As a sales professional, distinguishing yourself from a pool of equally qualified candidates can be a daunting resume challenge. Our guide delivers precise strategies tailored to elevate your unique skills and experience, ensuring you stand out in a competitive job market.
- Get inspired from our sales professional resume samples with industry-leading skills, certifications, and more.
- Show how you can impact the organization with your resume summary and experience.
- Introducing your unique sales professional expertise with a focus on tangible results and achievements.
If the sales professional resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:
- Insurance Agent Resume Example
- Senior Sales Manager Resume Example
- Assistant Manager Retail Resume Example
- Sales Specialist Resume Example
- Saleswoman Resume Example
- Customer Success Manager Resume Example
- B2B Sales Resume Example
- Advertising Sales Executive Resume Example
- Enterprise Sales Resume Example
- Regional Sales Manager Resume Example
Simple guide to your sales professional resume format and layout
Successful sales professional resumes all have one specific characteristic - candidates have invested in a simple resume layout . One that is easy to read, makes a good first impression, and is adapted to their professional experience. There are three distinct resume formats to help you focus on your:
- professional experience - use the reverse-chronological resume format;
- skills and achievements - via the functional skill-based resume format;
- both experience and skills - with a hybrid resume format .
What is more, keep in mind that your resume may be initially assessed by the ATS (Applicant Tracker System) (or the software used by companies in the hiring process). The sales professional resumes that suit the ATS:
- have a header that includes either a role keyword or the job you're applying for;
- should be no longer than two pages;
- be submitted as PDF, unless specified otherwise.
Keep in mind the market you’re applying to – a Canadian resume, for instance, might have a unique layout.
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PRO TIP
If you happen to have plenty of certificates, select the ones that are most applicable and sought-after across the industry. Organize them by relevance to the role you're applying for.
The key to your sales professional 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 track record of sales achievements, including meeting or exceeding sales targets and quotas.
- Strong communication and negotiation skills to effectively close deals and maintain client relationships.
- Experience with relevant sales tools and technology, such as CRM software and sales automation platforms.
- Understanding of the sales process and the ability to strategize and execute successful sales plans.
- Industry-specific knowledge and experience to target the appropriate market and understand customer needs.
Writing your sales professional resume experience
Within the body of your sales professional resume is perhaps one of the most important sections - the resume experience one. Here are five quick tips on how to curate your sales professional professional experience:
- Include your expertise that aligns to the job requirements;
- Always ensure that you qualify your achievements by including a skill, what you did, and the results your responsibility led to;
- When writing each experience bullet, ensure you're using active language;
- If you can include a personal skill you've grown, thanks to your experience, this would help you stand out;
- Be specific about your professional experience - it's not enough that you can "communicate", but rather what's your communication track record?
Wondering how other professionals in the industry are presenting their job-winning sales professional resumes? Check out how these sales professional professionals put some of our best practices into action:
- Drove a 30% increase in sales within the first year by implementing strategic lead generation and nurturing practices at a leading software company.
- Successfully managed a portfolio of 50+ accounts, maintaining a 95% retention rate through personalized account management and proactive problem-solving.
- Collaborated with the marketing team to co-develop an inbound marketing campaign that contributed to a 40% increase in qualified leads.
- Executed a major contract negotiation with a key client, securing a two-year deal worth $5M for cloud services, exceeding the quarterly target by 150%.
- Established and fostered relationships with key stakeholders in the SaaS industry, expanding market reach and brand visibility for the company.
- Conducted comprehensive data analysis to refine the sales process, which slashed the sales cycle duration by an average of 20 days.
- Initiated and led the adoption of a new CRM system that improved sales tracking and customer engagement metrics across the sales department.
- Exceeded the annual sales target by orchestrating a seamless sales funnel optimization that boosted conversion rates by 35%.
- Developed and executed a training program for new sales hires, which reduced time-to-productivity by 25% and improved overall team performance.
- Led a cross-functional team in a market expansion strategy that resulted in acquiring 200+ new customers, with a projected long-term value of $10M.
- Implemented a client feedback loop that informed product development, directly impacting the creation of two new premium services.
