Sales Representative Resume: Example, Template + How to Write One in Australia

Landing a sales representative position in Australia’s competitive market requires more than just enthusiasm for selling—you need a resume that demonstrates your ability to generate leads, build relationships, and consistently achieve targets. Whether you’re struggling to break into sales from other industries or finding it difficult to showcase your impact in numbers-driven terms, creating the perfect sales representative resume can seem challenging.

This comprehensive guide will provide you with everything needed to craft an outstanding sales representative resume that captures the attention of Australian employers. From understanding the core responsibilities that drive sales success to presenting your achievements in compelling, metric-focused language, we’ll help you transform your experience into a powerful tool for career advancement.

Sales representatives are the driving force behind revenue growth, responsible for prospecting new clients, maintaining existing relationships, and achieving ambitious sales targets. With major Australian companies across industries like Commonwealth Bank, AGL Energy, and SEEK consistently hiring talented representatives, your resume must highlight your prospecting abilities, relationship-building skills, and proven track record of meeting or exceeding sales goals.

Sales Representative Resume (Text Version)

What is The Best Format for a Sales Representative Resume?

The reverse chronological format is the ideal choice for sales representative resumes in Australia, as it clearly showcases your progression through sales roles and your track record of achieving targets. This format allows employers to quickly assess your sales performance trajectory and understand how you’ve developed your selling skills and market knowledge over time. Start with your most recent position and work backwards, emphasising growth in territory size, target achievement, and sales complexity.

For fonts, choose professional options like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Use 14-16 point font for your name and contact information, and 10-12 point font for body text. This ensures optimal readability while maximising space for your sales achievements and performance metrics. Maintain consistent 1-inch margins on all sides and include adequate white space between sections to create a clean, professional appearance.

Always submit your resume as a PDF unless the job advertisement specifically requests another format. PDF files preserve your formatting across different devices and systems, ensuring your carefully structured presentation remains intact when reviewed by hiring managers and applicant tracking systems.

Your resume should include these essential sections:

Header: Include your full name, mobile number, professional email address, LinkedIn profile URL, and city/state. Avoid including your complete street address for privacy reasons—city and state provide sufficient location information for Australian employers.

Summary: Write a compelling 3-4 line overview highlighting your years of sales experience, key achievements, target performance, and core competencies relevant to sales success.

Experience: Detail your work history with emphasis on sales roles, performance metrics, and responsibilities that demonstrate your ability to generate revenue and build client relationships.

Education: List your formal qualifications, focusing on business, marketing, or sales-related studies that support your professional development.

Other sections: Include certifications, technical skills, and relevant achievements that strengthen your credibility as a sales professional.

What Experience Should Be on Your Sales Representative Resume?

Your experience section should demonstrate clear progression in sales roles, showcasing your development of prospecting skills, relationship-building capabilities, and target achievement. Focus on positions that highlight your ability to generate leads, manage sales pipelines, close deals, and maintain customer relationships. Include specific metrics wherever possible—sales is a numbers-driven profession, and quantifiable achievements provide compelling evidence of your performance and potential.

Highlight experience in lead generation, customer acquisition, territory management, and revenue growth. If you’ve worked across different sales channels (B2B, B2C, inside sales, field sales), managed various product lines, or achieved recognition for performance, these experiences demonstrate the versatility and drive valued in sales roles. Include any experience with CRM systems, sales training participation, team collaboration, and customer service excellence.

Entry-Level Sales Representative Resume Samples [Experience]

If you’re entering sales for the first time, focus on experiences that demonstrate your communication skills, customer service abilities, and drive to achieve results. Emphasise roles where you’ve built relationships, met targets, or engaged in activities that translate to sales success, such as retail, hospitality, or customer service positions.

How to Write the Education Section for your Sales Representative Resume

Education provides the foundation for understanding business principles, consumer behaviour, and communication strategies that underpin effective selling. While sales performance often weighs more heavily than formal qualifications, relevant education demonstrates your commitment to professional development and provides credibility when engaging with business clients. Include degrees in business, marketing, communications, or related fields that support your sales capabilities.

