Here’s a sample resume we recently produced for a Sales Manager in Australia.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- About the Sales Manager Role
- What Hiring Managers Look For In Sales Manager Resumes
- Sales Manager Job Opportunities
- Job Hunting Tips from our Resident Headhunter
Sales Manager CV [Full Sample]
Here’s a full Sales Manager resume sample, which we wrote for a client recently.
- Highly driven Sales Manager with over 13 years’ sales, marketing, and business development experience, directing brand campaigns and product launches across APAC
- Adept at client relationship management (CRM) and sales pipeline development, with a background managing portfolios of 2,000+ accounts and sales of $120M per annum
- Strong leader, with extensive knowledge of Telecommunication and Data Service markets across Australia, India, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, capable of leading B2B sales teams of 35+
- Attained YOY growth of 20%and increased market share by 13%from 2016 to 2018 at SingTel. Secured growth by identifying untapped market demographic, revising brand strategy and launching targeted campaigns via online channels
- Led new market penetration across APAC, expanding presence for Telstra from Australia to Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and generating additional $8M in revenue within the first year
- Lead team of 35 sales executives, directing B2B sales of broadband services to clients (varying from small SMEs to large MNCs) across Australia, India, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines
- Manage sales pipeline of $120M per annum and client portfolio of 50,000+ accounts. Conduct performance management, monitor sales teams’ KPIs, identify untapped opportunities, and develop action and response plans as necessary
- Liaise closely with Marketing and Strategy teams to develop new business initiatives. Assess go-to-market opportunities, coordinate product launches, and represent SingTel at leading industry events (Broadband Forum Asia, CommunicAsia, Sitex, etc.)
- Establish and grow business relationships with senior management of potential customers; communicate unique value proposition of SingTel products and potential business benefits to secure successful deal closure
- Generate comprehensive product and revenue reports for senior management, including peer product comparison. Detail budgets and forecasts as well as strategies to drive continued growth for product portfolio. Attend quarterly Global Sales Review & Insights session, and help guide and develop growth strategy
- Manage team growth and talent development, overseeing full cycle from hiring to training, mentoring, and appraisals. Conduct succession planning and bi-annual training workshops, growing team knowledge base across new product offerings and roadmaps, and guiding development in-line with SingTel core values
- Attained YOY growth of 20% and increased market share by 13% from 2016 to 2018, by identifying untapped market demographic, revising brand strategy and launching targeted campaigns via online channels
- Instrumental in the design and implementation of new SME product offering and subsequent sales campaign, resulting in on-boarding of additional 2,000 clients within the first 6-months
- Saved 18-man hours, per sales team member, per week, and improved sales team operational efficiency by 12%, by designing and implementing new processes to overcome bottlenecks in sales quote procedure. New process resulted in $400K in additional sales within 2-month timeframe
- Outperformed all sales targets, ranking in Top 5 among company’s global sales team
- Managed team of 18, generating new and repeat sales for Australia datacentre (MYCS2) managed IT services across APAC; oversaw all aspects of performance management, driving sales team to achieve all targets and meet customer expectations
- Directed business development and network management, establishing and growing relationships with potential customers and channel partners; liaised closely with IT and Product teams, identifying client requirements, scoping solutions, and drafting competitive proposals and sales quotes
- Led new market penetration across APAC, expanding presence for Telstra from Australia to Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines, generating additional $8M in revenue within the first year
- Consistently achieved all sales targets over 8-year period; exceeded targets by 28% in 2013 and 43% in 2014
- Played key role in datacentre 2012 update & migration operation; liaised heavily with product teams and client accounts to ensure minimal disruption to client services and upcoming orders
- Bachelor of Business Management (Hons), Australia University | Australia | 2007
- Languages: Fluent in English.
- Availability: 2 months’ notice
References available upon request
Writing an IT Resume
Follow the steps of our resume writing guide and you’ll have a killer CV in no time!
1. Resume Header
Ensure your header clearly states your Name, Email Address and Contact Number. There is no need to put your home address or identification number.
2.Breaking Down the Sales Manager Resume Sample
An Executive Summary is the opening paragraph of your CV. It’s a snapshot of your overall career. As a salesperson, think of this as your elevator pitch.
In the 6 seconds recruiters spend reading your CV, they will read your Executive Summary first.
This means the Executive Summary is arguably the most important part in your resume. It tells recruiters your background, top strengths, certifications, industries you specialise in, and Significant Achievements.
