Assisted Boat Sales: A Resume-Worthy Skill

A sales resume should be a concise summary of your sales accomplishments, with an emphasis on quantifiable achievements. It should include a mix of hard and soft skills, with a focus on those mentioned in the job description. Here are some tips on how to put assisted boat sales on your resume:

1. Include a list of your boat sales experience, highlighting the type and length of boats you have sold, your role in the sales process, and the recency of your experience.

2. Mention any multi-day charters or boat rentals you have facilitated, including your role, the size and type of boat, and the sailing area.

3. Detail your operational experience as the master of a vessel, such as the number of times you have anchored, moored, or sailed at night.

4. List any professional sailing instruction or certifications you have obtained.

5. Provide information about your education and qualifications, such as a degree or relevant courses.

6. Use bullet points to break up chunks of text and start each bullet point with an action verb to drive home your value.

7. Quantify your achievements whenever possible, including metrics such as the number of sales, conversion rate, retention rate, and lead generation performance.

8. Include a mix of hard and soft skills on your resume, such as sales software tools, communication skills, and empathy.

9. Add your LinkedIn profile URL to your resume, as it is particularly important for sales roles.

10. Provide a strong professional summary that highlights your most valuable sales-related skills and work experience, setting you apart from other candidates.

Include a strong professional summary

A professional summary is a concise paragraph at the top of your resume, beneath your name and contact information. It sums up your top skills, experiences, and achievements as they pertain to the job description. A good professional summary should be 3-5 sentences long and should focus on your value proposition, i.e., how your skills and experience will benefit the employer.

• Choose a descriptive word: Start with an adjective that best describes your professional demeanour, such as 'Dynamic', 'Innovative', 'Dedicated' or 'Experienced'.
• State your job title: Mention your current or most recent job title to give the hiring manager a quick understanding of your professional level and area of expertise.
• Indicate your experience level: Briefly note your level of experience, e.g., 'Entry-Level', 'Mid-Level', 'Senior' or 'Seasoned'.
• Summarise your work experience: Concisely describe your relevant work experience, focusing on the types of roles or industries you've worked in.
• Highlight your skills: Pick out key skills that are particularly relevant to the sales job you're applying for, including technical skills, soft skills, or a combination of both.
• Showcase a key achievement: Conclude with a notable achievement or contribution, such as "increased sales by 30% in one year" or "successfully led a team to deliver a critical project on time and under budget".

"Innovative sales representative, mid-level, with over seven years in the digital advertising sector, skilled in strategic planning and social media analytics, drove a 40% increase in online engagement over two years."

Remember to tailor your professional summary to each job application, reflecting how your skills and experiences align with what the employer is looking for. Keep it concise, focused, and professional.

Highlight your most impressive sales achievements

When it comes to your sales resume, it's important to showcase your most impressive achievements. Here are some tips and examples to help you highlight your sales accomplishments effectively:

• Use Numbers and Metrics: Whenever possible, quantify your achievements. Numbers speak louder than words. Include metrics such as sales targets exceeded, growth percentages, revenue increases, customer satisfaction ratings, and any other data that demonstrates your success. For example: "Exceeded annual sales targets by 25%, resulting in a 30% increase in overall revenue."
• Focus on Impact: Highlight the impact you had on the business. Did your efforts lead to increased sales, improved customer retention, or expanded market share? Be sure to mention these outcomes. For example: "Implemented a new sales strategy that increased customer retention by 15% over six months."
• Showcase Awards and Recognitions: If you've received any awards, recognitions, or certifications, be sure to include them. These add credibility to your resume and showcase your expertise. For example: "Recipient of the 'Top Sales Performer' award for three consecutive years."
• Tailor Your Achievements: Review the job description and highlight achievements that are most relevant to the position you're applying for. For instance, if the job emphasizes customer relationship management, showcase achievements related to customer satisfaction and retention. For example: "Maintained a 98% customer satisfaction rating through effective account management and relationship-building."
• Use Action-Oriented Language: Begin each bullet point with action verbs that showcase your initiative and impact. Words like "led", "developed", "initiated", and "implemented" will make your achievements more impactful. For example: "Led a cross-selling initiative that resulted in a 20% increase in average transaction value."
• Provide Specific Examples: Instead of simply listing responsibilities, provide specific examples of how you made a difference. For instance: "Developed and executed a new sales training program, resulting in a 25% improvement in team performance and a 15% increase in quarterly sales."

Remember to keep your resume concise, focusing on the achievements most relevant to the position you're applying for. Here are some examples of impressive sales achievements:

• "Increased sales revenue by $2 million in two years through effective account management and upselling strategies."
• "Ranked as the top salesperson in the region for three consecutive quarters, consistently exceeding sales targets by over 20%."
• "Implemented a new customer relationship management system, improving customer data organization and follow-up by 35%."
• "Expanded the company's client base by 40% through successful lead generation and prospecting strategies."
• "Introduced a new incentive program for the sales team, resulting in a 20% increase in overall sales and improved employee satisfaction."

List your core sales skills

Core Sales Skills

Communication Skills

Communication is the foundation of building meaningful relationships with clients, setting expectations, and tactfully discussing a buyer's pain points. Effective communication skills also include writing and presentation abilities, which are needed when interacting over email, social media, video conference, or in person.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence allows you to understand how others are feeling and manage your emotions and their emotions toward you. It helps you relate to people and makes them want to follow your guidance.