- Guided a strategic pivot to focus on enterprise clients, which resulted in doubling the average deal size within 18 months.
- Transitioned the sales team to a remote working model without any loss in productivity or customer engagement during the 2020 health crisis.
- Developed a sales training module focused on upselling and cross-selling, which increased average customer lifetime value by 20%.
- Forged a partnership with the product team to align sales pitches with product roadmap, ensuring a 90% feature adoption rate by new clients.
- Diversified the sales portfolio by venturing into untapped markets, seeing an uptick of 25% in new business within the first six months.
- Crafted and executed a win-back campaign for churned customers, recovering 15% of lost subscribers within the first quarter of launching.
- Oversaw a sales team of 10 professionals, leading by example and consistently exceeding the regional sales target by at least 20%.
- Identified and penetrated three new industry verticals, contributing to a 50% increase in overall market share for the company's tech products.
- A key player in the strategic refresh of the sales playbook, which modernized approach techniques and resulted in a 30% uplift in customer engagement.
- Implemented a comprehensive customer satisfaction program that cut service complaint cases by half through proactive post-sale engagements.
- Spearheaded a successful pilot project for a new sales channel, which accounted for an additional revenue stream contributing 10% of the division's earnings.
- Optimized e-commerce sales strategies by integrating advanced analytics, leading to a 20% increase in online sales within the first year of implementation.
- Developed a referral incentive program that incentivized current clients to refer new business, resulting in a 15% increase in client acquisition.
The following content includes information from "O*NET OnLine" by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. The data represents the top responsibilities present on the task lists for sales professional professionals.
Top Responsibilities for Sales Professional:
- Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
- Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
- Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment.
- Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental.
- Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
- Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.
- Demonstrate use or operation of merchandise.
- Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.
- Ticket, arrange, and display merchandise to promote sales.
- Inventory stock and requisition new stock.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Include the precise revenue targets you hit or surpassed and by what percentage to demonstrate your ability to drive sales and generate income.
- List the exact number of new accounts you secured to showcase your effectiveness in expanding the customer base.
- Specify the dollar value of contracts you negotiated to emphasize your negotiation skills and ability to close high-value deals.
- Mention the percentage by which you grew your sales territory to highlight your strategic planning and execution abilities.
- Quantify the reduction in sales cycle time to illustrate your efficiency in moving leads through the pipeline.
- Detail the percentage increase in customer retention or repeat business to prove your competence in account management and customer satisfaction.
- State the number of products or services you've successfully launched to show your experience with bringing offerings to market.
- Measure the cost savings achieved through your sales strategies to demonstrate your contribution to the company's profitability.
Action verbs for your sales professional resume
Remember these four tips when writing your sales professional resume with no experience
You've done the work - auditing the job requirements for keywords and have a pretty good idea of the skill set the ideal candidate must possess.
Yet, your professional experience amounts to a summer internship .
Even if you have limited or no professional expertise that matches the role you're applying for, you can use the resume experience section to:
- List extracurricular activities that are relevant to the job requirements. Let's say you were editor-in-chief of your college newspaper or part of the engineering society. Both activities have taught you invaluable, transferrable skills (e.g. communication or leadership) that can be crucial for the job;
- Substitute jobs with volunteer experience. Participating in charity projects has probably helped you develop an array of soft skills (e.g. meeting deadlines and interpersonal communications). On the other hand, volunteering shows potential employers more about you: who you are and what are the causes you care about;
- Align job applications with your projects. Even your final-year thesis work could be seen as relevant experience, if it's in the same industry as the job you're applying for. Ensure you've listed the key skills your project has taught you, alongside tangible outcomes or your project success;
- Shift the focus to your transferrable skills. We've said it before, but recruiters will assess your profile upon both job requirements and the skills you possess. Consider what your current experience - both academic and life - has taught you and how you've been able to develop your talents.
Recommended reads:
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.
