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Sales Resume Tips

Posted by Matt On April - 28 - 2009

I am in the process of hiring 4 more sales people for a new market we are entering in Western Canada. Our organization is in growth mode (good) and we do not have the resources to have HR pre-screen candidates (bad).

This puts me in a position where I am responsible for the full hiring process - from reviewing incoming applications right through to the eventual offer. I currently manage 12 sales people so I have to make sure that the time I dedicate to recruiting is efficient.

Each resume I look at gets a 60 second run through. If it catches my attention I’ll spend a few minutes with it and if the candidate looks promising I’ll fire off an email to book a telephone interview.

Below are some sales resume tips for sales people that are looking to make a career change:

  • Make it personal. Your cover letter should show that you have put at least a little effort into applying for this position. Spend some time with the job description and write a brief cover letter that is specific to the position posted. Tell me who you are, why you love selling and what you have accomplished in three short paragraphs. Check your spelling and grammar, if you can’t take the time to spell check, I don’t want you in front of our prospects and customers! Lastly, if you are going to use a generic letter and customize it make sure you review first. I had a decent looking resume come in with a cover letter that was made out to a furniture store ” although my experience isn’t in the furniture industry…..”. That one went in the shredder pretty quick.
  • List your accomplishments. For every 10 sales resumes I get only 1-2 have accomplishments listed. If you can’t tell me about sales territories that you have grown, sales awards you have won or big name clients you have signed than I will assume you haven’t grown, won or signed any significant business
  • Explain any red flags. There may be a good reason (downsizing, management/ownership changes) that your last two jobs stints have been brief. Tell me what they are or I will assume you are a job jumper. If there is a 4 month gap in employment let me know what you were doing.

    I will assume you were sitting around the house smoking blunts, so if you weren’t - and were building homes in Africa or helping your wife launch a new business - tell me about it.

  • Don’t list every job you’ve ever had. Your last 10 years work history is more than enough. I really don’t care that you worked at Acme Video in 1993.

    The job market is getting tight. We are seeing 3-4x the amount of resumes we normally see for an open sales position. Take the time to put together a strong, relevant resume and you will book more interviews.

    • Sales Interviewing

    Sales Interviewing

    Posted by Matt On March - 19 - 2009

    I like to keep my sales interviews with potential candidate loose. A sales interview is not much different from a sales call. Like a sales call I want the conversation to flow and to transition from one topic to the next.

    I hate canned interviews with a set question list. I’ve been on the other side of them, for some pretty decent opportunities, and I couldn’t get my head around what the manager was trying to accomplish with a rigid set of questions. The interviews end up being choppy and awkward. The candidates prepares for a list of 35 standard interview questions and I don’t believe the manager gets a good assessment of the candidate.

    Sales interviewing should be a fluid process. To support this I use what I call my scribble matrix.

    I take an 8.5 x 11 and write the candidates name in the middle of the sheet. Prior to the interview I identify 5 or 6 areas that I want to drill down on; activity levels, closing techniques, communication, teamwork, time management, etc. I use these 5 or 6 points to guide the interview and drill down from there.

    scribblematrix

    My experience using this framework has been great. I find the candidates aren’t expecting an open format like this and you get a great snapshot of how they perform in sales calls.

    I also find the candidate will let down their guard and tell you valuable - in some cases damning - information.

    One that sticks in mind is a candidate that interviewed well but felt so comfortable that at the end of the call he let me know how hard a time he has getting out of bed in the morning! Next!

    Sales Interviewing