As a sales support representative, articulating your ability to manage multiple customer accounts simultaneously can be a challenge on your resume. Our guide will provide you with the strategies needed to effectively showcase your multitasking skills and customer management expertise, ensuring your resume stands out to potential employers.
- Aligning the top one-third of your sales support representative resume with the role you're applying for.
- Curating your specific sales support representative experience to get the attention of recruiters.
- How to list your relevant education to impress hiring managers recruiting for the sales support representative role.
Discover more sales support representative professional examples to help you write a job-winning resume.
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The importance of format and layout in your sales support representative resume
Consider you're an HR professional at company X, evaluating two sales support representative candidate resumes. John Smith presents a simple, traditional, and easy-to-read resume. Edward Price, however, uses a non-conventional, often illegible format. Whose resume would you spend more time on to understand their experience? This scenario underscores the importance of your sales support representative resume’s design. It should be simply formatted and clearly communicate why you are the ideal candidate for the role.Achieve this balance by:
- Listing your experience, beginning with the most recent and relevant, in reverse chronological order;
- Ensuring your header contains essential information, such as contact details, a headline, and a portfolio link. Include a professional photo in the sales support representative resume header if you have one;
- Including only the most important and relevant resume sections to showcase your expertise and stand out from other candidates;
- Editing your sales support representative resume to be no longer than two pages if you have extensive relevant experience. Use your limited resume space judiciously.
Also, remember that your sales support representative resume might initially be scanned by an Applicant Tracker System (ATS).
When it comes to ATS:
- Opt for simple and legible fonts like Raleway, Rubik, Lato, etc., making your experience easy for the ATS to scan;
- Use serif and sans-serif fonts, both of which are ATS-friendly;
- Avoid overused options like Arial and Times New Roman, which, while suitable, may lack personality.
Contrary to a common myth, our recent study shows that the ATS can effectively process both one-column and two-column resumes. Learn more about this in the ATS myths guide.
Finally, when submitting your sales support representative resume, always export it as a PDF to ensure all information remains intact, making the document easier to print, read, and scan.
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If you happen to have plenty of certificates, select the ones that are most applicable and sought-after across the industry. Organize them by relevance to the role you're applying for.
Essential sections that should make up your sales support representative resume include:
- The header - with your contact details (e.g. email and telephone number), link to your portfolio, and headline
- The summary (or objective) - to spotlight the peaks of your professional career, so far
- The experience section - with up to six bullets per role to detail specific outcomes
- The skills list - to provide a healthy mix between your personal and professional talents
- The education and certification - showing your most relevant degrees and certificates to the sales support representative role
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- In-depth knowledge of customer relationship management (CRM) software and order management systems
- Proven track record of successful upselling and cross-selling products or services to customers
- Strong ability to assist with the preparation and presentation of sales proposals and product demonstrations
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively support sales teams and interact with clients
- Demonstrated experience in handling customer inquiries, resolving issues, and maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction
Experts' advice on writing your sales support representative resume experience
While the excitement and motivation for writing your sales support representative resume was present in the first hour (or so), you now find yourself staring at the blank page.
The resume experience section is the one that allows you to make a memorable impression by matching job requirement with your past jobs and accomplishments.
To help you write this resume section, here are four mistakes you need to avoid:
- Listing every job you have had so far, including the irrelevant ones. Before that, consider each of your past roles based on relevancy to the role. It may be the case that the job you had 15 years ago may have taught you invaluable skills that are appropriate for the role;
- Including irrelevant work experience items. Those are past jobs that aren't linked with the role you're applying for (or so they seem). Consider how your past jobs will serve your professional presentation: will they be filling in a gap in your work history, or just taking up space?
- Focusing on responsibilities instead of accomplishments. Your sales support representative resume shouldn't just be telling recruiters what you did in the past - as it's most often the case that candidates have had similar responsibilities. But, rather, the experience section should showcase the success you've attained in each past role, thanks to your unique skill set;
- Consider listing just your professional experience. Any role you've had in the past - e.g. volunteering, internships, etc. - can make it into your sales support representative resume experience section. Make sure to include it alongside numbers and results.
Two more things you need to remember about your resume experience section.
The first are keywords. Or those specific job requirements that are crucial for the role . Ensure you've integrated them across your experience section to get sorted closer to the ideal candidate profile by the Applicant Tracker System (ATS).
The second are action verbs. Each of your experience bullets should start with a strong action verb, followed by your specific skill and your on the job achievements. Follow this formula to hint to recruiters what your unique value as a professional is.
Still with us? In the next section, we will show you how industry-leading professionals have avoided the four most common mistakes, while integrating keywords and action verbs in their experience section.
- Managed a portfolio of 150+ customer accounts, providing exceptional after-sales support and maintaining a customer satisfaction rate above 95%.
- Collaborated with the sales team to process orders and track shipments, which effectively reduced order processing times by 20%.
