Free Sales Manager Resume Templates & Examples

Sales Manager Resume Template (Text)

1. Contact Info

Your contact information should be prominently placed at the top of your resume, ensuring clarity and professionalism.

Be sure to include:

• Full name
• Phone number
• Professional email address
• City and state (ZIP code is optional)
• LinkedIn profile (especially important for sales roles, where recruiters source heavily from LinkedIn and hiring managers often check your network and recommendations before reaching out)
• Personal website or portfolio link, if you have one showcasing case studies, win stories, or sales-related writing

PRO TIP

Don’t include your current work email or office phone number. This is a red flag for hiring managers who know sales is a tight-knit industry, and you don’t want a recruiter accidentally reaching you at the desk next to your current boss.

2. Resume Profile

A resume profile is a brief introduction (2-4 sentences) that highlights your key qualifications and skills. It serves as a compelling pitch to hiring managers, designed to grab their interest and motivate them to explore more about your experience.

Typically located at the top of your resume, the profile can take the form of either a summary or an objective, each fulfilling distinct roles. This section sets the stage for your application by outlining what makes you an ideal fit:

• A resume summary focuses on your most relevant skills, achievements, and experience in driving sales performance. This approach works especially well for individuals with leadership experience or transferable abilities who want to emphasize their impact as a successful sales manager.
• A resume objective highlights your career ambitions and what you aim to accomplish in your next role. It’s particularly beneficial for recent graduates, individuals shifting careers, or those with limited experience, such as bootcamp participants entering tech or professionals moving into sales.

Let’s examine examples of a resume summary and a resume objective to understand their distinct purposes:

Sales manager resume summary example:

Sales manager resume objective example:

3. Work Experience

The work experience on your resume is important for showcasing your value. Employers evaluate not just job titles and responsibilities, but also the influence you’ve had in your previous roles. This aspect of your background clearly illustrates how well-suited you’re for the sales manager position, highlighting key achievements that align with the prospective company’s goals.

The work experience section should contain:

• Job title
• Employer name and location
• Dates of employment (month/year)
• 3–5 bullet points highlighting your sales strategies and performance metrics

Quantify everything you can. Sales hiring managers expect specific numbers, and a bullet without a metric tends to get skipped. The metrics that matter most for sales manager roles include:

• Quota attainment: “Achieved 128% of annual team quota” carries more weight than “exceeded sales targets”
• Revenue generated: total annual, deal size (average and largest), pipeline value managed
• Team outcomes: team size, rep attainment percentages, attrition reduction, ramp time
• Sales cycle metrics: win rate, forecast accuracy, deal velocity, churn reduction
• Growth metrics: new logos acquired, territory expansion, account growth

A note on confidentiality: If you’re bound by NDAs or work at a public company with disclosure restrictions, use percentages, ranges, or relative figures (“grew territory revenue 3x over two years”) instead of exact numbers.

Begin each bullet with a strong action verb like “Achieved,” “Scaled,” “Restructured,” or “Coached.” The general format:

[action verb] + [responsibility] = [result/achievement]

For example:

Note that you can also flip the result/achievement with the responsibility:

Explore more work experience examples tailored for sales managers further down the page.

4. Skills

The skills section gives a clear snapshot of your sales management abilities, emphasizing how you drive revenue growth. Using an ATS-friendly resume format allows hiring managers to evaluate your qualifications and suitability for the role with ease.

Skills can be grouped into three primary categories:

• Soft skills are interpersonal abilities that influence how well individuals collaborate in a sales environment. For sales managers, key soft skills include communication, empathy, problem-solving, and leadership.
• Hard skills are specific, measurable abilities acquired through education, training, or experience. For a sales manager, examples include data analysis, customer relationship management, and skill in CRM software.
• Management skills are the leadership and operational capabilities required to run a sales team effectively. For sales managers, this includes expertise in forecasting, pipeline review, coaching, territory planning, comp plan design, and hiring and ramping reps.

Overall, incorporating a mix of skills that match the specific job demands will showcase your suitability for the role. You can explore detailed examples of sales manager skills by browsing through other sections.

PRO TIP

If you’re new to management but have strong IC numbers, consider splitting this section into “Sales Leadership Skills” and “Sales Execution Skills.” This signals the transition clearly and shows a hiring manager you understand the difference.

5. Education

Where you place your education section depends entirely on where you are in your sales career.

If you’re entry-level or a recent graduate, put education at the top of your resume, right after your profile. It’s your strongest credential before you’ve had the chance to build a sales track record, and leading with it tells hiring managers you have the business fundamentals they’re looking for.

If you’re a mid-career or experienced sales manager, move education to the bottom. By this point, hiring managers care far more about the revenue you’ve driven and the teams you’ve built than where you studied a decade ago.

Start with your most recent or most relevant degree, and include the degree type, institution, and location. If you graduated recently, you can add your graduation year, GPA (if 3.5 or above), honors, and relevant coursework

Sales manager resume education section example:

PRO TIP

When listing multiple degrees on your resume, always arrange them in reverse-chronological order, starting with the most recent degree first, such as Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) followed by Associate Degree in Business (ADB).

6. Certifications

Certifications can strengthen a sales manager resume, especially in industries that value specialized knowledge or when you’re transitioning into management and want to signal commitment to the craft.

Keep your relevant certifications current and list the issuing organization and expiration date where relevant.

Sales manager certification examples:

• Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant | Salesforce | Expires: 04/2028
• MEDDIC Academy Certified | MEDDIC Academy | Issued: 2024
• Certified Sales Executive (CSE) | Sales and Marketing Executives International | Expires: 11/2027
• Strategic Account Management Certification | SAMA | Expires: 01/2028

Popular Resume Bullets for Sales Managers

These examples are pulled from our most-used entries in the resume builder — based on what hiring managers respond to most.

5 Soft Skills for Your Resume or CV

5 Hard Skills for Your Resume or CV