Active Listening

Active listening is about staying in the moment and ensuring you understand what the buyer is saying. This skill can be practised through role-playing, either in person or using AI technology.

Storytelling

Storytelling is a distinct skill that requires you to be clear, concise, engaging, and authentic. It helps your company stand out in the minds of buyers and encourages them to take action.

Confidence

Confidence inspires confidence in others. If you are confident about what you are selling, prospects will feel that confidence and "buy into" what you are saying.

Empathy

Empathy helps you understand what people might be thinking or feeling, allowing you to guide conversations productively. It helps you uncover motivations, pain points, and more, so you know when to push ahead and when to hold back.

Time Management

Good salespeople can make the most of their time and the buyer's time. They have a clear sense of the steps needed to close a deal and can shuffle their daily activities as priorities change.

Negotiation Skills

After building a proposal, sales reps must lead a disciplined negotiation process. This skill helps protect the value of a sale and highlight the advantages of your solution.

Territory Management

Territory management is critical for sales reps to maximize their potential in a target territory. It involves understanding market factors affecting their accounts and tailoring their messaging accordingly.

Presentation Skills

Sales presentations should focus on the buyer's challenges and needs. Effective presentation skills ensure the content and delivery are engaging and informative.

Relationship Building

Sales is about building and maintaining profitable customer relationships. This requires a mix of soft skills, including communication, diplomacy, confidence, and the ability to deal with rejection.

Initiative

Sales is a people management game. Charisma and patience are more valuable than an impressive educational background. Taking initiative and demonstrating dedication can make up for a lack of experience.

Flexibility

Flexibility is crucial in sales, as plans often change. A positive and constructive approach to change, along with offering solutions or alternatives, is an important skill for sales professionals.

Optimism

Optimism is closely tied to confidence and helps you stay hopeful and positive, even in the face of adversity or rejection. It can also help reduce stress and increase longevity in a fast-paced sales environment.

Integrity

Integrity is fundamental to being a salesperson. Honesty and transparency are crucial, and misleading prospects about what you are selling can ruin your career.

Growth Mindset

A growth mindset believes in strengthening talents and acquiring new skills over time. It involves a commitment to hard work and constant improvement, pushing yourself to smash goals and achieve high sales targets.

Emphasise your soft skills

Soft skills are some of the most important qualities that can set you apart when applying for a new position. They are personal traits that affect how you behave and perform in the workplace. While soft skills are harder to quantify than hard skills, they are still vital to include on your resume.

• Accuracy and relevancy are key when it comes to the soft skills you describe on your resume. Ensure that the soft skills you mention are true to your experience and relevant to the job you are applying for.
• Create a master list of all the soft skills you possess and would feel comfortable demonstrating in your next position. Be ready to back these up with examples during an interview.
• Research the company and the job description to identify the soft skills that are most important to the employer. Look for similarities between your master list and the skills mentioned in the job description.
• Include your soft skills in the summary, employment history and skills sections of your resume. In the summary, they will likely take the form of personal adjectives, whereas in the employment history section, you can back them up with numbers and details.
• Ensure that you do not go overboard with your resume skills—accomplishments should always come first.
• Use active verbs to convey the application of your soft skills, such as "collaborated," "facilitated," or "negotiated."
• Communication
• Organisation
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Critical thinking
• Adaptability
• Conflict resolution
• Time management
• Leadership
• Creativity

Remember, soft skills are just as important as hard skills and can make all the difference when two applicants have similar educational backgrounds or experience levels.

Add your LinkedIn profile URL

Including your LinkedIn profile URL on your resume is a great way to help recruiters learn more about you and increase your chances of landing an interview. It is beneficial because LinkedIn offers the space to go in-depth about your experience and holds valuable social proof, like endorsements and testimonials from other people, that your resume doesn't.

• The best place to add your LinkedIn URL is in the header or contact information section of your resume, along with your name, email address, phone number, and other relevant contact details.
• You can also include a LinkedIn logo or icon on your resume so that the hiring manager knows where your link goes at a glance. This can be done by using a resume template with a pre-formatted LinkedIn logo or by manually downloading and inserting a LinkedIn icon.
• Ensure that your LinkedIn profile is complete, up-to-date, and professional before adding it to your resume. Optimize your profile by including a professional profile photo, a catchy headline, a compelling summary, and specific accomplishments and skills that align with your career goals.
• Clean up and customize your LinkedIn URL to make it neat and memorable. Go to "Edit public profile & URL" on your LinkedIn profile and edit the URL to include your first and last name, or a variation with your initials or job title if you have a common name.
• When copying your LinkedIn URL, you only need to include the latter part of the link after "www.linkedin.com/in". This saves space and makes your resume cleaner.
• When pasting your LinkedIn URL onto your resume, you can hyperlink it in the digital version for easy access. However, remember to remove the hyperlink if you're printing out your resume to avoid bright blue text.
• If you're sending your resume via email, include your LinkedIn profile in your email signature by copying and pasting the URL or using anchor text such as "View my LinkedIn profile".

By following these steps, you can effectively add your LinkedIn profile URL to your resume and leverage the power of LinkedIn to enhance your job application.

Frequently asked questions