Be sure to present your unique selling point and career narrative in your Executive Summary.
Here’s what an Executive Summary shouldn’t look like:
- Promising and Hardworking Senior Sales Manager with considerable experience in all aspects of sales. Involved in B2B/B2C sales to internal and external clients, guiding them through the sales cycle to exceed all set KPIs. Also experienced with launching company products across APAC and directing their brand campaigns to boost awareness, visibility and conversions.
- Extensive experience with managing thousands of client accounts and taking them through company sales pipeline.
- Great client communication skills, and experienced with client relationship management (CRM) to boost company’s top and bottom lines.
Now look at Jesse’s:
- Highly driven Sales Manager with over 13 years’ sales, marketing, and business development experience, directing brand campaigns and product launches across APAC
- Adept at client relationship management (CRM) and sales pipeline development, with a background managing portfolios of 2,000+ accounts and sales of $120M per annum
- Strong leader, with extensive knowledge of Telecommunication and Data Service markets across Australia, Australia, India, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, capable of leading B2B sales teams of 35+
- Attained YOY growth of 20%and increased market share by 13% from 2016 to 2018 at SingTel. Secured growth by identifying untapped market demographic, revising brand strategy and launching targeted campaigns via online channels – Singapore Telecommunications
- Led new market penetration across APAC, expanding presence for Telstra from Australia to Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and generating additional $8M in revenue within the first year – Telstra
Harry’s Executive Summary is clearly better.
Why?
It demonstrates:
- Clarity of Thought. Harry’s Executive Summary is simple and convincing — hallmarks of a great salesperson! This conveys clarity of thought to the reader. Most sales managers have plenty of experience, and numerous Achievements showcasing their ability to smash sales targets. But at this level, experience isn’t the issue for employers – clarity of thought is. As Hiring Managers, we’re thinking:
- Does this candidate know how to prioritise?
- Can they identify strategic corporate visions/goals that stretch beyond sales KPIs?
- How good are their communication skills?
- Do they have any leadership/team management experience?
A clear resume is an effective resume, for it conveys clarity of thought and inspires confidence in the candidate.
- Specific Information. Every bulletpoint on Harry’s Executive Summary states his skills clearly. There are no fluffy statements or unclear metrics.
- Communication. Harry’s Executive Summary illuminates his career. His skills are strengthened by Significant Achievements – they show recruiters Harry’s strengths. Instead of telling us he’s great, he’s showing us how he excels. We’ll elaborate more on Achievements below.
- Metrics. Numbers add scale to your Achievements. As salespeople, you know how important metrics are in tracking your performance and skills! But more importantly, they reflect an attention to detail. Effective salespeople pay attention to detail. Clear metrics convey this skill.
What else did you like about this Executive Summary? Excited to write your own?
If you’re struggling to write one, don’t fret! Writing an effective Executive Summary can be challenging. Why not try drafting yours, then send it to us for a free review? We’ll look through it and share our feedback – all at no cost!
3.Key Skills in a Sales Manager Resume
After catching the recruiter’s attention with a strong Executive Summary, you want to show them specific skills you can bring to the table.
In this section, insert skills that you are proficient in. Where possible, include exact keywords used in the job description. This increases the chances of your resume getting past ATS scanners (resume scanning software).
ResumeWriter Tip: Scan the job application and add the exact key phrases used in the description, into your resume.
Examples of Sales Manager Resume Key Skills:
- Cross/Multi Channel Sales
- Strategy Planning
- Strategy Roadmapping
- Business Development
- Sales Pipeline Management
- Sales Prospecting
- Market Research & Analysis
- New Market & Brand Penetration
- B2B Marketing
- P&L Management
- Change Management
- Client Relationship Management
- Stakeholder Management
- Client & Stakeholder Communication
- Team Leadership
- Internal Team Training & Management
- Team Mentorship
- Talent Development
- Accounts Processing
- Negotiation
At a managerial level, focus your resume on team leadership and client-facing skills. These include skills such as Strategy Roadmapping, Pitching to Stakeholders, Team Mentorship and Internal Team Management. Avoid inserting skills that revolve around execution or task-based activities. Hiring Managers looking to fill mid to senior-level roles place more emphasis on knowing how to lead a team, working with high-level stakeholders and the ability to work in line with a broader strategic vision.
4.Achievements and Work Experiences in Sales Manager Resumes
Work Experiences
As a sales manager today, you manage cross-functional teams, pitch to clients and stakeholders, and perhaps even plan the strategic vision for your organization. However, it’s likely you had started your sales career with long hours of pitching, upselling and conducting account or client maintenance.
