Do you know how to write your resume to effectively target a specific position? If you are a sales professional, sales manager, Sales Director, or Vice President of Sales, how do you differentiate yourself from the competition? Today we will discuss how to write a winning sales resume.
How to write a winning sales resume
I was hired by a client who had his previous resume created by another professional. It featured long lists of results, how he ranked to plan, and the awards he won in his roles. What the resume didn’t showcase was the “HOW.”
His LinkedIn profile followed the same strategy and he complained no one was reaching out to him about jobs.
It is great to win awards, but your sales resume bullet points need to capture HOW you did it.
I must admit he was skeptical that I could change his results, or he would gain any additional views or contacts from employers after working with me. I understand — he was burned before, he was in a job that didn’t fit his goals, and he was working at far less revenue than he earned in the past.
What do you focus on to write compelling sales resume bullet points?
We looked at the value he brought in the past and considered his target of technology sales.
• Relationship Management – Renewed 8th and 7th largest account in San Diego valued at $5.2M through enhancing relationships and participating in internal monthly meetings with the school district operations team to understand the district’s changing needs.
• Buyer-Focused Prospecting – Leveraged “Buyer-focused Prospecting” to increase the visibility of critical business initiatives and developed custom solutions tailored to the client’s service business.
We incorporated quotes from executives of the companies he worked for to let someone else talk about his skills.
He effectively worked with a full range of commercial prospects from $25M multi $B in total revenues and secured more net new logos than any salesperson previously.
What happened?
After writing his new resume and recreating his LinkedIn profile, he identified one particular company he was targeting that he already had a solid networking connection to start. We strategized how to speak to his contact and found that there was an ideal position posted on the company website. I helped him write a networking letter to this contact and suggested he also connect on LinkedIn.
Within 24 hours, he was connected and having preliminary interviews.
He also reported he was contacted by not one but two recruiters to discuss potential opportunities. These came unexpectedly. One he determined was not in his target salary range, but he was going to entertain a call anyway. The other looked like it had potential.
Why did his results change?
He took the time with me to do some deep thinking about what he was offering his target market, technology sales, and how to frame it. We translated the ATS-optimized resume to his LinkedIn profile and strategized ways to reach out to people he wanted to network with to gain access to decision-makers.
How do you differentiate yourself in a sales resume?
You start by selling yourself. What value will you bring to the next company? What do they care about? What numbers matter to them? How did you succeed in prior roles?
I’d love to learn how Resume Assassin can help you meet your career goals. Reach out today! www.resumeassassin.com or mary@resumeassassin.com
Connect on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mary-southern