Sales managers are an important part of any company that needs to sell a product or service. Without a sales manager, reaching sales goals and implementing sales plans would be difficult. Good sales managers lead teams to high sales numbers and constant productivity. If you think you’re a good fit for this role, here’s what you need to know about writing a sales manager resume.
A sales manager is more than someone who looks after the sales staff. Sales managers create sales strategies and marketing strategies, analyze the competition and ensure all the sales targets are met. Sales managers need to have great communication skills to meet each new sales goal with a sales team.
How you structure your sales manager resume will depend on the resume format you choose. Some resumes highlight work experience, while others focus on skills. Combination resumes focus on both. Whichever you choose, there are five sections you always need to include in a resume:
Your contact information is at the top of your resume. This makes it easy for recruiters to contact you. If you put the contact information somewhere else, it will get buried with all the other information. If you have more information than will fit on a one-page resume, be sure to include your LinkedIn link in this contact information section. This way, a recruiter can access it.
A resume summary is a short paragraph that outlines your important achievements. It should only be 2-3 sentences. Anything you can’t fit into the resume summary should go in the cover letter. For a sales manager resume, some good points to mention are any technical skills and any experience in the salesforce.
The skills section of your resume is where you display your talents. The sales manager skills you mention will let the recruiters know what you can bring to the table as a sales professional. Take a look at these bullet points for inspiration on skills to mention:
For the work experience section of your resume, list the last 10 years of professional experience. Start by listing your most recent job. Any kind of sales experience should be listed no matter how minor. Whether it’s retail sales or marketing, mention any experience with selling products and services. Include 2-4 bullet points for each job listing. Include metrics to convey your sales skill level.
The education section is where you list any bachelor’s degree or honors you’ve earned. Degrees in business administration and marketing are highly valuable in high-level sales roles. List any business courses or technical degrees as well. But place your most important credentials at the top.
The best resume summary is one that summarizes the best parts of your education, skills and experience in 2-3 sentences. For a sales management position, the sales summary should focus on your leadership skills and years of experience. Creativity and competitiveness should be mentioned or implied since those are the qualities of any good salesperson. Look at resume templates for sales management positions for some inspiration.
Sales management is usually a high-level position. If you don’t have experience as a sales representative or in a management role, you can focus on your education history instead. Notable certifications and awards can help boost your resume. Mentioning references and connections to professionals in the sales industry helps, too.
Each company looks for different elements in their sales managers even though the role itself seems the same. The sales manager job descriptions for each company should give you some good insight on how to personalize the resume. A personalized resume is especially important for regional sales managers because they oversee specific areas. Include keywords from the job description in your resume to help you get through applicant tracking systems (ATS).
