A sales CV is the easiest type of CV to get right and the most commonly got wrong. Easy, because sales is measured, you have numbers most people can only dream of putting on a CV. Wrong, because most sales CVs bury those numbers under a pile of vague "responsible for" bullets. Here's how to write one that gets you in the room.

Why sales CVs live or die on numbers

A sales hiring manager is, by trade, a sceptic who responds to evidence. They read a sales CV looking for one thing: proof you can deliver. "Responsible for managing key accounts" tells them nothing. "Grew a £400k account portfolio by 32% in 18 months" tells them everything.

If your sales CV doesn't lead with numbers, you're asking a numbers person to take you on trust. They won't.

The metrics recruiters actually want

Put these front and centre, wherever you genuinely have them:

Quota / target attainment, "achieved 118% of a £1.2m annual target"
Revenue, generated, grown or managed
Ranking, "top 3 of 22 reps", "#1 in the region for two consecutive quarters"
Deal size and volume, average deal value, number of deals closed
Pipeline, built, converted, conversion rate
Growth, new business won, accounts expanded, churn reduced
Cycle, sales cycle shortened, win rate improved

You won't have all of these. Use the ones you have, and use them relentlessly.

Structure

A strong UK sales CV:

Personal statement, three or four lines, and put a headline number in it. "Field sales executive with five years in B2B SaaS, consistently 110%+ of target, including a record £1.4m year in 2025."
Key achievements, a short section of your three or four biggest, most quantified wins, right near the top. This is the section that earns the interview.
Experience, reverse chronological, each role led with results, not responsibilities.
Education and training, kept brief unless directly relevant.

The principle: the numbers go up top. Don't make a busy hiring manager hunt for them.

Before and after

Before: "Responsible for managing a portfolio of clients and hitting sales targets."

After: "Managed a 40-account B2B portfolio worth £600k; grew it 28% in two years and retained 95% of accounts through a price increase."

Same role. The first is a job description. The second is a case for hiring you.

Before: "Involved in new business development."

After: "Won 22 new accounts in 12 months, contributing £310k of new annual revenue and finishing #2 of 15 on new-business ranking."

Tailoring to the type of sales role

"Sales" isn't one job. Tailor to the specific one:

SDR / BDR, emphasise outbound activity, meetings booked, pipeline generated, conversion to opportunity.
Account Executive, emphasise closed revenue, quota attainment, deal size, win rate.
Account Management, emphasise retention, account growth, upsell/cross-sell, relationship length.
Sales leadership, emphasise team performance, hiring, ramp time, forecast accuracy.

A CV tuned to "AE" metrics won't land for an account management role, and vice versa. Match the metrics to the job ad.

Score your sales CV

Sales is measured, and so should your CV be. TAILOR's free CV Health Check scores your CV on its own, ATS-readiness, bullet quality and formatting, and flags your top fixes, in about 30 seconds, no card. It'll tell you whether your numbers are landing where a recruiter will actually see them.

Sales CVs are the easiest to get right. Lead with the numbers, match them to the role and let your track record make the case.

Sales CV UK: How to Quantify Your Way to Interviews