Sales CV: numbers or nothing

Sales is the one field where a CV without figures is disqualifying. Which numbers to give, and what to do when you cannot disclose them.

Every hiring manager in sales reads a CV looking for one thing: did this person hit their number. A sales CV without figures answers no by default.

Quota attainment, year by year

The single most valuable line on a sales CV:

"FY2024: 118% of a $2.5M quota. FY2023: 104%. FY2022: 96%."

Three years is enough. Include the year you missed if the others are strong — an unbroken run of over-attainment reads as either exceptional or edited, and one honest miss makes the rest credible.

The numbers that matter beyond quota

Deal size, average and largest
Sales cycle length, and whether you shortened it
New business versus account growth, as a split
Territory or segment, and its size
Pipeline you carried
Retention or renewal rate, for account roles

When you cannot disclose

Some employers forbid publishing revenue figures. Use percentages and multiples instead: "Grew territory revenue 2.3x over two years" carries the information without the absolute number.

Never simply omit results because the numbers are confidential. Say so explicitly — "figures available under NDA" — so the absence reads as discretion rather than a weak year.

Name the methodology and the CRM

SPIN, MEDDIC, Challenger, Sandler. Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive. Employers filter on both, and "CRM experience" matches neither.

If you built the reporting or the pipeline hygiene process rather than just using it, say so. That is a differentiator into sales operations and management.

Describe the customer, not just the product

Who did you sell to — SME owners, procurement teams, hospital administrators, IT directors? At what price point? A CV that establishes you have sold to the same buyer the employer sells to is worth more than a longer list of products.

Team and coaching

For management roles: team size, quota carried across the team, ramp time for new hires, how many you promoted. Promotion of people who reported to you is the strongest evidence a sales manager can offer.

Layout

The Quota template uses a bold header band and a tight achievement layout — built for a CV that is essentially a list of targets hit. For business development and account management with a longer narrative, the Meridian Executive template has more room.

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