For sales representative positions, employers value qualifications covering areas like marketing principles, consumer psychology, business communication, and relationship management. If you’ve completed sales-specific training programmes, negotiation courses, or industry certifications, these show your dedication to developing sales expertise and staying current with best practices.

Sales Representative Resume Example [Education]

How to Write the Skills Section for your Sales Representative Resume

The skills section for sales representatives should balance interpersonal capabilities with technical competencies and sales methodology knowledge. Include 8-12 skills that directly relate to sales success, focusing on areas like prospecting, relationship building, closing techniques, and territory management. Avoid generic skills that every candidate will include—instead, highlight specific sales tools, methodologies, or capabilities that demonstrate your professional approach to selling.

Tailor your skills to match the job advertisement, using identical terminology where possible. Many Australian employers use applicant tracking systems that scan for specific keywords, so alignment with the job description can significantly improve your chances of progressing to human review.

Sales Representative Resume Skills (Hard Skills)

• Lead Generation and Prospecting
• CRM Systems Management (Salesforce, HubSpot)
• Sales Pipeline Development and Management
• Cold Calling and Warm Outreach
• Product Demonstration and Presentation
• Sales Analytics and Reporting
• Territory Planning and Management
• Contract Negotiation and Closing
• Social Selling and LinkedIn Prospecting
• Sales Forecasting and Planning

Sales Representative Resume Skills (Soft Skills)

• Relationship Building and Trust Development
• Persuasion and Influence
• Active Listening and Empathy
• Communication and Presentation
• Resilience and Persistence
• Time Management and Organisation
• Adaptability and Learning Agility
• Goal Orientation and Drive
• Problem-solving and Creativity
• Team Collaboration and Support

How to pick the best Sales Representative skills:

1. Review the job advertisement carefully and identify specific sales skills and tools mentioned by the employer
2. Match your experience to required competencies, emphasising quantifiable sales achievements and performance metrics
3. Include a balance of prospecting skills (lead generation, cold calling) and relationship management abilities (account development, retention)
4. Prioritise skills that demonstrate your ability to achieve targets and drive revenue growth
5. Consider industry-specific requirements like technical product knowledge, regulatory awareness, or specialised selling approaches
6. Ensure your skills reflect current sales practices such as social selling, digital prospecting, or consultative selling techniques

Sales Representative Resume Examples [Skills]

Should I Add Bonus Sections to My Sales Representative Resume?

Additional sections can significantly enhance your sales representative resume by demonstrating professional commitment, continuous learning, and well-rounded capabilities. These sections are particularly valuable in the Australian sales market, where employers appreciate candidates who invest in professional development and maintain high performance standards across different environments.

Resume Licences & Certifications: Include sales-specific certifications like professional selling programmes, CRM system certifications, or industry-specific qualifications. These demonstrate your commitment to developing sales expertise and staying current with best practices.

Languages on a Resume: Australia’s diverse market highly values multilingual capabilities. List languages with proficiency levels, especially if you’ll be serving multicultural client bases or working in diverse market segments.

Professional Associations: Membership in organisations like Sales Management Association of Australia or local business networking groups shows industry engagement and commitment to professional growth.

Conferences: Attendance at sales conferences, industry trade shows, or professional development seminars demonstrates commitment to learning and staying current with market trends and sales methodologies.

Resume Volunteer Work: Community involvement, especially in fundraising or event coordination roles, can demonstrate additional sales and relationship-building skills in different contexts.

Awards and Honours: Recognition for sales performance, customer service excellence, or team achievement provides powerful validation of your capabilities and work ethic.

Sales Representative Resume Examples [Other Sections]

Tip: You can also include relevant hobbies that demonstrate competitive drive (sports achievements), communication skills (public speaking, community involvement), or relationship-building abilities (networking, mentoring). Keep personal interests brief and only include them if they add professional value or demonstrate relevant capabilities.

How to write a Sales Representative Resume Objective or Resume Summary

Your professional summary is critical real estate that determines whether recruiters continue reading your resume. For sales representative positions, focus on your years of sales experience, target achievement record, and your most impressive performance metrics. This section should immediately communicate your sales capabilities and demonstrate your understanding of the revenue generation process and relationship building requirements.

