INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wholesale & Manufacturing Sales positions are at a 5% growth rate, which is slower than average. With that said, there are currently 1,625,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 77,600 to 1,703,300 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Wholesale & Manufacturing Sales jobs was $65,420 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $31,950, and the highest 10% more than $129,200.
Our conclusion? The Wholesale & Manufacturing Sales job market is wide open for candidates.
Top Sales Professional sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Sales Professional resume experience section
Sales Professional Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Sales Professional resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Attended entrepreneurship events at MaRS Discovery District to build relationships and learn new skills to advance Openhouse.ai startup
- Researched and pitched A.I software to home builders
- Coached and mentored coworkers in sales and presentation skills
- I am devoted to the safety of my customers' employees and committed to the bottom line of my partners.
- I am successful at proactively working with my customers to improve safety culture.
- By engaging employees and effectively training them to value safety on the job and in their personal lives, I have assisted reducing workplace accidents at multiple facilities.
- I am committed to continuous process improvement, 5S Programs, and hazard assessments that boost the overall safety and productivity.
- I am driven to achieve through problem solving.
- I utilize an ask/listen approach to challenge customers, finding their highest priority needs and offering innovative safety solutions.
- Sales Growth: 2016 Fiscal – completed the year at 186% to gross profit goal and grew an undervalued territory through new business. 2017 Fiscal – 100% percent to my sales goal, growing my territory 12% for the year.
- Building brand loyalty by utilizing strategic selling skills to assist business clients with their account needs
- Assist clients with product selections that meet their budget needs and offer servicing recommendations for customizing the product
- Facilitate placement of all orders that are submitted by business channels and business clients
- Provide the Tiffany experience and exceed client expectations, while utilizing all opportunities to maximize revenue
- Utilize strategic selling skills to assist clients with their product selections that meet their budget needs and offer servicing recommendations for customization of product
- Honor commitments as the advocate between internal departments and business processing to build endearing relationships
- Provide the Tiffany experience and exceed client expectations, whileutilizing all opportunities to maximize revenue
- Utilize strategic selling skills to assist clients with their productselections that meet their budget needs and offer servicingrecommendations for customization of product
- Honor commitments as the advocate between internal departmentsand business processing to build endearing relationships
- Closed 22 new accounts in first year which generated over $500K in sales
- Developed proprietary costing model which reduced quoting time by 30%
- Grew existing book of business by 12% in first year by conducting needs analysis with top 20% of customers
- Closed 22 new accounts in first year which generated over $500K in sales
- Developed proprietary costing model which reduced quoting time by 30%
- Grew existing book of business by 12% in first year by conducting needs analysis with top 20% of customers
- Met and exceeded monthly sales quotas, grossing approximately $90,000 per year on average
- Created a large account base of clients and built a strong repeat and referral business.
- Attained Salesman of the Month Awards
- Participated in 80+ hours of professional sales training
- Achieved goal for new Yearbook accounts and surpassed goal by 100 percent.
- Achieved goal for new Photography accounts and surpassed goal by 43 percent.
- Helped and aided in new sales, retention, and servicing of accounts with another territory in the region.
- Retained and recovered damaged business, and relationships.
- Built a positive image of Varsity Brands and their ability to deliver services and needs of the customer, in assigned territory.
- Hit sales goal by July 2018, for the 2018 - 2019 season, before my departure season concluded in December 2018.
- Developed and implemented Marketing Strategies to ensure growth and maintenance of existing clients current spend.
- Analysed advertising results and worked with clients on improvements to current and future campaigns.
- Sourced and developed new partnerships with key clients and non subscribing agents within allocated sales territory.
- Turned around a portfolio of underperforming national accounts within a period of 6 months, lifting revenue by 32%.
- Measured individual consultant activity, conversion, revenue, and yield per consultant, and volume per customer.
- Maximized product penetration results across the business increasing listing revenue by 55%.
- Facilitated and designed sales training modules for products, value proposition, process, technology and sales strategy.
- Providing clients with the industry-best customer service, true to the Tiffany name.
- Building business through prospecting and retaining clients via COMPASS (in-house Salesforce platform) analysis.
- Nurturing long-term clientele relationships through Customer Relationship Management.
- Cultivating the company's watch business through strategic development with Directors and Watch Specialists.
- Effective lead generation through extensive research to maintain thecorporate client relationship.
- Management of different sales campaign in terms of Marketing,Financial solutions, Board Members, Digital marketing etc.
- Actively involved recruiting delegates across the corporate sectors
- Actively involved to market our extensive business solutions acrossthe region.
- Reporting Director sales for the weekly projections and feedbacks &quarterly revenue.
- Responsible for screening of new candidates and drawing upshortlists of candidates for the physical interviews.
- Closed 3 major deals for the most influential subsidiary revenue stream
- Initiate the active usage of the cloud services for 2 key enterprise customers
- Completed the OnBoarding proces with highest score on the internal Pitch Perfect sessions
- Closed several important deals including O365 for Tax Authority ($1.58M), Adris Grupa ($1,51M), driving major opportunities (example of dark account driving towards SPE E5)
- Initiate the active usage of the O365 services for EPG customers including Customs Administration, Croatian Post and Croatia Osiguranje
- Completed the OnBoarding proces with highest score on the SPE Pitch Perfect
- Closed several important deals including O365 for Tax Authority ($1.58M), Adris Grupa ($1,51M), driving major opportunities (example of dark account driving towards SPE E3 and E5 mix)
- Initiate the active usage of the O365 services for EPG customers including Customs Administration, Croatian Post and Croatia Osiguranje
- Completed the OnBoarding proces with highest score on the SPE Pitch Perfect
- Current and ongoing sales performance is within the top 10% of national sales team
- Educate prospective and current customers about the benefits of our product line
- Orientate prospective customers about product improvements, accessories, and pricing concerns
- Manage both administrative and back-office documents including; contracts, financing, warranties, and payment transactions
- Responsible for more than $3,000,000 in direct sales revenue
PRO TIP
In writing your Sales Professional resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action Verbs for your Sales Professional Resume
Recommended reads:
Sales Professional Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Sales Professional resume
- Salesforce
- MS Office
- CRM
- Forecasting
- Cold Calling
- Business Development
- Customer Service
- Project Management
- Relationship Building
- Time Management
- Storytelling
- Research / Information Gathering.
- Critical Thinking
- Problem Solving.
- Tech Savvy
- Networking
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Recommended reads:
Sales Professional Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Sales Professional Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Sales Professional resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Sales Professional Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Sales Professional resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
Recommended reads:
Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Sales Professional resume
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Sales Professional. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Sales Professional Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Sales Professional Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Sales Professional resume:
Sales Professional Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Sales Professional resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Sales Professional Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