Creating your sales professional resume skills section: balancing hard skills and soft skills
Recruiters hiring for sales professional roles are always keen on hiring candidates with relevant technical and people talents. Hard skills or technical ones are quite beneficial for the industry - as they refer to your competency with particular software and technologies. Meanwhile, your soft (or people) skills are quite crucial to yours and the company's professional growth as they detail how you'd cooperate and interact in your potential environment. Here's how to describe your hard and soft skill set in your sales professional resume:
- Consider what the key job requirements are and list those towards the top of your skills section.
- Think of individual, specific skills that help you stand out amongst competitors, and detail how they've helped you succeed in the past.
- Look to the future of the industry and list all software/technologies which are forward-facing.
- Create a separate, technical skills section to supplement your experience and further align with the sales professional job advert. Find the perfect balance between your resume hard and soft skills with our two lists.
Top skills for your sales professional resume:
CRM Software (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot)
Data Analysis Tools (e.g., Excel, Google Analytics)
Email Marketing Platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, Constant Contact)
Sales Automation Tools (e.g., Outreach, SalesLoft)
Presentation Software (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote)
Social Media Management Tools (e.g., Hootsuite, Buffer)
Lead Generation Software (e.g., LinkedIn Sales Navigator)
E-commerce Platforms (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce)
Project Management Tools (e.g., Trello, Asana)
Communication Tools (e.g., Zoom, Slack)
Communication Skills
Negotiation Skills
Problem-Solving Skills
Time Management
Adaptability
Interpersonal Skills
Persuasion Skills
Customer Service Orientation
Team Collaboration
Emotional Intelligence
Next, you will find information on the top technologies for sales professional professonals from "O*NET OnLine" by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Top technologies for Sales Professional’s resume:
- Database software
- Microsoft Access
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word
- Plexis Software Plexis POS
- TokenWorks Magnetic Card Reader
PRO TIP
If you happen to have some basic certificates, don't invest too much of your sales professional resume real estate in them. Instead, list them within the skills section or as part of your relevant experience. This way you'd ensure you meet all job requirements while dedicating your certificates to only the most in-demand certification across the industry.
What are the best certificates to add to your sales professional resume + how to curate your education section
The education and certification resume sections are the underdogs of your sales professional resume.
They showcase to recruiters that you've invested plenty of time to gain valuable and specific know-how, vital for growth.
As far as the resume education section is concerned:
- Detail only advanced education, specifying the institution and timeframe.
- Indicate your forthcoming graduation date if you're in the midst of your studies.
- Consider omitting degrees that don't align with the job's requirements.
- Offer a description of your academic journey if it underscores your notable achievements.
When curating your degrees and certificates on your sales professional resume:
- Select only accreditation that matters to the role
- Niche knowledge that could help you stand out as a candidate (as is within the past few years), should be listed towards the top of your resume
- Include any pertinent data for credibility (e.g. institute name, graduation dates, etc.)
- Irrelevant degrees and certifications shouldn't make it on your resume. Those include your high school diploma and any specializations that have nothing to do with the technical or soft skills that are required for the job
As a final note, if you feel tempted to exclude your education or certification from your resume, don't.
These two sections could help you have a better competitive edge over other candidates - hinting that your professional journey in the industry may be for a longer period of time.
Recruiters find all of these sales professional credentials impressive:
The top 5 certifications for your sales professional resume:
- Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP) - National Association of sales professionals
- Certified Sales Leadership Professional (CSLP) - Sales Management Association
- Certified Inside sales professional (CISP) - AA-ISP (American Association of Inside sales professionals)
- Certified Sales Executive (CSE) - Sales and Marketing Executives International
- Strategic Sales Management Certification (SSMC) - The Canadian Professional Sales Association
The content below includes information from "O*NET OnLine" by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. The data represents the top associations for sales professional professionals.
Top US associations for a Sales Professional professional
- National Automobile Dealers Association
- National Retail Federation
- Retail Industry Leaders Association
- Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
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.
Recommended reads:
The ideal sales professional candidate resume summary or objective
You may have heard that your resume top one-third plays an important part in your application.
It basically needs to show strong alignment with the job advert, your unique skill set, and your expertise.
Both the resume summary and resume objective could be used to ensure you've shown why you're the best candidate for the role.
