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Example Sales Director Resume - Browse more resume templates and build a stand-out resume
A national retailer needs a high-energy sales director to exceed revenue goals. A hot startup is looking for an ambitious marketing leader to guide a team of aspiring technical salesmen.
A global chain is in crisis and needs a sales director to right the wrongs.
Any sales director can try and apply for the jobs. But only those with the best sales director resume will enter the spotlight.
Does your sales director resume get you shortlisted or ignored?
Being a sales director takes the right mix of organizational and motivational skills. You must meet sales deadlines, manage your team and make time to design presentations.
You must do it while inspiring your team members to be creative and persuasive as well.
Above all, you must build trust and lead a team that can do the same.
Major retailers don’t hire just anyone to lead their sales teams. They want the best when it comes to driving profit.
You have to show them you’re the best. We’re here to help.
Our Sales Director resume guide will show you:
- 8 sales director resume examples that show your ability to lead sales teams
- How to highlight your sales and leadership skills
- Ways to match your resume to the job description
- How to include your education and certifications on your resume
- What kind of achievements get the recruiters’ attention
- How to write a winning resume that will land you an interview
Sales Director Resume example
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- Vice President resume
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- Salesman resume
- Account Manager resume
How to Write a Sales Director Resume Worth $1 Million Dollars
You’ve got the right skills to motivate your sales team to break all sales records.
Your resume must show how you’ve mastered these sales skills.
Sales director jobs require the ability to develop strategic sales plans that meet and exceed sales targets. The best sales director resume examples include a mix of organizational and motivational skills.
It helps to have success in sales to lead others to success. Include your sales achievements on your sales director resume.
Sales numbers attract hiring managers’ attention. So do details like how big of a team you led.
After all, business is about numbers. A company wants the sales director that will make sales numbers increase.
It’s a high-stress job. They want someone who can handle the pressure.
Show them that’s you.
Here’s what a recruiter will look for in your resume:
- What sales experience do you have?
- Can you motivate sales teams?
- Can you manage the stress that comes with the job?
- How will you help them meet sales targets?
- Are you aware of industry trends that facilitate new business development?
- Are you a good project manager?
- Can you forge client relationships in challenging scenarios?
The most important sections of a Sales Director resume:
- Detailed resume header
- Resume summary
- Resume experience
- Education and certifications
- Sales and soft skills
Each of these sales director resume sections must pitch you as the perfect candidate for the sales director job. The recruiter must know why you’re the best fit.
Bonus Section: How to use Quantitative data In Your Sales Director resume without sounding “off”
Companies want sales directors who can make sales happen. You show that’s you by using quantitative data.
Numbers rule in business. Business leaders make their decisions by looking at the numbers.
Show them the right numbers on your sales director resume.
Examples of what they want to see include:
- Size of sales teams you’ve led
- How much sales revenue you generated
- How many years of experience do you have particularly in sales?
- How many years of sales leadership you have
Include these numbers in your sales director resume summary and experience sections. Let’s learn what else to include in these sections.
We’ll help you impress the recruiter. Let’s start with how to introduce yourself.
Sales Director Resume Header: Winning Recruiters In Two Sentences
Picture this. You’re pitching your product to a national chain. Do you start with a limp handshake?
Never in your life, right? Then why start your resume with the equivalent of a limp handshake?
Your sales director resume header is the first impression you will make with a new company. That’s why it matters.
You don’t share much information in your header, but it must be the right information.
This isn’t how to do it.
What’s wrong with it?
It’s vague. You don’t say what kind of sales leader you are or in what industry you work.
How can you fit anything in a header that will impress a recruiter? Here is how.
Now the recruiter knows more about your sales director leadership skills. This would especially be valuable if you are applying for a job as a sales director to lead remote teams.
Your Linkedin profile shows that you’re a professional who networks with others. Remember much of directing sales teams requires the ability to network.
It also requires staying up to date on sales trends, which you can do by joining groups on Linkedin.
Sales Director Resume Summary That Sells Itself
A sales director resume summary should start making your pitch about why you’re the right sales director for the job. Start wooing the recruiter with your wealth of sales knowledge.
