Great Sales People make Great Companies

All businesses; product and service providers alike must hire great sales staff if they want to be the best at what they do. Sales people may come with many titles and roles within your organisation, but ultimately they drive the business forward through customer delivery. After the economic downturn in late 2008, it took the domestic market in Ireland a few years to respond but respond it has done.

Lots of client companies we spoke to between 2009 and 2016 had good businesses and products but were nervous about hiring due to the financial conditions of the market. In response, they were forced to cut costs and staff in particular areas. However we quickly noticed a trend, the bravest embraced the new market, worked smart, reduce costs and went after the best sales & marketing talents they could find.

In the boom years, it is hard to find great staff, but now, all of a sudden a large pool of unemployed candidates were for the taking. So some companies with excellent services or products secured great sales people, and in turn, their businesses won bigger market share, outperformed their competitors and became even more significant than ever before.

Fast forward to 2016, sales and marketing vacancies in Ireland are rapidly increasing and the race to secure talent is gaining serious momentum, and now the question is will you source the best sales people to ensure your business thrives?

Tips for the perfect Sales & Marketing CV:

#1: The Perfect Opening;

Your personal details (Name, Address, Phone & Email only) should be followed by your Personal Profile. This is a list of short bullet points showcasing your history, achievements, personality and objectives. The purpose of this profile is to encourage the Hiring Manager to read further along your CV and ultimately decide that you need to be shortlisted! Keep the points snappy, relevant and shout about your successes.

#2: Shout about your achievements & keep them relevant:

Ideally in bullet points, Clearly list your career history (most recent dates first) outlining your core duties, responsibilities and accomplishments making sure that they are aligned to the requirements on the Job Spec. Include stats/data (around targets achieved and exceeded) where possible to demonstrate scale. Don’t leave gaps in the CV and explain all roles that are relevant with some detail. List all academic achievements as Hiring Managers like to see continuous educational development so all in-house courses should be included!

 

#3: What do you do in your spare time?

Include any hobbies that you have where you can show your natural network, success or contribution e.g. sports, exercise, book clubs. Avoid rehashing the Reading, Walking & Cinema options. It is better not to use this space rather than putting something in for the sake of it.

#4 Spellcheck, Spellcheck, Spellcheck

Don’t have spelling errors in your application, make it clean and sharp. Remember, you are a sales and /or marketing person and how you sell and market yourself comes across on your CV.