Use the:
- Resume objective to pinpoint your current successes, that are applicable to the field, and your vision for your career. Remember to state how you see yourself growing within this new career opportunity.
- Resume summary as an instrument to pinpoint what is most applicable and noteworthy form your professional profile. Keep your summary to be no more than five sentences long.
At the end of the day, the resume summary or objective is your golden opportunity to shine a light on your personality as a professional and the unique value of what it's like to work with you.
Get inspired with these sales professional resume examples:
Resume summaries for a sales professional job
- Dynamic sales manager with a prosperous 10-year track record of exceeding quotas and spearheading market expansion initiatives for large-scale retail operations. Outstanding negotiation skills honed across diverse sectors, proven in clinching multimillion-dollar deals, and adept at leveraging customer relationship management software to track sales and engage clientele; seeking to drive robust sales growth through strategic planning and team leadership.
- Seasoned pharmaceutical sales representative with 8 years of experience in a fast-paced, competitive sector. Instrumental in launching new products, mastering complex medical terminology, and fostering enduring relationships with healthcare professionals. Career highlight includes leading the region in sales performance for three consecutive years, demonstrating exceptional skill in persuasion and client education.
- Accomplished IT project manager eager to transition into sales, bringing over a decade of client-facing experience, deep technical understanding of software solutions, and a record of consistently meeting project deadlines under budget. Keen to apply strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities to create impactful sales strategies and foster lasting relationships in a customer-centric environment.
- Innovative marketing strategist ready to shift into sales, armed with 7 years of experience in crafting compelling brand messages and executing high-impact campaigns that have substantially increased customer engagement. Eager to translate deep market insights and expertise in consumer behavior into successful sales techniques that resonate with diverse audiences and drive revenue growth.
- Aspiring sales enthusiast with a fervent passion for cutting-edge technology and a recent top-graded MBA. Eager to apply rigorous analytical skills, a fresh perspective on market trends, and unwavering commitment to pursuing personal sales targets. Aims to leverage academic knowledge and natural persuasive abilities to embark on a successful sales career in a challenging, growth-oriented environment.
- Graduate with honors in international business, seeking to immerse in the world of sales. Highly motivated to leverage an exceptional educational foundation in global market dynamics, key financial principles, and intercultural communication. Determined to develop a mastery of sales strategies, foster meaningful industry connections, and contribute to achieving ambitious sales objectives as I build my professional trajectory.
Average salary info by state in the US for sales professional professionals
Local salary info for Sales Professional.” Source: My Next Move, National Center for O*NET Development. Accessed 10/15/2024
| State | Average Salary (in USD) |
|---|---|
| US National Average | $33,680 |
| California (CA) | $36,240 |
| Texas (TX) | $29,760 |
| Florida (FL) | $30,980 |
| New York (NY) | $36,040 |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | $30,180 |
| Illinois (IL) | $34,100 |
| Ohio (OH) | $30,070 |
| Georgia (GA) | $29,020 |
| North Carolina (NC) | $29,910 |
| Michigan (MI) | $31,490 |
Extra sections to include in your sales professional resume
What should you do if you happen to have some space left on your resume, and want to highlight other aspects of your profile that you deem are relevant to the role? Add to your sales professional resume some of these personal and professional sections:
- Passions/Interests - to detail how you spend both your personal and professional time, invested in various hobbies;
- Awards - to present those niche accolades that make your experience unique;
- Publications - an excellent choice for professionals, who have just graduated from university or are used to a more academic setting;
- Volunteering - your footprint within your local (or national/international) community.
Key takeaways
- Your resume layout plays an important role in presenting your key information in a systematic, strategic manner;
- Use all key resume sections (summary or objective; experience; skills; education and certification) to ensure you’ve shown to recruiters just how your expertise aligns with the role and why you're the best candidate;
- Be specific about listing a particular skill or responsibility you've had by detailing how this has helped the role or organization grow;
- Your personality should shine through your resume via the interests or hobbies, and strengths or accomplishments skills sections;
- Certifications go to provide further accreditation to your technical capabilities, so make sure you've included them within your resume.
