Sell Your Abilities with These Sales Resume Examples and Tips

How to pick the right format for your sales resume

Use one of the three resume formats to write your sales resume:

• Chronological resume: The most widely used format, perfect for job seekers with more than five years of work experience. The chronological resume format focuses on your work history and career growth, so it’s excellent for senior sales associates or sales managers.
• Functional resume: On the other hand, the functional resume format is better for candidates who have less than two years of experience. This format revolves around skills as opposed to work experience, so it’s a great option if you want to assure the potential employer that you have the skills needed for sales.
• Combinational resume: Also known as the hybrid resume, this format is a combination of the chronological and functional resumes. It’s best for mid-level job seekers with a few years of experience, as it puts equal focus on the work history section and skills set.

Some other resume formatting tips to keep in mind:

• Choose a professional font. The best way to maintain the hiring manager’s attention is by using a readable and professional font like Arial, Times New Roman or Helvetica.
• Stay consistent with the margins. Your sales resume should have 1-inch margins all around but you can take them down half an inch if you need more space.
• Use a readable font size. Recruiters and hiring managers should be able to read your resume. Keep the body text to 11-12 points, the subheadings between 14-15 and your name between 16 or 18.
• Keep the spacing right. Stick to a single or 1.5 spacing between lines.
• Send your resume in the correct format. Usually, saving and submitting your sales resume as a PDF or MS Word format is the best way to go, but check the job description just in case the potential employer requests a different format.

How to write a sales resume

1. Header and contact information

Write your phone number and professional email address in the header. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can add the social media handle to your header but only do it if it’s relevant to the job and will add value to your job application.

2. Resume summary/resume objective

Next, it’s time to decide whether to write a resume summary or a resume objective.

A resume summary is a two- to three-sentence paragraph that highlights your top qualifications and relevant sales skills that set you apart from other candidates. It’s ideal for job seekers who have more than two years of experience in sales. For example, take a look at this sales representative resume summary:

Friendly sales representative with six years of work experience in customer service. Able to build rapport with customers and effectively suggest products, work together with co-workers to achieve sales targets , increase sales revenue and manage stock. Strong interpersonal skills, active listening skills and organization skills.

A resume objective works similarly to a resume summary but in addition to stating your relevant skills and top qualifications, you also include your career goals. It’s better for candidates with less than two years of work experience or changing careers.

Hardworking college graduate with a B.A. in biochemistry seeking entry-level sales role in health care industry. Experienced at preparing reports, meeting sales goals and travel as required. Skilled communicator and quick learner.

3. Skills section

Use your sales resume’s skills section to describe and highlight your relevant hard skills and soft skills. The following are some of the most essential and sought-after sales skills that employers seek in candidates:

• Effective and persuasive verbal, written and nonverbal communication skills
• Sales software expertise
• Product knowledge
• Active listening
• Problem-solving skills
• Time management
• Strategic and critical thinking skills
• Leadership
• Self-motivation
• Business knowledge
• Cold calling
• Customer retention
• Marketing expertise
• Project management skills
• Customer relationships management skills
• Sales pitch expertise
• Sales strategies
• Sales management
• Customer service skills

4. Work experience section

In your work history section, weave your sales skills into your accomplishments by showing specific examples of how you used your abilities to achieve positive outcomes and success. Use keywords and phrases from the job description when appropriate, as this will increase your chances of making it past applicant tracking systems (ATS) most employers use to filter resumes.

You can make the most out of your work history section by:

• Keeping your bullet points concise
• Using action verbs (like organized, managed or communicated) at the beginning of your statements
• Using numerical evidence to showcase your sales expertise and competencies
• Tailoring your professional resume to the job description and company

Use this sales management experience section as a base or follow the sales resume examples on this page:

Salesperson / June 2020 – July 2022
Fresh Boutique, Chicago, IL

• Exceeded quarterly sales quotas by 30%, the highest in the sales team.
• Regularly made suggestions to customers in a friendly and approachable manner.
• Achieved customer satisfaction ratings of 4.8/5 every trimester by effectively meeting customer needs.

5. Education

Include your highest education credentials in your education section. If you finished your college degree, you don’t need to list your high school diploma or your GPA, unless the latter is extremely relevant to the field. If you graduated more than 10 years ago, there’s no need to include the graduation date. Here’s an example:

Degree Name / Major
University, Location | Start Date – End Date

6. Additional sections

If you have any relevant sales certifications, awards or other sales achievements, then you should showcase them in a separate section of your resume, like:

Certifications/Training:
University, Location | Start Date – End Date

• Full name of the certification (common abbreviation), Organization or State that issues the certificate – date you earned the certification (June 2023)

For a more detailed writing guide and additional examples, check out our How to Make a Resume page.

Sales resume example

Use the following sales resume template made by a certified professional resume writer as a base to create an impactful and eye-catching resume.

Professional Summary

Sales director with a history of creating effective sales strategies with a 90% success rate for over three years. Experienced in hiring talent, providing supportive coaching and designing training programs for various sales jobs. Top prioritization skills for setting and administering budgets, managing daily financial tasks and coordinating with distributors.

Work History

Sales director with a history of creating effective sales strategies with a 90% success rate for over three years. Experienced in hiring talent, providing supportive coaching and designing training programs for various sales jobs. Top prioritization skills for setting and administering budgets, managing daily financial tasks and coordinating with distributors.

Sales Director | Sep 2021 ‐ Current
Strong Hold | Louisville, KY

• Manages and grows revenue to achieve a 20% increase yearly through customer performance reports.
• Motivates a team of 10 to achieve results by setting goals and encouraging advancement.
• Manages pricing including negotiating mid-year or off-cycle price changes with large distributors as needed to compensate for material cost changes.

Vice President of Sales | Jul 2019 ‐ Aug 2021
Jeptha Creed | Shelbyville, KY

• Managed distributors, brokers and control boards to develop mutually beneficial partnerships in existing and new markets.
• Oversaw the development of financial budgets and sales goals to execute strategies that expanded the account base by 30%.
• Provided guidance and leadership to the sales organization regarding product and market campaigns.

Sales Manager | Jan 2014 ‐ Dec 2016
Spire Hospitality, LLC | Covington, KY

• Identified new business through solicitation, networking, leads and cold-calls, and prepared information to optimize appeal and sales pitch.
• Revised account details to ensure all aspects of solicitation and closing are complete and documented.
• Designed and delivered marketing promotions and campaigns involving direct mail, social media and ads that led to a 50% page visit increase.

Skills

• Strong communication
• Inspire productivity
• Coaching and training
• Sound decision making
• Team engagement
• Understanding of sales process
• Project management
• Customer relation management

Education

Masters in Business Administration
UK Gatton College of Business & Economics | Dec 2017 | Lexington, KY

Bachelor of Science in Sales
Western Kentucky University | May 2012 | Bowling Green, KY