To run a successful business, you need sales and then profit; that's where these professionals come to play. An inside sales representative sells goods and services to clients within an office environment or a retail store.
They accomplish their task by attending to walk-in customers or looking for sales through email, cold calling, lead follow-up, and lead generation. Some of their responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:
To achieve their primary assignment as an inside sales representative, they need a particular set of [hard] skills, which are well enumerated in this guide. However, these sales skills have to be tailored to the job advert because recruiters often screen them using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
So, they have to be well researched and included in the resume of an inside sales representative because that's the first attempt to make a good impression. And hopefully, make it past the first stage of screening.
Inside sales representatives also have the potential to transition into senior positions such as account executive, sales manager, and senior sales manager.
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An inside sales manager is the spine behind a performing team of inside sales representatives; some of their responsibilities include training, mentoring, and hiring talented employees.
They also monitor sales metrics and sales administration processes, create sales plans for meeting sales objectives, and motivate their sales team.
Coupled with all of the above, professionals in this role need excellent communication and leadership skills.
This applicant's resume shows some of the abovementioned points, e.g., achievement metrics and leadership skills.
You should back up your bi or trilingual ability by stating those languages in your resume. As an inside sales manager, this ability will come in handy when dealing with different customers—hiring managers to look out for this quality. It's valuable and not common.
An inside sales associate pitches and sells their company's products to clients via phone calls or emails. They can work in any business setting, giving them ample employment opportunities.
Their responsibilities include:
Communication with clients
Keeping sales records
Generating leads
Using product knowledge to pitch goods and services, and
Responding to product inquiries.
Survival in this field means being armed with the relevant sales techniques like thorough product knowledge.
Without understanding your product, a question like "how will this item meet my needs" may throw you off balance.
One way to boost your sales techniques is by attending seminars like the applicant did in our sample resume. People skills also earned this inside sales representative good client reviews.
You should include any certificate relevant to inside sales associates in your resume. These documents make you stand out as an authority in your sales field. They could also give you an edge over other equally qualified candidates who don't have them.
You should only add skills relevant to an inside sales associate and the job advert. It's okay to have additional skills, like coding or graphic design, but do not include them when applying for a sales-related job. You don't want ATS filters to throw your resume in the bin before the interview stage.
Inside sales executives persuade customers to buy a company's product by interacting with them via outbound phone calls, live webchats, and emails. They need good leadership quality because one of their responsibilities may include managing a couple of inside sales representatives.
They also work with the logistics department to ensure goods are delivered on time and follow-up to ensure timely delivery of the products.
Below are some responsibilities an inside sales executive may be tasked with:
Update CRM software
Generate qualified leads
Issue quotes
Process purchase orders
Upsell/cross-sell and
Attend industry events, educational workshops, seminars, Etc.
These professionals must sufficiently communicate the value proposition of their company's products to new and existing clients.
If you find yourself in this role, your resume must showcase your sales achievements, skillsets, methods, and relevant experience.
If you surpassed a sales target or KPI, you should state it, including the period or time frame. Writing this in your resume can also position you for promotion to a managerial role. It shows the initiative to go beyond what your line supervisor or manager "told you to do."
One important trait that recruiters look out for in the resume of inside sales executives is their accomplishments. And it would be best to quantify this by attaching figures to your achievements like "Surpassed sales target by 89% within ...". With this, you're indirectly telling them that you can handle the task and have the evidence to back up your claim.
As a hiring manager who has recruited for Inside Sales roles at companies like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Oracle, I've seen countless resumes come across my desk. The best Inside Sales resumes are tailored to the specific job and company, and highlight the candidate's relevant skills and experience. In this article, we'll share some tips on how to create a strong Inside Sales resume that will help you stand out from the competition and land your dream job.
When it comes to Inside Sales resumes, numbers speak louder than words. Hiring managers want to see concrete examples of your sales achievements, so be sure to include metrics whenever possible. Here are some examples:
By including specific numbers and percentages, you give hiring managers a clear picture of your sales abilities and the value you can bring to their team.
A well-crafted summary can be a powerful addition to your inside sales resume, especially if you're a career changer or have extensive experience to highlight. While not mandatory, a summary allows you to provide context and showcase key qualifications that may not be immediately apparent from your work history alone.
When writing your summary, focus on your most relevant skills, achievements, and experience that align with the inside sales role you're targeting. Avoid simply restating information already covered in your resume, and instead, use this space to add value and give hiring managers a compelling reason to keep reading.
Your work experience section is the heart of your resume. It's where you show hiring managers how you've excelled in previous roles, and how that translates to the inside sales position you're applying for.
In this section, we'll cover the most important things to keep in mind as you write about your work experience. You'll learn how to pick the right experiences to highlight, use metrics to show your impact, and tailor your bullet points to the job description.
Your education section shows hiring managers that you have the necessary knowledge and training for the role. It also gives them a sense of your background and expertise. Here are some tips to help you write a strong education section on your inside sales resume.
For starters, action verbs can help your resume get past ATS filters. The reason is that they contain keywords that the software [ATS] has been programmed to search for.
Additionally, they help your submission stand out from other inside sales representatives who did not use them. Bear in mind that all the bullet points of your work experience should start with action verbs.
As a rule of thumb, endeavor to use action verbs in the past tense instead of the present. Also, try not to repeat action verbs for the same job experience.
We've compiled some for you if you need examples to use in your inside sales representative resume.
For more related action verbs, visit Sales Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
An inside sales representative who doesn't have the necessary sales skills will not impact the company's bottom line. One of the vital hard skills these professionals need is the knowledge related to sales processes.
A simple Google search will help you fish out skills needed by inside sales representatives to complete a sales process. Also, it's noteworthy to check the job advert and pen down the skills required by the company.
Next, identify the skills you possess from the list compiled and include them in your resume. If you follow these steps accurately, it should help you get past the filtering activities of the ATS software.
We have curated some hard skills needed by inside sales representatives below, which can point your resume in the right direction.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Inside Sales job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
