CV example
Sales representative CV example
Sales managers hire on numbers: quota, attainment, deal size and pipeline. This example shows a rep who makes those numbers the first thing anyone reads, with the context that makes them believable.
Below you'll find a full example CV (also called a résumé), summaries for different experience levels, the skills and keywords employers search for, stronger bullet points, and the interview questions to prepare for.
Sales representative CV summary examples
Your summary is the first thing a recruiter reads. Two or three sentences: who you are, your strongest evidence, and what you want next. Here is the example CV's summary, plus versions for other levels.
Example CV
B2B sales professional with 5 years selling software to mid-sized companies. Consistently above quota, with a disciplined pipeline and a consultative style customers trust.
Entry level
Customer-facing graduate with 2 years of retail sales experience, regularly top of the store’s monthly sales board. Confident on the phone and eager to move into B2B sales.
Senior or enterprise
Enterprise account executive with 9 years selling to Fortune 500 companies. Average deal size $450,000, with 5 consecutive years above quota.
Skills to put on a sales representative CV
Hard skills
- Prospecting and outbound outreach
- Discovery and needs analysis
- Product demos and presentations
- Negotiation and closing
- Pipeline and forecast management
- CRM discipline (Salesforce, HubSpot)
- Account management and upselling
Soft skills
- Resilience
- Active listening
- Persuasion
- Self-motivation
Show soft skills through your bullet points rather than listing them on the CV itself.
Keywords recruiters and ATS look for
Many employers screen CVs with an applicant tracking system (ATS) that matches words from the job ad. These come up often in sales representative postings. Use the ones that are true for you, in the same wording as the job you're applying for. To compare your CV with a specific job ad, use the free CV keyword checker, or have Litjob tailor your CV to the job description for you.
- sales representative
- account executive
- quota attainment
- B2B sales
- pipeline
- prospecting
- cold calling
- negotiation
- closing
- CRM
- Salesforce
- revenue growth
For live figures, see the skills most requested in Sales job ads, updated weekly from thousands of postings.
Bullet points: before and after
Strong bullet points say what you did, how big it was and what changed. Compare:
WeakMet my sales targets.
StrongerHit 112% of annual quota ($1.1M) and ranked in the top 10% of the sales team.
WeakMade cold calls.
StrongerMade 60 calls a day and turned outbound into 35% of my closed revenue.
WeakManaged client accounts.
StrongerGrew revenue from 30 existing accounts by 25% through upsells and renewals.
WeakGave product demos.
StrongerRan 15 demos a month with a 30% demo-to-close rate.
Only use numbers you can explain in an interview. An honest estimate (“about 30%”) is better than a made-up exact figure.
Tips for writing a sales representative CV
Quota attainment comes first
Percent of quota, the quota amount and your ranking are what sales managers look for. Put them in your first bullet for each job.
Give context for your numbers
Deal size, sales cycle and customer type (SMB, mid-market, enterprise) show what kind of seller you are.
Include awards and promotions
President’s Club, rep of the quarter and fast promotions are short, powerful proof.
Be ready to back up every figure
Interviewers will ask. Use numbers you can explain, and keep them consistent with LinkedIn.
Common sales representative interview questions
Your CV gets you the interview, and interviewers will ask about what's on it. Prepare for these:
- Sell me this product.
- Ask questions first to find the need, then pitch to it. Do not launch straight into features.
- Walk me through your pipeline right now.
- Know your numbers: stages, deal values and how you forecast.
- Tell me about a deal you lost.
- Explain why, what you learned and what you do differently now.
- How do you handle a quarter where you are behind?
- Show a concrete plan: pipeline review, focus accounts and more activity.