You can sell anything. But can you write a resume that sells you? Check out this sales resume example from a real client we worked with here at Let’s Eat, Grandma, and find out how to write one that’s just as great.
By: Daniel Lorenzo | Marketing Manager for Let’s Eat, Grandma
As a salesperson, it might not seem too difficult to apply for jobs. You’ve learned a lot of skills on the job and likely won many leads. If you’re charming enough to win over clients, you can certainly win over a hiring manager in an interview, right?
But now that you’re ready to apply to a new position, you’re facing your most difficult sale yet: selling yourself on your resume.
No matter your profession, it can be difficult to get your accomplishments down on paper. It’s even more difficult when you’ve heard so many conflicting pieces of resume advice.
That’s why we’re here with this helpful sales resume example. Here at Let’s Eat, Grandma, we’ve written over a thousand successful resumes for job seekers across every industry and experience level. Our professional business writing consultants know a thing or two about resumes, and we’re happy to share our winning formula with you.
This client (name changed) came to us with a lengthy, outstanding career within his own company, but a resume that wasn’t getting results.
We helped him turn his experience into an attractive, metrics-based sales resume that made his accomplishments shine.
Check out these “Before” and “After” Sales resume examples below, then read on for some actionable tips:
Before
After
What makes this a great resume sample?
#1: Key Initiatives and Accomplishments
If you’ve read any of our resume writing blogs or come to our meetups, we’ll probably sound like a broken record right now. But I cannot emphasize this enough: your resume should focus on your accomplishments, not your responsibilities.
We didn’t waste words on this resume expounding on Robert’s duties with boring bullets like “Responsible for growing pipeline with cold calls,” or “Fielded daily sales calls.”
We instead talked about how he installed a new pipeline management system, built relationships to obtain over 50 new large clients, and cut expenses by $6 million. Calling out specific accomplishments is crucial – it shows you stand out among the competition by proving you get results.
This is so important that we actually broke out an entire “Key Initiative” box at the beginning of his resume, too. We don’t recommend this for everybody, as having accomplishments in bullets is just fine. If you have more than a few years of experience, though, it might be a good idea to call out your biggest accomplishments in a text box like this or in your Summary.
#2: Metrics, Metrics, Metrics (Did we mention Metrics?)
However, specifics are only part of the puzzle. Behind every great accomplishment is a great metric.
Notice how many dollar amounts are scattered throughout this resume. What better way to prove that you’re a good salesperson by showing how much money you bring in? Isn’t that literally the point of your job?
As metrics go a long way in showing the scale of your accomplishments, we didn’t stop at dollars. We also included numbers for skills like leadership, which showed that Robert grew his team from five to 140 members (that’s impressive!)
#3: Areas of Expertise
Last, but not least, don’t be afraid to show your qualifications right off the bat with a few Areas of Expertise below your job title. Sales is a wide field that involves a lot of skills, so don’t be afraid to call out the skills you’re most proud of. (Just get ready to back them up with examples in the interview!)
Your resume needs a skills section at the bottom, but calling out a few main skills at the top can help give context for your experience (not to mention helping you naturally integrate keywords to pass through the ATS).
You’ve seen the ideal with a great sales resume example. Now get out there and write a resume that will land you your dream job.
Curious about how your sales resume stacks up? Schedule a free call with us to find out how our professional writers can rework your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile to land you that dream job.
(And, be sure to check out the Career Warrior Podcast for more answers to any and all of your job search questions!)