- Designed and implemented a new CRM system that streamlined customer data management, enhancing team efficiency and reducing response times by 30%.
- Conducted comprehensive training sessions for new sales support software tools, increasing team productivity by 25%.
- Spearheaded a cross-departmental project to identify upsell opportunities, generating an increase of $500K in annual revenue.
- Orchestrated the quarterly sales reports' consolidation and presentation, which provided critical insights for strategic decision-making.
- Administered intricate sales support for complex software services, catering to over 200 unique enterprise level clients.
- Played a pivotal role in renegotiating vendor contracts, which cut supply chain costs by 15% while maintaining service quality.
- Acted as the primary liaison between sales and product development teams, ensuring product features align with client needs and market trends.
- Established and maintained robust relationships with key accounts by delivering tailor-made support solutions, resulting in a 10% increase in client retention rate.
- Lead the implementation of a feedback loop mechanism that gathered customer insights, aiding in product improvements and leading to a 15% reduction in churn.
- Championed the development of a comprehensive sales support training manual, significantly improving new hire onboarding speed by 50%.
- Facilitated effective communication channels between the sales team and clients which intensified customer loyalty and repeat business.
- Negotiated with suppliers to ensure timely and cost-effective sourcing of materials, helping the company save approximately $100,000 annually in procurement expenses.
- Organized and managed sales support documentation and resource materials, significantly improving accessibility and team efficiency.
- Pioneered a strategic initiative to automate sales reporting processes, slashing report generation time by 40% and enhancing data accuracy.
- Facilitated a collaborative environment that engaged sales, marketing, and support to create comprehensive client solutions, boosting deal closure rate by 18%.
- Optimized internal sales tools and dashboards, providing real-time data to drive sales strategy and improve lead conversion rates.
- Initiated and led a project to rebuild the customer service protocol, reducing call handling times by an average of 2 minutes per call.
- Organized regular sales and support team-building events that fostered a positive work culture and increased team productivity.
- Negotiated with shipping providers for bulk rates, decreasing shipping costs for product deliveries by 10%.
- Contributed to market research efforts to align sales support strategies with emerging technological trends, which amplified competitive positioning.
- Implemented a skill development program for the sales support staff, leading to a more versatile and effective support team.
- Streamlined the RFP process which accelerated response time from two weeks to three days, positively impacting the win rate.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Highlight the total number of sales you supported, showing the scale of your work and your experience in managing volume.
- State the percentage increase in sales due to your support initiatives, indicating your direct contribution to revenue growth.
- Include the average time you spent on resolving customer issues, demonstrating efficiency and prompt service.
- Detail the number of product lines you are familiar with, showcasing your in-depth knowledge and versatility.
- Mention the customer satisfaction score improvements you helped achieve, reflecting your focus on client happiness and retention.
- Describe the volume of sales documentation you managed or created to validate your organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Quantify any reduction in processing times for sales orders you contributed to, showcasing your ability to streamline operations.
- Include the number of training sessions or workshops you've led, indicating leadership skills and a commitment to team development.
Action verbs for your sales support representative resume
Experience section for candidates with zero-to-none experience
While you may have less professional experience in the field, that doesn't mean you should leave this section of your resume empty or blank.
Consider these four strategies on how to substitute the lack of experience with:
- Volunteer roles - as part of the community, you've probably gained valuable people (and sometimes even technological capabilities) that could answer the job requirements
- Research projects - while in your university days, you may have been part of some cutting-edge project to benefit the field. Curate this within your experience section as a substitute for real-world experience
- Internships - while you may consider that that summer internship in New York was solely mandatory to your degree, make sure to include it as part of your experience, if it's relevant to the role
- Irrelevant previous jobs - instead of detailing the technologies you've learned, think about the transferable skills you've gained.
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List your educational qualifications and certifications in reverse chronological order.
Balancing hard and soft skills in your sales support representative resume
Recruiters indeed pay close attention to the specific hard and soft skills candidates possess. Hard skills refer to technical abilities or your proficiency in technologies, while soft skills are the personal attributes and qualities developed over your lifetime.
If you're unsure about effectively quantifying these skills on your resume, follow our step-by-step guide. It's crucial to first understand the key job requirements for the role. Doing so enables you to accurately list your:
- Hard skills in sections like skills, education, and certifications. Your technical expertise is straightforward to quantify. Most organizations find it sufficient to mention the certificates you've earned, along with your proficiency level.
- Soft skills within your experience, achievements, strengths, etc. Defining interpersonal communication traits in your resume can be challenging. Focus on showcasing the accomplishments you've achieved through these skills.
Remember, when tailoring your sales support representative resume, ensure that the skills you list match exactly with those in the job requirements. For instance, if the job listing specifies "Microsoft Word," include this exact term rather than just "Word" or "MSO."
