Sales CV example: targets, quota attainment and deal sizes
A sales CV leads with results against target: the quota, the share you reached, the period and the deal size. Retail CVs add store figures such as conversion and average basket; B2B CVs add pipeline, cycle length and account types.1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
Gather your target history year by year
Salespeople are measured more precisely than almost any other job, which makes the CV easier to write once the records are in front of you. Find old commission statements, leaderboard emails, annual review forms and CRM reports. If you left a company and lost access, write down what you remember now and mark the figures you are unsure of; only the certain ones go on the CV.
- For each year or quarter: the target, what you sold, and the percentage of target reached.
- Your rank in the team or region, and how many people were in it.
- Average deal or basket size, and the largest deal you closed yourself.
- For B2B: new accounts opened, pipeline you generated, average sales cycle in days or weeks.
- For retail: conversion rate, average transaction value, add-on or warranty attachment rate, if the store tracked them.
- Awards with the criteria behind them (President’s Club means little without the cut-off).
Retail or B2B: two different readers
O*NET's profile for retail salespersons describes greeting customers, finding out what they need, recommending items and taking payment, and records 63 percent of respondents naming a high school diploma as the requirement. Its profile for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives describes quoting prices, credit terms and delivery dates, preparing contracts and supporting clients after the sale. BLS adds for that group that companies usually set goals or quotas and that pay is mostly salary plus commission or bonus.
| Retail sales | B2B sales | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of success | Store or personal sales per shift, week or month | Revenue or margin per quarter or year against quota |
| Numbers to show | Conversion, average basket, add-on rate, mystery shop scores | Attainment percentage, new logos, pipeline, cycle length, deal size |
| Tools | Point-of-sale system, stock system | CRM such as Salesforce, quoting tools, LinkedIn |
| Reader wants to know | Reliability on the floor, product knowledge, upselling | Whether you can build and close a pipeline in their segment |
| Typical next step | Supervisor, department manager (NCS) | Senior executive, account manager, area manager (Prospects) |
Moving from retail to B2B
Keep the retail figures, but rename them in terms a B2B reader recognises: personal sales against a monthly target, repeat customers you built, a product range you were trusted to sell. Add any work where you prospected, followed up or quoted, because that is the gap the reader is looking for.
Anatomy of a quota line
A line that survives a reference check holds five parts. Leave one out and the reader fills the gap with the least flattering assumption.
- The result as a percentage of target: 118 percent of annual quota.
- The absolute figure or the target size: on a £600k target.
- The period: FY2025, or Q1 to Q3 2026.
- The context that makes it comparable: new territory, 14-person team, inbound leads only.
- Your rank, when it helps: second of 14.
Years you missed target
Leave the percentage off a missed year rather than inventing a better one, and put the strongest true fact in its place: accounts opened, a large deal that slipped into the next year, a territory that was cut in half. A reference call can confirm attainment; a made-up number ends the process.
Commission is not a result
Your earnings tell the reader what the last employer paid, not what you sold, and they open a salary conversation too early. Use revenue, margin or attainment instead.
Confidential revenue
If your employer treats revenue as confidential, give percentages and ranks, and round any absolute figures. Attainment and growth rates carry the same proof without disclosing the books.
Two examples: retail and B2B
Example only. Both people are invented, and so are their employers and figures. Write your own numbers from your own records.
Retail: Amira Haddad, Sales Consultant, an electronics store, 2023 to present
- Reached 109 to 124 percent of personal monthly sales target in 10 of 12 months in 2025; third of 11 consultants on the store leaderboard.
- Raised warranty attachment on laptops from 18 to 27 percent by demonstrating the cover at the point of choice.
- Trained 4 new starters on the till and stock system during peak season.
B2B: Daniel Price, Account Executive, a packaging supplier, 2022 to present
- Closed 112 percent of a £750k annual new-business quota in FY2025, first of 9 account executives.
- Opened 17 new food-manufacturing accounts; average first-year contract £38k, average cycle 74 days.
- Built £1.9m of qualified pipeline through outbound calls and trade-show follow-up, all logged in Salesforce.
- Won the largest deal in the region that year (£210k over two years) by coordinating a line trial with the customer’s engineers.
The retail block proves consistency and add-on selling; the B2B block proves prospecting, size and cycle. Notice that neither mentions personality. The numbers already say "driven" and "resilient" without the words.
