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How to Write a Killer Sales Resume
Resumé-writing is all about talking your achievements up. This is probably the only time you can get away with bragging! And brag you must, because no one else is going to do it for you. This couldn’t be truer for sales professionals. A salesperson’s resumé has to plug their selling abilities, self-belief and accomplishments. Below are five ways to show prospective employers just how confident you are:
Highlight your achievements
Make sure to highlight the major sales achievements in the introduction to your resumé. You should write about your top three-four and position them so that they cannot be missed. This way you not only make an immediate impact but also ensure the prospective employer gets to take note of your achievements before even getting to the section about your career history. This even more important if you are trying to move to another industry, as it helps lessen doubts that you can handle the change.
Focus on results, not job responsibilities
Everyone knows what sales professional does, so spend as little time as possible describing your duties. Basically, the section on your career should be packed with your achievements, focusing on how you got the job done rather than the job itself. Concentrate on sales, market share and customer base growth, new accounts that you have signed and sales rankings in your company and/or industry. Always back these up with facts and figures.
Draw attention to awards received
Awards and honors received are proof that you have the talent and skill you say you do and you should highlight them in your resumé, with special stress on any you may have received as recognition for your sales performances. You could even think about listing these in your introduction to give them even more prominence.
List training and sales certifications
If you have any special training in sales techniques and have received certification to that effect, then you should mention this. Most companies would like their salespersons to have knowledge of certain kinds of sales approaches and if you have already been trained for that, you will get precedence over other candidates.
Understand your target audience
Just as you would never sell a product without knowing your target group, you should never send your resumé without finding out who exactly will be looking over it. Smaller companies may want to see how you stack up against bigger concerns, and if you are going for a managerial post, you could show that you are willing to work with your team and not just direct operations from afar. If you are targeting a larger company, then you will need to let them know that you can handle the big league. Before writing your resumé, research your target companies to find out what they are looking for.
The bottom-line is that a resumé must communicate confidence that you can meet a prospective employer’s requirements, and you can do this if you follow the above-mentioned strategies.