Don’t go overboard on the wooing, though. Your summary should be brief but impactful.
What exactly does the job involve? Look over the job posting to find valuable information for your summary.
You want to weave some of your quantitative data in this section. For instance, how large of a sales team did you lead at your last job?
Here is an example of what not to do.
It reads like a textbook example of what a sales director should do. It sounds good but lacks key information that the recruiter will want to see.
It needs more quantitative data. For example:
- How long you worked in this position
- Achievements like how much you increased sales
Basically, a recruiter wants to see your accomplishments. Not be told that you are accomplished.
In other words, show, don’t tell.
Let’s look at another example.
Now you’re going somewhere with this sales director resume summary section. The hiring manager will see that you’re a candidate who gets results.
The summary tells more about what industry you specialized in and gives examples of how you coached others to be successful.
Sales Director Resume Experience Section: How to Combine Key Competencies With Impact
Just because you can sell a lot of products doesn’t mean you can be a sales director.
Being a sales director takes not only sales know-how but the ability to motivate and lead others as well.
It takes a people person who can be in charge and make the tough decisions.
Your sales director resume experience section should show a mixture of sales accomplishments and examples where you lead teams to success. You are responsible for the quota of every individual on your sales team.
How can you help them meet their quotas if you aren’t a sales leader yourself? At the same time, how can you train them if you can’t communicate well?
2 Sales Director resume experience samples
Here is your opportunity to showcase your experience as a sales leader. If you are not sure how, break down your roles like this:
- What was the company’s sales goals?
- How did you meet or exceed them?
- What leadership roles did you hold?
- How did you motivate others to reach their goals?
Job candidates often do not sell themselves enough in their experience section. For example:
Most of the job candidates could write this same experience section. It doesn’t show how the business benefited from the candidate’s work.
It lacks results and has no quantitative data.
Again, numbers mean plenty when companies seek sales professionals. Make your numbers count.
For example:
If this experience section was yours, it would show your leadership skills and your ability to increase sales. It includes several examples of quantitative data.
It gives the recruiter plenty of reasons to call and invite you to interview with the company.
How should you explain your Sales Director duties?
Here are some common responsibilities to consider for your sales director resume:
- Managed a team of sales managers
- Developed an effective sales strategy that achieves objectives
- Created strong relationships with stakeholders and potential customers
- Understood competitive market trends
- Used data to forecast sales and set performance goals
- Provided company-wide guidance for account executives
- Monitored competitors’ products and sales strategy
- Recruited, selected and trained new employees
- Identified and solved client issues, facilitated strategic and technical support
How do you strengthen your resume for a sales director position? Candidates for sales director positions are often sales professionals who have experience in leading teams.
Emphasize your leadership experience and how it prepares you for the position. Include experience leading businesses even if the leadership is not necessarily over sales teams.
Do you have experience like forecasting sales and monitoring the competition? Include whatever experience you have that is similar to what’s listed in the job description.
If you have gaps in your experience, try these steps:
- Show how your past jobs are similar to the position you want.
- Explain how your education led to real-world experiences that will help you succeed as a sales director.
- Include training programs and apprenticeships that connect you with the work of a sales director.
Sales Director Education Section: do you need it?
Companies want well-rounded sales directors with a wealth of experience and knowledge. Recruiters often look to see where you gained your knowledge.
That’s why you need an education section.
Sales directors often have a bachelor’s degree in sales, marketing, business administration or a similar field. Some jobs may require a master’s degree.
Results matter greatly when applying for sales director jobs. It is possible to become a sales director if you have the right experience and lack a degree.
You can supplement your degree with certifications. Certifications show that you sought extra skills in your industry.
Sales certifications to consider adding to your resume
Sales Director Resume Achievements Section: A Small Section That Makes All The Difference
The easiest way to grab recruiter’s attention and warm them up towards you is to showcase your achievements.
Your achievements can showcase your sales performance, proven ability to meet sales goals, or capabilities to successfully implement a business plan.
Make sure your achievements contain results and impact.
Dull achievement: fulfilled sales quota for 2 years in a row.
