Sales CV

One of the most searched about terms according to Google with regards CV Writing is "Sales CV," with some 43,000 people a month, and 22,000 in the UK alone, searching the term.

But I want to put a proposition to you: does a sales person actually need a Sales CV? I"d argue vehemently the case is almost an absolute no, although I accept that at the end of the day the HR process will always make the answer yes.

But if you walk through the job seeking process, why does a sales person actually need a Sales CV? Why not thoroughly evidence your skills and abilities by selling yourself?

Sales CV: what do employers want?

If I ask you what an employee wanted from a sales person, what would your answer be? Would you focus on training and background, or process and learnt techniques, or what about knowledge of a particular market place or the key target customers? The more developed answer would start to look at metrics behind the claimed skills, with number of new accounts opened, or number of accounts retained and expanded.

The answer of course is far more simple: profitable revenue. Sales people are there to close sales, and every sales person knows the sale is not complete until the invoice is paid. In sales, numbers, specifically those with a pound or dollar sign based revenue sign, count.

So if numbers count, why do over half of the sales CV that I I ever read never mention one number, let alone one with a pound or dollar sign in front of them? If your Sales CV does not mention an actual revenue result within the first half page, then are you actually the great sales person that you claim to be? The evidence would suggest not

Sales CV: what needs to be proven

If sales people are measured on financial results, then what does every employer need beyond that to insure themselves that they are making the right hiring decision?

The areas of the hiring processes covering the telephone interview, the job interview and referencing are all about one objective: gathering evidence to verify and support the job applicants claims, and hence suitability to do that job. If job applicants did not lie in their CV"s, and if work experience claims could be immediately verified – as they should be by using your professional social networking profile – then these three process would reduce very in time scale. Then the only point in meeting a job applicant would be to get them to sign their contract of employment.

So what employers need is evidence of your sales skills. While references and HR processes can prove these, why not use your sales skills from day one to show how great and suitable a sales person that you are?

Sales CV: sell yourself

If you are the service that a potential customer that you know who is in the buying cycle may want to purchase, how would you go about selling you?

A service differentiates itself from a product by offering a support process in operations and aftercare, that is evidenced in the sales process through both example and the sales approach. So why not evidence your unique sales ability and approach to the employee by using them when applying for Sales jobs?

Firstly, as any good sales person knows, although the customer may not be in the buying cycle right now, that does not mean that they would not buy right now if the right offer was placed in front of them. If you know what you want, then you must be able to list 20+ companies who would be great next steps in your sales career path. Ideally you need a list of 50, so list each of them down, and state why you believe that they are both great to work for, and logical steps forward in your sales career.

Secondly, do your research: are these companies expanding or contracting? Are their markets expanding or contracting, and if so why? Who are their key customers, and what are their key issues and hence needs? How is the organization structured, and hence who are the key executives in your target area? Read and note all sources of information, including company reports, their own website, press releases and media coverage. If they are in a consumer market, then there is probably a forum where their and their rivals products are discussed, so search out and find these as well.

Now go to your preferred professional social media network, and see what you can find inside the organization, and who you are connected to? Many companies now have their own closed groups on LinkedIn, but you can often join industry, supplier, customer or key technology groups around their market which allow you to easily observe or connect to key personnel within a target organization, ie: just like you would when using networking based sales techniques.

Now time for a bit of reflection and choice. This is as key in your job application as any area through the whole process, as choice is evidence to the employer of vision and perceived risked capability: what options did you have, and why choose that one?

What does your research tell you so far? Without you really, really want to work there, remove the companies which are contracting or where you feel the social fit just would not work. That should take you down from 50 companies around 20/25. What are the key issues for these companies, and who are the key players?

Sales CV evidence

Now time to evidence your Sales CV in action, for instance:

• If you are seeking a job as a cold caller, pick up the phone and hit the target person with your best technique issue around what you see as their key needs


• If you are seeking a Junior Sales Executive, pick either a cold calling or a networking technique, pitching on why you are the unique solution to their needs, and why a a 20min meeting over a cup of coffee is of mutual interest


• If you are seeking a job as an Account Director, then pick a key customer and analyze their needs, and how you see that organization addressing it and since obtaining a sale in the next quarter / appropriate time scale. Write this up as a case study, and then connect yourself to the Sales Director to ask to pitch your idea


• If you are seeking to become Sales Director, then write up a strategy paper over viewing the market pressures on that company, based on evident and market techniques including SWAT. Network yourself through a mutual contact or professional group to the CEO or chairman, and pitch your strategy

By using these techniques and approaches, you have demonstrated two things: uniqueness in being a human being who listens and thinks; and secondly real evidence in front of your target employer of your capabilities to sell and deliver.

Sales CV Templates

Will you ever need a Sales CV? Of course, because someone in HR will insist on going through the defined legal HR process. But now you have got yourself in and sold, is anyone really going to worry too much about what it looks like and says? As long as it does not lie, then no.

So if you think you need a Sales CV, then you probably do. But what does it say about you to the employer? Does it say sales person, and does it evidence your proven sales capability? If not, then what"s the point in creating it. If yes, then why not take action and demonstrate that through use of your capabilities to get you in front of the target hiring manager, and then getting yourself the job?

Sales CV: does your evidence your sales capability? Good Luck!

Sales CV