How You Create ‘Resume Clickbait’ and Get Employers Knocking Down Your Door

Let’s say you’re ready to look for your next sales position. Maybe you’re totally fed up with asking for permission to try the things that will get better results. Or maybe you’ve just outgrown your current role and you’ve got your sights set on more. Or maybe you’re just not sure how to get a sales job.

First of all, good for you!

But what do you do when you’re ready to get
down to business with your job search? How do you actually make the pivot from
where you are to where you want to be? How can you secure interviews at
companies you’re excited about, ace them and navigate your way through the
negotiation process?

Sales consultant Richard Harris of The Harris Consulting Group has some ideas. And spoiler alert: They’re really good!

With 20+ years of sales training, operations and leadership experience with technology and SaaS companies, Richard has a well-rounded view of successful job hunting in sales. He frequently discusses sales job search and other career-related topics on the Surf and Sales Podcast.

“I love interviewing and I love all the parts of it,” Richard says during our conversation on the INSIDE Inside Sales podcast. He’s particularly passionate about the job search topic. I’ve rounded up the gold nuggets based on our chat. Read on to learn how to position yourself for amazing roles, do smart interviews and negotiate better job offers.

It all starts with your sales resume and your LinkedIn profile. “You can’t start asking for interviews until you have something to show,” Richard explains.

Make sure they’re updated, especially your LinkedIn profile. It’s 2020, guys. Plus, you don’t have to worry about getting the frickin’ thing onto a single page. “Nobody cares how many scrolls it takes on LinkedIn,” Richard says. “But when they get the three-page resume, that feels old school, too much —  I’m not going to read all that, I’m not gonna digest it.”

Of course, if a company asks for a resume, you should have one ready and available. For those applying to traditional sales roles in certain industries, reviewing resume examples can be incredibly helpful. These examples provide guidance on how to best showcase skills, experience, and achievements relevant to sales positions.

When it
comes to what to include on your LinkedIn profile or resume, forget the
buzzwords. Lead with your accomplishments — and quantify them. Did you exceed your sales quota? State that. Increased the number of
new hires? Give the percentage increase over time.

“Every bullet point is a number showing an
increase, always,” Richard advises. “Particularly in sales because that’s all
the leader cares about.” Show them the numbers and they will absolutely want to
bring you in to talk about it and find out how you did it.

“It’s total clickbait,” Richard adds.

Want to get the sales job you deserve? You
have to actually go out and pitch for it. Don’t wait for the leads to come to
you.

Once your resume and LinkedIn profile are in
tip-top shape, here are Richard’s recommendations for what you want to do next:

• Find the 10-12 companies that
  interest you most.
• Study up on them — read their
  website, check out their company page, etc.
• Add your LinkedIn profile or
  resume to their job application website.
• Identify the HR people at the
  company and send them a message to let them know you applied, express your
  interest and ask them to point you to the right person to discuss the role.
• Reach out to introduce yourself to
  the hiring manager — he or she is most likely to be in the sales department,
  Richard notes.

Now
here’s the next-level move: Pick up the phone. Call the people you’ve connected
with and leave them a message. Acknowledge that it’s
shocking that you’re calling — who calls anyone anymore?! — and tell them they
need to at least call and talk to you.

Richard swears by this approach. “I promise
you, you will start to get first interviews,” he says, adding, “I have coached
other people in marketing and engineering to try this strategy — and every
time, it works.”

Another recommendation: leverage recruiters.
“Let them be the tentacles of your octopus,” Richard says.

Don’t worry if you’re working another avenue
with a company at the same time — that’s not your issue. “That is the
recruiter’s problem to solve,” Richard notes.

Remember to keep this in mind: “They’re not
interviewing you, you’re interviewing them,” Richard says.

“That doesn’t mean you walk in cocky — you
absolutely walk in with empathy. You’re very grateful to be there,” he
adds. 

Ready for some sales job interview tips? Once you’ve got your mindset and attitude right, you should come prepared to ask these three questions in your job interview:

This question will help you get a sense of if
you can actually succeed in the role. If fewer than 60 percent are hitting
quotas, “you’re going to walk into a very, very tough spot.”

Follow up question: What’s preventing that
from happening?

You want to be careful not to sound
disrespectful when asking this, but including this question can give you some
insightful answers. 

Asking questions like these will help you
evaluate the role and your likelihood of success in it. You absolutely want to
treat the interview like a two-way conversation. Take this approach and you’ll
very likely move to the next phase: getting a job offer.

But here’s the thing: An offer is not an
obligation.

“You
don’t have to accept a bad deal,” Richard says. “You can walk away at any point
if you don’t like what they have. You’re in control, people.”

That’s what makes the negotiation stage fun —
and there are lots of other benefits and work perks you can bring into the
negotiation conversation. Richard says any and all of the following is up for
discussion: work from home or remote work, vacation time, as well as company
shares or equity.

You can even negotiate your exit in the event that things don’t work out. But if you use these smart approaches, I’m thinking that isn’t likely to be the case.