Sales is the lifeblood of any organization, and sales associates are the most crucial front-end staff members. Their job is to interact with the customers, understand their pain points, and then talk about how the company’s products or services can help out the customer. To be a successful sales associate, you need to have excellent people management skills, strong communication skills, an extroverted personality, and the ability to manage stress. While college education is a bonus it’s not necessarily required for this job. Moreover, you don’t need any specific degree to be a salesperson. You can break into this field even if you have a degree in a completely different discipline.
Whatever your career stage, our guide and example can help you introduce yourself as someone who not only wants the job but who can do it well and help the company thrive.
Because this resume setup focuses on effectively presenting your skills, core competencies, and accomplishments - all summed up in a nicely formatted document - it’s perfect for anyone who wants to take their sales career to the next level or begin their sales career journey.
The resume starts with your full name and contact details, and it must also include the resume title of sales associate. This is to let the reader know which position you’re applying for, and it also serves as a crucial keyword for the ATS tool.
Next, you need to describe yourself in a few lines in the resume summary section. This is where you should focus on your key strengths, accomplishments, and commitment to customer success and business growth.
In your areas of expertise, mention the skills you need for this job. Focus on customer service, relationship-building, negotiation, leadership, and team-building skills. Problem-solving and conflict resolution are also important skills to have.
After describing your key skills, use the professional experience section to list all of your previous employment histories in a reverse chronological sequence. This means that your latest job role should be mentioned at the top. Each job role must be broken down into day-to-day job duties (in a paragraph) and key accomplishments (in a bulleted list).
If you have a college degree, you can present it in the education section. As mentioned earlier, a degree is not a prerequisite in many cases but is a nice-to-have qualification. Also, if you’ve completed any sales training courses, you can add them here as well. For some jobs, such as real estate sales, you’ll probably need a license and an affiliation with an accreditation organization.
Sales is more of a skill-based career that offers plenty of on-the-job learning opportunities that build upon your existing skills for success. If you’re applying for a sales associate job, here are few skills you need to work on and mention in your resume:
Consultative selling strategies
Upselling and cross-selling
Negotiation
Conflict resolution
Customer service
Business development
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Active listening
Creative problem-solving
Enthusiasm
Strong attention to detail
Perseverance
Product knowledge
Ability to convince and influence
Summary example
Dynamic leader with proven success in fast-paced, high-pressure sales environments. Natural talent for engaging with clients to assess needs, offer product and service solutions, and secure sales. Dedicated customer advocate with an unwavering commitment to exceptional service, resulting in customer retention and satisfaction. Serve as trusted assistant to management, instructing and guiding staff in business policies and procedures.
Employment history example
Sales Associate at RENTAL CAR CO
2018 - Present
Educate customers regarding optional products and additional services related to their needs. Respond with clear communication to telephone and email inquiries from potential and current customers; exhibit excellent customer service in a courteous and competent manner. Serve as overnight supervisor, and complete additional tasks as requested to meet team and company goals.
Recognized as a top performer, generating over $25K in upsells to customers per quarter.
Sales Associate and Customer Service Team Lead at UNDER ARMOUR
2015 - 2018
Supported customers with selection and purchase of sports and fitness apparel. Served as team leader on sales floor, demonstrating strong customer service practices; maintained appropriate sales floor coverage to meet needs of customers. Directed sales and performance indicators for self and sales associates to meet store goals. Provided sales associate training in service and selling performance, product knowledge, point-of-sale, and general store standards throughout onboarding process for new employees. Communicated issues and/or complaints to appropriate Manager or Assistant Manager. Assisted management team with recruiting and interviewing of potential sales associates.
Assisted with grand opening after reaching $1M in revenue as an outlet store.
Sales Associate at SAMSUNG
2011 - 2015
Improved communications by addressing and correcting related issues in a tactful and effective manner. Increased sales by promoting products and services in collaboration with market and area managers. Ensured adequate staffing levels to cover Jacksonville market by scheduling associates. Assisted market manager in day-to-day management of market. Trained store leads on policies and procedures. Received multiple invites for face-to-face new hire orientations based on reputation.
Expanded staff’s product knowledge via training of key features and high-level specifications.
Education example
Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Columbia College
Skills example
Customer Service
Consultative Sales
Team Leadership
Retail Sales
Problem Solving