It’s not an achievement because that was your job.
Good achievement: restructured digital marketing department to increase advertising ROI by 700%.
Sales Director Resume Skills: Putting Skills That Matter The Most
It takes the right mix of strong sales skills, business acumen, interpersonal skills, and technical knowledge to be a successful sales director.
You must have strong leadership skills and the ability to motivate others. Managing the marketing department and directing sales teams requires you to facilitate sales objectives and delegate effectively.
Interpersonal skills such as negotiation and excellent communication skills hint at your ability to secure potential clients, facilitate contract negotiation, and present results to senior management.
You must be personable, establish credibility, and have a positive attitude so that people will want to follow you as a leader.
Sales directors also need strong analytical skills so that they can study sales reports and determine why sales are over- or under-performing. They must be strategic so they can overcome the competition.
22 Soft Skills to include on a sales director resume
- Analytical
- Leadership
- Collaboration
- Management skills
- Direct sales
- Sales forecasting
- Motivational
- Coaching
- Time management
- Relationship building
- Staffing
- Innovation
- Budgeting
- Strategic thinking
- Problem solving
- Decision accuracy
- Critical thinking
- Strong Communication Skills
- Presentation skills
- Negotiation
- Product Management
- Customer service
Do Sales Directors Need Technical Skills?
These days sales success is highly dependent on your ability to use modern technology in your sales cycle.
Having technical skills such as proficiency with customer relationship management system (CRM) on your resume is a great way to stand out from your competition.
7 Technical Skills to include on a Sales Director resume
- CRM (e.g. Salesforce, Hubspot)
- Tableau
- Google Analytics
- Microsoft Office (Powerpoint, Excel)
- Market Research software
- Account Management software
- Product Management software (Asana, Jira, etc.)
Bonus Section: Tips For Specific Sales Director Resume Templates (With Examples)
Executive Sales Director Resume Sample
Executive sales director is a sales director with x10 responsibility and recruiters struggle to fill this high-profile position for global companies. Make sure your resume doesn’t focus too much on individual performance and presents you as a leader and a senior level manager.
- Showcase your work on a scale. Executive sales directors operate within global or regional companies and lead large sales departments. Your resume experience and project outcomes should reflect your ability to achieve impactful results with strategic leadership.
- Use strategic terms. Weave in your resume terms such as growth strategy, strategic planning, new business development, regional sales team lead, primary accountability to showcase your experience with sales leadership at scale.
Creative Sales Director Resume Sample
You know these creative companies and hot startups that don’t look for people in black suits with a case full of marketing documentations or reference letters?
They need someone who shares their values: out-of-box thinking and creativity. Surely, they need someone with an experience too, but if you stand from the crowd that’s a big differentiator.
If you’re applying for a company where creativity is one of the main values, follow these tips:
- Use custom sections.Custom sections such as “A Day in Life” and “Most Proud of” let your resume stand out and showcase your job-winning qualities in a real-world context.
- Use custom headlines.Custom header grabs recruiter’s attention from the start and frames the rest of your resume in the most appealing light.
- Use color and advanced formatting. Color and custom formatting serve you two ways: it makes your resume more readable and it creates visual interest. Use color and formatting sparingly and your resume will leave behind candidates that greet recruiters with a wall-of-text.
Advertising Sales Director Resume Sample
There are industries and companies that will benefit from hiring Sales Directors with experience in specific areas. This can range from experience in specific technology or industry, or specific background such as advertising or publishing.
Follow our tips to get shortlisted for these positions:
- Use a targeted resume. Targeted resumes drastically improve your chances to land an interview. Follow ourguide on how to properly tailor your resume for a specific position.
- Use niche specific terms in your resume. Scan other job descriptions and industry trends to check whether other employees often utilize niche-specific terms. For example, digital advertising companies will often use acronyms such as PPC, PPV, and CPA.
How do you make your sales director resume marketable?
- Highlight how your background prepares you for the position
- Use quantitative data throughout your resume
- Match your skills and experience to the job description
- Balance your experience, skills and education
- Make each resume section strong