Adding all these details into your resume makes your resume very lengthy – a pitfall you absolutely want to avoid.
So, what exactly do you write in your resume?
Here’s a trick: Cluster daily workscopes around responsibilities and high-level summaries. Omit implied workscopes to save space.
Present yourself as someone who is able to manage while achieving substantial outcomes. You could prioritize big-picture outcomes, such as the overall value of deals closed, sizes of teams you have led and projects or collaborations you have managed.
If you’re not sure exactly what to write, just reach out to us! We’ll provide detailed feedback on your CV at no cost!
Here’s how Harry’s Work Experience section looked before he purchased our service:
- Manage a team of sales executives, while concurrently selling B2B broadband services to clients across South East Asia and the Middle East. Manage multiple sales pipelines and ensured that sales teams met their semi-annual KPIs. Conducted performance reviews and coached underperforming sales executives.
- Worked together with Marketing and Strategy teams to develop new business opportunities and organize events to strengthen top lines. Responsible for planning large-scale events, bringing teams of multiple departments together to ensure smooth execution of event.
- Represented SingTel at leading industry events in Australia.
- Drafted and reviewed comprehensive product and revenue reports for senior management. Put together budgets and forecasts for product portfolio, before presenting them to senior management.
Here’s how we improved his resume’s Work Experiences.
- Lead team of 35 sales executives, directing B2B sales of broadband services to clients (varying from small SMEs to large MNCs) across Australia, Australia, India, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines
- Manage sales pipeline of $120M per annum and client portfolio of 50,000+ accounts. Conduct performance management, monitor sales teams’ KPIs, identify untapped opportunities, and develop action and response plans as necessary
- Liaise closely with Marketing and Strategy teams to develop new business initiatives. Assess go-to-market opportunities, coordinate product launches, and represent SingTel at leading industry events (Broadband Forum Asia, CommunicAsia, Sitex, etc.)
- Establish and grow business relationships with senior management of potential customers; communicate unique value proposition of SingTel products and potential business benefits to secure successful deal closure
- Generate comprehensive product and revenue reports for senior management, including peer product comparison. Detail budgets and forecasts as well as strategies to drive continued growth for product portfolio. Attend quarterly Global Sales Review & Insights session, and help guide and develop growth strategy
- Drive team growth and talent development, overseeing full cycle from hiring to training, mentoring, and appraisals. Conduct succession planning and bi-annual training workshops, growing team knowledge base across new product offerings and roadmaps, and guiding development in-line with SingTel core values
Clearly, Harry’s new Work Experience section reads so much better than the former.
Why?
- First, it’s now so much easier to read, even if there are more words.
- Each bulletpoint conveys one key responsibility.
- Every point is substantiated with detail — no second guessing about how he managed talent development or nurtured professional relationships with potential clients.
- It’s easy to infer Harry’s responsibilities from just one glance.
- Responsibilities are elaborated on. We know exactly how Harry coached sales staff in his team: He conducts succession planning and bi-annual training workshops, growing team knowledge base across new product offerings and roadmaps, and guiding development in-line with SingTel core values. In contrast, the first example only told recruiters what he did.
- Implied work experiences like attending meetings are omitted. If they are included, we written a detailed explanation of their significance.
- No repetition of power verbs for every bullet point. (In the first example, ‘Manage’ is repeated twice in the first bulletpoint).
- No pronouns or articles.
5. Key Achievements
Writing effective workscopes is important.
But Achievements are the X-factor that help YOU stand out from other Sales Managers or Management competitors.
Want to make a hiring manager go “WOW!” when they read your resume?
Be more than just a salesperson!
Hiring managers aren’t impressed by someone who just knows how to sell…
Be more than just a salesperson!
Be more than just a salesperson!
Build a trophy case, and show off your achievements AND past projects.
Demonstrate how your sales management skills have micro and macro impacts. Micro impacts include effects on your immediate team or department, while Macro impacts are implications on your company’s top/bottom lines and market share.
Finally, do link all your Achievements to tangible business benefits!
Take a look at this example.