Skills table for sales CVs
| Skill | Retail proof | B2B proof |
|---|---|---|
| Selling and closing | Personal sales against target | Quota attainment, win rate |
| Prospecting | Repeat customers, appointment bookings | Pipeline generated, meetings booked per week |
| Negotiation | Price-match and bundle decisions within policy | Discount held, margin protected on renewals |
| Systems | Point-of-sale, stock lookup | Salesforce or another CRM, quoting tool |
| Product knowledge | Ranges you were trained on | Technical products, trials run with customers |
| Languages and licence | Languages served in store | Languages for export markets, full driving licence for field roles |
Certificates and training worth listing
BLS says professional certification is optional for sales representatives, that many companies run formal training lasting up to a year, and that representatives for technical or scientific products usually need a bachelor's degree. Prospects names the Institute of Sales Professionals and the Chartered Institute of Marketing as bodies that offer training, and says field sales roles need a full driving licence. In Türkiye, MYK lists national qualifications for Satış Danışmanı at levels 3 and 4, Satış Sorumlusu at level 5 and Satış Yöneticisi at level 6.
- List vendor product training only when the posting sells the same or a competing product.
- Write a CRM by name and say what you did in it: pipeline reporting, forecasting, account plans.
- A sales methodology course is worth one line if the employer names the same method.
Applying abroad
Sales is local by nature, so a reader abroad wants to know whether you can sell in their language and market. State languages with CEFR levels and say which markets your accounts were in. Convert currencies only where it helps comparison, and say so. The UK format guide and the language-levels guide cover the rest.
Proof: sources, read on 13 October 2026
| Statement | Source |
|---|---|
| Retail tasks; 63 percent say high school diploma required | O*NET OnLine 41-2031.00 Retail Salespersons |
| B2B tasks: quoting, contracts, after-sale support; Salesforce among CRM tools | O*NET OnLine 41-4012.00 |
| Quotas usual; salary plus commission; certification optional; training up to a year | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives |
| Target-driven role, progression, Institute of Sales Professionals, driving licence | Prospects, Sales executive |
| Retail progression to supervisor and department manager | National Careers Service, Sales assistant |
| MYK sales qualifications and levels | MYK national qualifications list |
Where this guide stops
- Campaign and lead-generation work without a quota belongs on the marketing guide.
- Recruitment consultants sell too, but their CV is closer to the HR guide’s hiring metrics.
- Call-centre roles measured on handling time and satisfaction scores need different numbers than the ones here.
Next steps
- Finish the year-by-year target table from your statements.
- Decide whether the posting is retail or B2B and pick the matching numbers.
- Write each quota line with all five parts.
- Replace every adjective in your summary with a figure.
CitedCV can build the CV from these figures in English, Turkish or German and checks that every number in the text matches one you entered.
Questions people ask
How do I put sales targets on my CV?
Write the percentage of target, the target size or absolute figure, the period, and the context: 112 percent of a £750k quota in FY2025, first of 9.
What if I did not hit my sales quota?
Leave the percentage off that year and use another true result, such as new accounts opened or pipeline built. Never inflate a figure a reference can check.
Should I put commission earnings on my CV?
No. Earnings describe your pay, not your sales, and invite a salary discussion too early. Use revenue, margin or attainment instead.
How do I write a sales CV with no experience?
Use any work with customers and a number: shifts on a till, fundraising totals, event tickets sold. Add languages and a driving licence if you have one.
What skills go on a retail sales assistant CV?
Customer service, selling against a target, till and stock systems, product knowledge and teamwork, each tied to a figure or a task from the store.
What does a B2B sales CV need that a retail one does not?
Pipeline generated, sales cycle length, deal size, new accounts and the CRM you used, because B2B readers hire for prospecting and closing over months.
Is a sales consultant the same as a sales representative on a CV?
Often the same work under different titles. O*NET lists sales consultant as a title in both retail and wholesale profiles, so use the title on your contract.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine, 41-2031.00 Retail Salespersonswww.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-2031.00
- O*NET OnLine, 41-4012.00 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturingwww.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-4012.00
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representativeswww.bls.gov/ooh/sales/wholesale-and-manufacturing-sales-representatives.htm
- Prospects, Sales executive job profilewww.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/sales-executive
- National Careers Service, Sales assistant job profilenationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/sales-assistant
- MYK, Ulusal Yeterlilikler listesiportal.myk.gov.tr/index.php?option=com_yeterlilik_ara