Sales Representative Resume Examples

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Career Advice Contributor
by Gabriela Barcenas  Career Advice Contributor 
Last Updated: January 17, 2025 
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Pitch Key Skills
With a Resume Summary

To grab a recruiter’s attention in the seven seconds they typically spend on a resume, open your sales representative resume with a persuasive introduction. A resume summary is a brief three-to-four-sentence introduction that highlights your top skills and professional strengths, serving as your personal sales pitch.

If you have extensive experience in the field, opt for a professional summary to showcase your expertise. For first-time applicants, use an objective statement to highlight your skills and align them with your career goals.

Check the examples below to see which approach works best for your situation.

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Good sales rep resume example:

“An experienced sales representative with a proven track record of success in developing new business and increasing sales. Have a strong background in customer service, highly skilled in building relationships with clients and developing tailored solutions to meet their needs. Proven ability to generate leads, close deals, and drive sales, resulting in increased revenue for employers.”

Why this example passes:

  • Feature candidate’s success statistic to grab attention.
  • Numbers add detail about how big the results you deliver are, e.g., test scores, passing rate and more.
  • Shows career length, 11 years.
  • Mentions employer-desired skills: generate leads and increase revenue.
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Bad sales rep resume example:

“Experienced Sales Representative looking to utilize my interpersonal skills to increase customer satisfaction. Passionate about developing relationships with clients and providing excellent customer service. Dedicated to helping customers find the right product for their needs.”

Why this example fails:

  • Doesn’t include any numbers that quantify sales representative’s performance.
  • Uses vague descriptions and skills.
  • Doesn’t include years of sales experience.

Get Extra Help Writing Your
Summary Statement

Prove your value as a sales representative with a sharply written professional summary. You can choose from expert-written content suggestions using our Resume Builder!

  • 1

    Enter the details about the job title you held. The builder comes preloaded with auto-suggested phrasing written by resume experts.

  • 2

    Then, just pick from these suggested phrases that best frame your experience and customize them to your liking!

  • 3

    All you have to do is choose the summary phrases that best frame your experience. It’s like having a professional do it for you!

Our Resume Builder will help you write a custom sales representative resume in 15 minutes! However, if you want to give your resume more dedicated attention, you can also employ our professional writing services to kickstart your search for an sales representative role confidently.

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How to Add Experience to a
Sales Representative Resume

A detailed work experience section helps employers measure your potential by reviewing real-world accomplishments and responsibilities. Your work history outlines your previous jobs, unique skills, and relevant achievements that align with the open job.

These professional sales representative resume examples highlight the best and worst ways to describe your work history.

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Good example:

Sales Representative — Tahoe Consignments
Lake Tahoe, CA — 2019 – Current

  • Generated new sales leads and secured new furnishing accounts, increasing sales by 25% in 6 months.
  • Developed and implemented effective sales strategies to boost sales by 20%.
  • Cultivated relationships with key clients to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Why this example passes:

  • Numbers and statistics add detail and quantify the results this sales representative delivers: sales increase of 25%.
  • Good use of strong words and active language.
  • References specialized skills like client relationships and collaboration.
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Bad example:

Sales Representative — Tahoe Consignments
Lake Tahoe, CA — 2019 – Current

  • Answered customer inquiries
  • Processed orders
  • Developed relationships with clients
  • Attended sales meetings

Why this example fails:

  • Lacks numbers or statistics.
  • Describes general tasks, not teaching achievements or career highlights.
  • Uses active verbs, but doesn’t focus on results.

Sales Representative Resume Skills Examples

Here are 18 sample skills for sales representative:

  • Key account generation
  • Systems and software expertise
  • Contract negotiations
  • Records management
  • Customer service
  • Account management
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Strategic planning
  • Lead generation
  • Business development
  • Customer needs assessment
  • Customer relations
  • Retention strategies
  • Proposal development
  • Revenue generation
  • Process improvement
  • Sales forecasting
  • Performance Improvement

You should sprinkle customer service and interpersonal skills throughout your resume. You’ll share specific examples under your professional summary and work history section, but you can also add six to eight unique abilities under a dedicated skills section.

Add Additional Sections for Relevant Hobbies

These sales representative resume examples feature the five standard resume sections: contact information, professional summary, work experience, skills and education.

You can add custom sections, but only if you can tie these skills to the job description. Consider adding the following sections if they boost your application.

Here are some examples of optional sales representative resume sections that you could add to provide greater detail:

  • Languages
  • References
  • Additional skills
  • Professional skills
  • Soft skills
  • Certifications
  • Interests
  • Photo

Including additional sections that help you convince employers you’re the best fit for the position. However, be selective about what qualifications you include, and eliminate any that don’t respond to the job’s specific requirements.

Examples of Resume Formats

The way you organize your sales representative resume is called a resume format. There are three main resume formats with pros and cons: chronological, functional and combination. Here are examples of each:

The key differences between these formats rely on if you need to emphasize your steady work history or notable skills. You’ll choose a format based on your years of sales experience.

How to choose a resume format

0-3
Years of experience

Functional formats

  • Focus on skills.
  • Best for first-time sales representative who lack work experience.
  • Good for people re-entering workforce.
  • May omit dates in the work history section.
Organization:
  • Skills listed above work experience.

3-10
Years of experience

Combination formats

  • Balance skills and work history.
  • Ideal for mid-career sales representative.
  • Suitable for career changers and people seeking promotion.
Organization:
  • Skills next to or above work experience.

10+
Years of experience

Chronological formats

  • Put the most focus on work history.
  • Best for sales representative with a long, steady career.
  • Most popular format.
  • Preferred by recruiters.
Organization:
  • Work experience listed above skills.
Once you know the best format for you, it’s easy to pick a sales representative resume template. Templates are preformatted layouts created by design professionals to ensure your resume looks amazing!

About the Author

Gabriela Barcenas

Gabriela Barcenas Career Advice Contributor

Gabriela Barcenas is a certified professional resume writer (CPRW) and baking enthusiast. She likes to defend the controversial use of the functional resume to her friends in HR. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in English and Creative Writing and has written about career growth, tech startups, education, fashion, travel and lifestyle culture throughout her career.

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