Top skills for your sales support representative resume:
CRM Software Proficiency
Order Processing
Sales Reporting
Data Entry
Market Research
Product Knowledge
Administrative Support
Basic Accounting
Microsoft Office Suite
Inventory Management
Communication Skills
Customer Service Orientation
Problem-Solving
Time Management
Attention to Detail
Teamwork
Adaptability
Organizational Skills
Patience
Active Listening
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Always remember that your sales support representative certifications can be quantified across different resume sections, like your experience, summary, or objective. For example, you could include concise details within the expertise bullets of how the specific certificate has improved your on-the-job performance.
Listing your education and certifications on your sales support representative resume
Don't underestimate the importance of your resume education section . As it may hint at various skills (and experience) that are relevant to the job. When writing your education section:
- Include only higher education degrees with information about the institution and start/end dates
- If you're in the process of obtaining your degree, include your expected graduation date
- Consider leaving off degrees that aren't relevant to the job or industry
- Write a description of your education if it presents you with an opportunity to further showcase your achievements in a more research-focused environment
When describing your certifications on your resume, always consider their relevancy to the role. Use the same format to describe them as you would for your education. If you're wondering what the best certificates out there are for sales support representative roles, check out the list below.
The top 5 certifications for your sales support representative resume:
- Certified Inside Sales Professional (CISP) - The American Association of Inside Sales Professionals (AA-ISP)
- Certified Sales Leadership Professional (CSLP) - The Sales Management Association
- Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP) - The National Association of Sales Professionals (NASP)
- HubSpot Sales Software Certified - HubSpot Academy
- Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) - American Marketing Association
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If the certificate you've obtained is especially vital for the industry or company, include it as part of your name within the resume headline.
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Should you write a resume summary or an objective?
No need to research social media or ask ChatGPT to find out if the summary or objective is right for your sales support representative resume.
- Experienced candidates always tend to go for resume summaries. The summary is a three to five sentence long paragraph that narrates your career highlights and aligns your experience to the role. In it you can add your top skills and career achievements that are most impressive.
- Junior professionals or those making a career change, should write a resume objective. These shouldn't be longer than five sentences and should detail your career goals . Basically, how you see yourself growing in the current position and how would your experience or skill set could help out your potential employers.
Think of both the resume summary and objective as your opportunity to put your best foot forward - from the get go - answering job requirements with skills.
Use the below real-world sales support representative professional statements as inspiration for writing your resume summary or objective.
Resume summaries for a sales support representative job
- Dynamic Sales Support Representative with 5 years’ experience in fast-paced tech environments, adept at managing large accounts and upholding exceptional customer service standards. Familiar with CRM tools like Salesforce and HubSpot, and a proven record of increasing lead conversion rates by 30%. Seeking to leverage expertise to advance strategic sales initiatives and forge strong client relationships.
- Accomplished educator transitioning to the field of sales support, equipped with 8 years of experience in curriculum development and student-centered communication. Leveraging transferable skills such as detailed record-keeping and creating engaging presentations to assist sales teams in achieving their quotas. Excited to apply a robust understanding of strategic planning and teamwork in a vibrant sales-focused setting.
- As a former logistics coordinator with a decade of experience in supply chain management, I bring a wealth of organizational and strategic thinking skills to the sales support domain. I excel in data analysis and project management, with a commitment to streamlining processes and boosting efficiency. My goal is to foster positive client relations and support the sales pipeline for successful outcomes.
- Enthusiastically seeking an entry-level opportunity as a Sales Support Representative, bringing a strong educational background in Business Administration and a passionate commitment to learn and grow within the industry. Motivated by a desire to contribute to team success and eager to develop proficiency in sales strategies and customer relationship management tools.
- As a recent graduate with a major in Marketing and a passion for sales excellence, I am eager to apply my academic knowledge and energy to support a dynamic sales team. With no prior professional experience in sales support, my objective is to cultivate strong product knowledge, master CRM applications, and deliver outstanding customer service, driving sales goals forward.
Miscellaneous sales support representative resume sections for a more personalized approach
Your sales support representative resume can reflect even more upon your personality and best qualities - that is if you decide on including a couple of additional resume sections to support your application.
Some of the best-accepted industry-wide choices include the:
- Resume projects - getting into the outcomes of your most important work, so far;
- Languages on your resume - detailing your proficiency level;
- Special recognitions - dedicated to your most prominent industry awards;
- Hobbies and interests - defining how you spend your free time.
Key takeaways
- Your resume layout plays an important role in presenting your key information in a systematic, strategic manner;
- Use all key resume sections (summary or objective; experience; skills; education and certification) to ensure you’ve shown to recruiters just how your expertise aligns with the role and why you're the best candidate;
- Be specific about listing a particular skill or responsibility you've had by detailing how this has helped the role or organization grow;
- Your personality should shine through your resume via the interests or hobbies, and strengths or accomplishments skills sections;
- Certifications go to provide further accreditation to your technical capabilities, so make sure you've included them within your resume.