Key elements to include:

• Years of sales experience and market focus (B2B, B2C, industry specialisation)
• Target achievement record and performance metrics
• Your most impressive numbers (revenue generated, conversion rates, retention rates)
• Core competencies that align with sales success
• Key skills or tools that differentiate your approach

Sales Representative Resume Summary Examples

For entry-level representative candidates transitioning from customer service or other relationship-focused roles, emphasise your interpersonal skills, target achievement potential, and eagerness to develop sales expertise.

Entry-Level Sales Representative Resume Summary Examples

How to Update Your LinkedIn Profile When Updating Your Sales Representative Resume

LinkedIn alignment with your resume is essential in Australia’s sales sector, where networking and relationship building are fundamental to career success and lead generation. Your LinkedIn profile should complement your resume while leveraging the platform’s unique features to showcase your sales personality and professional network. Unlike your resume’s concise format, LinkedIn allows for more detailed explanations of your sales approach and client success stories.

When updating your resume, simultaneously refresh your LinkedIn profile to ensure consistency in employment dates, performance achievements, and professional accomplishments. LinkedIn offers opportunities to expand on your sales experiences with client testimonials, prospecting insights, and industry commentary that demonstrate your market knowledge and sales expertise.

LinkedIn Headline Optimisation for Sales Representatives

LinkedIn Summary vs Resume Summary: Key Differences

Your LinkedIn summary can be more personal and story-driven than your resume summary, incorporating your passion for sales and approach to building client relationships. Include anecdotes about challenging sales you’ve closed, client problems you’ve solved, or market insights that demonstrate your sales acumen. In the Australian market, LinkedIn summaries can showcase personality while maintaining professionalism.

Use first-person language and include your philosophy on relationship building and customer value creation. LinkedIn’s algorithm favours profiles with regular engagement, so consider mentioning current projects or professional interests that invite conversation from potential clients and industry peers.

Showcasing Sales Representative Experience on LinkedIn

Expand your resume achievements into LinkedIn’s longer format by providing context around your sales strategies and client outcomes. Share success stories, prospecting techniques, or market analysis that demonstrates your sales thinking and market knowledge. Upload images of awards, team achievements, or client events you’ve participated in (ensuring client confidentiality).

Use LinkedIn’s volunteer experience and accomplishments sections to highlight additional relationship-building activities, community involvement, or professional development that reinforces your sales capabilities.

LinkedIn Skills and Endorsements for Sales Representatives

Prioritise LinkedIn skills that align with sales requirements: prospecting, relationship management, lead generation, and customer retention. Actively seek endorsements from clients, colleagues, and managers who’ve witnessed your sales capabilities and relationship-building success.

Consider completing LinkedIn skill assessments for areas like sales and customer relationship management. These verified badges provide third-party validation of your capabilities and appear prominently on your profile.

LinkedIn Profile Tips for Australian Sales Representatives

Connect with industry professionals, potential clients, fellow sales representatives, and business leaders across your target market. Join LinkedIn groups focused on Australian sales professionals, such as “Sales Professionals Australia” or industry-specific groups relevant to your market focus. Engage with content by sharing insights about market trends, sales techniques, or customer success strategies.

Optimise your profile for Australian business leaders by including location-specific keywords and mentioning familiarity with Australian business culture, market conditions, and industry practices. Reference major Australian companies, business events, or market trends to improve local search visibility and demonstrate market knowledge.

Creating a compelling sales representative resume requires understanding the fundamentals of sales success, relationship building, and performance measurement. By following this guide’s framework and examples, you’ll be well-equipped to craft a resume that showcases your sales capabilities and commitment to driving revenue growth.

Remember to customise your resume for each application, highlighting the specific experiences and achievements that align with the employer’s product focus, market segment, and sales methodology. Your resume should tell a compelling story of sales development, target achievement, and customer relationship success that positions you as an ideal candidate.

To complete your application package, develop a targeted cover letter that complements your resume and demonstrates your understanding of the specific market challenges and sales opportunities relevant to the role. For additional guidance on sales career development and professional networking, visit the Sales Management Association of Australia for industry insights and professional development opportunities.