- Attained YOY growth of 20% and increased market share by 13% from 2016 to 2018, by identifying untapped market demographic, revising brand strategy and launching targeted campaigns via online channels
- Instrumental in the design and implementation of new SME product offering and subsequent sales campaign, resulting in on-boarding of additional 2,000 clients within the first 6-months
- Saved 18-man hours, per sales team member, per week, and improved sales team operational efficiency by 12%, by designing and implementing new processes to overcome bottlenecks in sales quote procedure. New process resulted in $400K in additional sales within 2-month timeframe
- Outperformed all sales targets, ranking in Top 5 among company’s global sales team
Man, these are some great numbers!
Harry’s (improved) workscopes tell us he is an experienced and responsible Sales Manager.
But this selection of Achievements, shows how he is an incredible salesman – they show us his business results!
Dangle juicy results in front of recruiters’ eyes.
They’d LOVE to call you in for an interview!
Highlighting a selection of Projects are more effective than just writing your day-to-day responsibilities.
But writing great Achievements – Achievements that show business results – are the secret sauce to a successful resume.
It’s also good practice to support your achievements with numbers. This helps to add substance to your resume and give the reader an objective view of your skills and abilities.
As a Sales Manager, what kinds of Achievements could you write?
- Include projects which you have led and their resulting tangible business benefits. These benefits could be:
- New revenue gains
- Clients/leads closed
- Cost savings for the firm
- Enhanced/streamlined processes
- Awards received during your tenure
- Tie your Projects to business benefits. Hiring managers and employers want to see your results.
- Include as many details as possible on the success of your projects. Effective metrics to capture include:
- ROI
- Productivity gains
- Revenues from marketing projects you spearheaded
- Costs saved
- One especially crucial area to talk about is your experience in upselling services and/or products, if possible. Sales is always about going the extra mile to get more.
Bonus Job Hunting Tips for Sales Managers
You’ve learnt what it takes to write a successful Sales Manager resume. But what exactly are some of the latest traits that recruiters looking out for?
Key Pointers Recruiters Look For In Sales Manager Resumes
We’ve reached out to our network of recruiters and headhunters in Australia. This is what we’ve learnt:
1. Ability to Lead
- The top secret to an amazing sales manager resume?
- Don’t just focus on Sales!
- Sounds crazy, but it’s true.
- In today’s world most sales managers are expected to do more than just sell:
- They’re expected to lead.
- Are you managing a team? Can you successfully motivate them? Are you helping them hit their sales targets?
- If your Resume doesn’t show you can lead, you’re not going to get an interview.
2. Ability to Persuade
- “Sell me this pen.”
- This is a real interview question used at some companies.
- How do you stand out?
- By proving you know how to convince your audience and get their attention.
- To be an outstanding sales manager, you’ll have to think outside the box, get creative, and come up with unique ways to engage with customers.
3. Experts in their Fields
- We know there are plenty of open sales manager roles in the market. So how do we differentiate the great sales managers from the good?
- By verifying how well they know their stuff.
- So how do you stand out from other sales managers?
- By showing you’re an expert at your field in your resume.
- Get specific, put in industry relevant keywords and phrases, and make sure they can see you know your stuff.
- Go the extra mile by contextualizing your Achievements with details, metrics and experiences only you can write.
Sales Manager Free CV Feedback
- Now you know how to write a Sales Manager Resume, and what hiring managers look out for in candidates.
- Why not try writing your own, using our Free Downloadable Resume Templates?
- If you’ve any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help! Alternatively, feel free to purchase a resume writing package – we can take this task off your hands!
- Before you start sending out applications, don’t forget to get a free CV Feedback Session with our team! We’ll give your resume a free review, before you start sending out applications!
Sales Manager Job Opportunities
- Join LinkedIn groups or follow companies you wish to work for to keep abreast with new job openings.
- Alternatively, you can reach out to these headhunters in Australia to learn about any vacancies they may be trying to fill out.
Job Hunting Tips from our Resident Headhunter
- Create a winning cover letter and send it along your resume. The cover letter will serve as an introduction about yourself and is a great venue to answer the question “Why should we hire you?”
- Be active on social media, particularly on LinkedIn. Make sure to create a strong online profile that represents you and you professional experiences. Here’s our comprehensive guide on writing a great LinkedIn profile.
How to Prepare for a Sales Manager Job Interview
Before You Go…
Be sure to download this resume sample, which uses our tested-and-proven resume writing techniques, as a guide for your own CV. Best part is, this sample is available for free 🙂
And before you start sending out applications, send us your resume for a free CV feedback analysis from our team. We’ll review your CV in detail, share personalised feedback on its strengths and weaknesses, and show you how you can improve it.