B2B sales resume
The skills section of your B2B sales resume needs to your various capabilities that align with the job requirements. List hard skills (or technical skills) to showcase to potential employers that you're perfectly apt at dealing with technological innovations and niche software. Meanwhile, your soft skills need to detail how you'd thrive within your new, potential environment with personal skills (e.g. resilience, negotiation, organization, etc.) Your B2B sales resume skills section needs to include both types of skills to promote how you're both technical and cultural fit. Here's how to create your bespoke B2B sales skills section to help you stand out:
- Focus on skill requirements that are listed toward the top of the job advert.
- Include niche skills that you've worked hard to obtain.
- Select specific soft skills that match the company (or the department) culture.
- Cover some of the basic job requirements by including important skills for the B2B sales role - ones you haven't been able to list through the rest of your resume.
Get inspired with our B2B sales sample skill list to list some of the most prominent hard and soft skills across the field.
Top skills for your B2B sales resume:
CRM Software (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot)
Data Analysis Tools (e.g., Excel, Tableau)
Email Marketing Platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, Constant Contact)
Lead Generation Tools (e.g., LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo)
Sales Automation Software (e.g., Outreach, Salesloft)
Proposal Management Tools (e.g., PandaDoc, Proposify)
Contract Management Software (e.g., DocuSign, HelloSign)
Webinar Platforms (e.g., Zoom, GoToWebinar)
Content Management Systems (e.g., WordPress, Drupal)
Social Media Management Tools (e.g., Hootsuite, Buffer)
Communication
Negotiation
Relationship Building
Problem Solving
Time Management
Adaptability
Emotional Intelligence
Persuasion
Team Collaboration
Customer-centric Mindset
PRO TIP
Listing your relevant degrees or certificates on your B2B sales resume is a win-win situation. Not only does it hint at your technical capabilities in the industry, but an array of soft skills, like perseverance, adaptability, and motivation.
Education section and most popular B2B sales certifications for your resume
Your resume education section is crucial. It can indicate a range of skills and experiences pertinent to the position.
- Mention only post-secondary qualifications, noting the institution and duration.
- If you're still studying, highlight your anticipated graduation date.
- Omit qualifications not pertinent to the role or sector.
- If it provides a chance to emphasize your accomplishments, describe your educational background, especially in a research-intensive setting.
Recruiters value B2B sales candidates who have invested their personal time into their professional growth. That's why you should include both your relevant education and certification . Not only will this help you stand out amongst candidates, but showcase your dedication to the field. On your B2B sales resume, ensure you've:
- Curated degrees and certificates that are relevant to the role
- Shown the institution you've obtained them from - for credibility
- Include the start and end dates (or if your education/certification is pending) to potentially fill in your experience gaps
- If applicable, include a couple of job advert keywords (skills or technologies) as part of the certification or degree description
If you decide to list miscellaneous certificates (that are irrelevant to the role), do so closer to the bottom of your resume. In that way, they'd come across as part of your personal interests, instead of experience. The team at Enhancv has created for you a list of the most popular B2B sales certificates - to help you update your resume quicker:
The top 5 certifications for your B2B sales resume:
- Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP) - National Association of Sales Professionals
- Certified Sales Leadership Professional (CSLP) - The Sales Management Association
- Strategic Account Management Certification (SAMA) - Strategic Account Management Association
- Challenger Development Program (CDP) - Challenger
- Miller Heiman Strategic Selling Certification (MHSSC) - Miller Heiman Group
PRO TIP
If you failed to obtain one of the certificates, as listed in the requirements, but decide to include it on your resume, make sure to include a note somewhere that you have the "relevant training, but are planning to re-take the exams". Support this statement with the actual date you're planning to be re-examined. Always be honest on your resume.
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Which one to use: a resume summary or a resume objective?
The B2B sales resume summary or objective serves as a good introduction to your experience for recruiters.
Have you ever wondered which one (the summary or objective) will be more appropriate for your B2B sales resume?
- If you are a less experienced professional, write a resume objective statement. The objective is about three sentences long and provides recruiters with information about your career goals, strengths, and achievements . It should basically denote how you see yourself in this particular role, and what is your relevant experience and/or know-how;
- If you happen to have plenty of relevant experience, select your most impressive achievements for your resume summary. The summary is no longer than five sentences and serves as a storytelling instrument - highlighting your greatest career wins . Don't forget to align your summary with the job requirements to ensure your resume stays relevant to the role.
Read on for more information and examples of resume summaries and objectives from real world professionals.
Resume summaries for a B2B sales job
- Seasoned B2B sales strategist with over a decade of experience within the software solutions sector, bringing a proven track record of surpassing multimillion-dollar targets and facilitating a 70% year-on-year growth for the last three years. Expertise in complex negotiations, CRM management, and market penetration initiatives has cemented a reputation as a dynamic force in driving business success.
- With 8 years of robust experience in pharmaceutical sales, this driven professional has consistently delivered on KPIs, resulting in a 150% increase in territory sales. Expert in leveraging clinical knowledge and strategic selling skills to foster trust and secure business deals with healthcare providers and institutions across the Southeast region.
- Accomplished professional with extensive experience in the hospitality industry, transitioning into B2B sales with a deep understanding of client relationship management and contract negotiation. Recognized for leading a team that boosted hotel revenue by 90% through innovative service packages, ready to apply transferable skills to exceed sales targets in a new industry.
- An analytical thinker with a strong background in data analysis and a passion for technology, eager to transfer a keen eye for detail and problem-solving abilities into the competitive world of B2B tech sales. Excellent communicator with a track record of interpreting complex data sets and presenting actionable insights to drive decision-making within Fortune 500 companies.
- Ambitious graduate with a Master's in Business Administration, eager to apply theoretical knowledge and newly acquired skills in sales forecasting and market research to deliver value and drive sales growth. Keen to learn from industry leaders and contribute to a forward-thinking sales team through fresh perspectives and a tenacious commitment to achieving business objectives.
- Recent marketing major with internship experience in digital advertising campaigns aiming to transition into B2B sales, leveraging strong presentation skills, a knack for persuasive communication, and a thorough understanding of the digital landscape to build lasting relationships with businesses and contribute to the sales department's success.
Recruiters' favorite additional B2B sales resume sections
When writing your B2B sales resume, you may be thinking to yourself, " Is there anything more I can add on to stand out? ".
Include any of the below four sections you deem relevant, to ensure your B2B sales resume further builds up your professional and personal profile:
Key takeaways
- All aspects of your resume should be selected to support your bid for being the perfect candidate for the role;
- Be intentional about listing your skill set to be balanced with both technical and people capabilities, while aligning with the job;
- Include any experience items that are relevant to the role and ensure you feature the outcomes of your responsibilities;
- Use the summary or objective as a screenshot of your best experience highlights;
- Curate various resume sections to showcase personal, transferable skills.
