You have organizational, marketing, and people skills and are experienced in services and product development. You may know what people want and how you can give them the best way possible. HOWEVER, getting a job as a sales manager is quite a challenge, especially considering this is one of the most in-demand roles nowadays.
That’s right. According to salary.com, the average salary for sales managers (just in the US), is around USD 127,201, and they’re often among the best-paid managers in the job market.
Now, securing an interview in a competitive market like sales can take time and effort. This is why looking for the best resume example is one of the first hurdles of the application process. In this article, we will tell you the best tips for writing a top-notch sales manager resume from zero.
The Archetype of a Sales Manager
The best sales managers have common traits regardless of the service or product. The sales roles are at the intersection of the products, operations, finance, and marketing, with a close combination of the needed to ensure that the sales offerings are fully optimized.
Teamwork skills should also run through the resume, with regular references to how the sales manager got their success with others. They are also adept at improving relationships and adapting to different situations. These are the kind of skills to present in your application to position yourself as a standout candidate.
The Resume: What Sections to Include (and What to Leave out)
Even though most resumes out there include the same sections, the information you include makes all the difference, especially if you know how to structure it.
Your resume should contain the following sections:
- Title & Contact Information
- Professional Summary
- Professional Experience
- Education
- Skills
Now, we’ll focus on the two most important segments: the summary and the experience section.
How To Write a Summary?
Everyone wants a top-notch sales manager who will add more fuel to their foundation. Your summary should be clear-cut to show that you are one of them. The summary should leave the personal qualities and functional details to a side. Show your achievements. Demonstrate why you’re a game changer.
Our tips for this section:
- Keep the summary to 5-7 lines at max.
- Mention your experience and specialization first.
- Make your phrases short and clear.
- Include your professional achievements –or else the most difficult tasks of your previous role.
- Avoid vague language and be specific.
- Describe such achievements with stats and figures.
Note: While the sales growth and percentages grow well within the employment history section, nothing is more impressive than leading with significant numbers in summary to grasp their attention.
When you look at sales resume examples, you will see that summary is the place where they show their skills. You have to show recruiters that you are proud of your achievements and do not hide the numbers.
The Professional Experience Section
Even if your summary is outstanding, many managers prioritize this segment over the rest of the resume and make their decisions based on this. After all, experience –and related experience as well– is vital for this position.
You must ensure that your work history shows the full picture. As the nature of the job may differ, the potential company wants to know whether you fit the basic role. They want to know whether you have worked in a similar environment and overcome similar issues and challenges.
Just like the previous part, it’s important to share achievements, promotions, accomplishments, and figures rather than performed tasks. However, you should also explain the duties of your previous roles.
What we recommend is to briefly describe the most important tasks, and then, provide a second list with your most interesting accomplishments.
Additional Tips to Stand Out
- Focus On Your Knowledge
Select your industry experience which is closest to the future role. Nothing is worse than the sales direction reading the first line of the resume and thinking that you are not fit for the company. You must understand the product or the services, or else you will not move forward.
- Organize Your Information in Reverse-Chronological Order
Instead of listing your experiences from the oldest to the newest, begin with your most recent position and go backward.
This way, recruiters will read your related, more-relevant experience more quickly, which gives you more chances to pass to the next stage.
- Include Additional Segments
Such as languages, courses, and the software you manage will help you give a final boost to your resume. All of these are a nice plus, but when it comes to sales and management, they’re game changers.
- Include a Cover Letter
The resume is, for many recruiters, the introduction to the cover letter. Cover letters will allow you to personalize your applications even further, giving you more space to express yourself and demonstrate why you’re the right fit for the role.
Plus, you can dwell upon the achievements you introduce on your resume in this document.
These are the primary things that you should consider when writing your resume for the sales manager position. It is a vast sector with huge competition, so choose the right resume examples to help secure potential employers’ attention.