Car Salesman Resume Examples for 2023

Car Salesman Resume Example and Tips

Car salesmen are men or women who work on behalf of car dealerships to sell new cars or used cars. They are trusted individuals who help clients pick their ideal vehicle for purchase or lease. Car salesmen help customers evaluate their options, based on the model, cost, mileage rates, and other features. Car salesmen also help the customer with test drives, and try to match clients with cars that work for their needs. Not only does a car salesman need to be knowledgeable about all the different choices available, but also needs to be great at listening, understanding customer needs and wants, and negotiating.

To beat the competition for a car salesman job, you’ll need a resume that will help your experience, skills, and traits shine.

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Resume Structure for Car Salesperson Resumes

Before reading the three top tips for writing a car salesman resume, you will want to use the correct format for the best resume. There are seven elements you must include in your resume. These are:

Contact information
Summary or objective
Skills
Work experience
Education
Achievements or awards
Certifications

Using a resume builder can help you format these sections correctly. Now, here are three top tips and examples that can enhance your resume as a sales professional and help you to get the attention of the hiring managers.

Tip #1: Craft the Perfect Resume Summary or Objective

A resume summary or objective helps make your resume more personal, shows the hiring managers your communication skills, and highlights your most valuable assets. A summary draws more from your experience while an objective focuses on your future goals. Use an objective when you don’t have much work experience.

Here are examples of a resume summary and a resume objective for a car salesman resume:

Summary

Experienced car sales manager with 5 years of leading the sales team at XYZ Dealership with a proven track record. Implemented a sales process to increase profits by over $3 million.

Objective

Seeking a car sales associate position to use my communication skills and passion for the automotive industry to contribute to the sales team at XYZ Dealership. Prior experience with cold calling at a telemarketing company.

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Tip #2: Leverage Your Skills To Get a Car Salesman Job

The skills section of an automotive sales resume should include both hard skills and soft skills. Recruiters pay special attention to communication skills when hiring a car sales representative or sales manager. Many types of communication skills are needed to address customer needs and achieve customer satisfaction, which results in repeat business and referrals. Some great car sales skills are:

Product knowledge

You need to know all the necessary information regarding the cars you are selling, as well as the market of your competitors. You have to be up to date with the newest updates and improvements in the field, as potential customers might ask about them.

Customer service skills

It is important that customers feel they can trust you. Strong customer relationships are the key to closing sales. Customers will purchase cars from you when they feel you have their best interest in mind. Your ability to close deals is one of your most important skills for a car salesman job. Customer service also includes the follow-up after purchase.

Cold calling

Cold calling requires confidence and charisma. Customers love buying cars from confident sellers who sound like they know what they’re talking about. Cold calling requires a special technique to be successful. Most auto sales jobs will prefer a sales associate who is skilled at cold calling.

Goal setting and sales forecasting

In the business of selling cars, there may be different types of sales skills that apply. If you have a knack for setting sales goals in the automotive industry, this can put you at the top of the list for a dealership manager job.

Negotiation skills

Negotiation skills are crucial for you as a car salesman. At first, your customers might think they are unable to afford the options you are presenting them, or they may prefer a model of car that your dealership does not have. You can use negotiation skills to increase vehicle sales by converting each walk-in to a paying customer.

Listening skills

The ability to listen is one of the most important soft skills for a car salesman. You have to pay attention to all the details that will potentially form customers’ decisions. Listen closely and observe. Do your customers have children? How old are they? How many people are in their family? How often and far are they planning to travel? What is the quality of the roads in their neighborhood? Does your customer want to show off and use the car as a status symbol? All of these questions will help you find the best approach to your client’s specific needs.

Tip #3: Include Achievements and Awards To Stand Out

Achievements and awards will make you stand out to the hiring managers. Being the best car salesman is all about having the best track record for sales. Hiring managers will tend to go for candidates that had the most sales or most new clients at their former job. If you don’t have experience in the auto industry, you can show your skill for sales through sales achievements in another industry. For example, you might include:

Awards like employee of the month
Records you broke for sales goals at a former job
Any publications you have written for or been mentioned in

If you’re struggling to come up with achievements, you can even check if you have online reviews, such as Yelp reviews that mention you by name. If you have 5-star Yelp reviews, this is a great achievement to include, as it shows recognition for your customer service and sales skills.

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Car Salesman Resume Examples You Can Use

You can use templates and already existing formats to create your professional resume. Get inspiration and cure any writer’s block you may have when building your resume by looking at car salesman resume examples. If you are finding it difficult to put your information onto a one-page resume, try using the ResumeHelp resume builder to format your resume quickly and easily.

FAQ: Car Salesman Resume Example

Q: Do I need to know skills like Excel to apply for an auto sales job?

You may not think of computers when you think of an auto sales job, but this is one skill that recruiters might look for. The sales team at a dealership often handles each stage of the sales process — from when the customer first walks in to closing the deal and discussing financing options. A car salesperson uses software like Excel to track customers and sales. Having some computer skills can make your resume more appealing to auto sales recruiters. Always check the job description to see what software knowledge an employer is looking for.

Q: Can I get a car salesman job with no experience or track record?

You can get an entry-level car sales job with just a high school diploma. Interpersonal skills, like communication skills, are crucial for sales jobs and can be proven through internships, volunteer work, and having a great job application package. The perfect resume and cover letter can help you break into the auto sales industry and lead to a profitable career.

Q: What are some other job titles for a car salesman?

During your job search you may see a job description for a car salesman role that has one of these titles:

Customer service representative at a car dealership
Sales manager
Lot manager
Car dealership finance manager
Showroom auto sales assistant
Sales consultant

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