How to Write the Sales Manager Cover Letter That Gets You the Job

If you’re planning to apply for a new sales manager position, you’ll need a sales manager cover letter. Whether you’re staying in your current company or are moving to a new business altogether, it’s important to make sure you’re making the best first impression.

In most cases, this will be via your resume. You’ll also often need to send a cover letter, something many applicants these days tend to forget about. However, writing a good cover letter can make all the difference when advancing in the application process.
In this article, we’ll explore exactly how you can write a sales manager cover letter to get the best results and to help you become the most sought-after candidate.

Always Write a New Letter

Firstly, make sure you’re not relying on a generic cover letter to attach to every resume you send out. A recruiter, especially someone who’s been doing the job for a while, will spot this from a mile away. It might seem tempting to cut corners, the lack of individuality in the letter will cost you.

While you don’t have to write your letter completely from scratch every time, always add something new and specific to the opportunity at hand. Edit your letter to make sure it’s targeted towards the position and company to which you’re applying and compliments what they’re looking for.

Make It Personal

Addressing the hiring manager of the sales position by name in your cover letter is expected in most job applications. This personalization shows you’ve been proactive in doing your research, which is ideal for boosting your chances of getting ahead. Add little details throughout the letter to demonstrate knowledge of the company and the company’s brand. These small touches will help your application stand out in a crowd.

Start Strong

As previously stated, first impressions count. Consequently, you need to make sure the opening line of your cover letter is strong and resonates with your reader. Get the opening line wrong—to bland or too passive—and the recruiter simply won’t be interested. Start off with an evocative anecdote or an interesting statistic. Think about what you’d want to read in a cover letter, and take it from there.

Don’t Repeat Your Resume

A cover letter isn’t designed just to repeat or flesh out your resume, but in fact aims to further your understanding of the job role, as well as give a bit more information about yourself and your personality.

Use your cover letter as an opportunity to flaunt your personality. As you write, continually re-read the job description of the sales manager position you’re applying for to make sure you’re covering all the points they’re asking about. Ultimately, showcasing what makes you special and a good fit for the position is what cover letters are all about.

Use Online Tools

You might not be a professional writer, but you can still create a professionally-written cover letter. Thanks to the internet, there are plenty of online writing tools out there that can help you produce a quality document. Here are some to get you started;
Academadvisor / Studydemic
Use these two online resources to correct your grammar in cover letters.
Paper Fellows / OXEssays
These are two editing tools to help you format and structure your cover letter to improve overall readability, as recommended by BestBritishEssays.
Revieweal / TopCanadianWriters
These two blogs are full of writing tips and advice on how to write the best cover letter you possibly can.
Boomessays / Essayroo
Use these two online proofreading tools to make sure your cover letter is free from any errors or typos.

Enhance Your Strengths

“While you don’t want to repeat your resume in your cover letter, it’s important to make sure you’re highlighting certain areas of your resume and then expanding on them so that you can tell the whole story. Again, read the job description and then match what you say with what the company is looking for,” shares Nick David, a cover letter editor for Student Writing Services.
Ideally, you’re going to want to talk about your skills and what you can offer the company. Most companies would rather hear about your skills and what you can offer, not your education. Highlight what makes you stand out, and the experience that proves why you’d be a great fit.

Prove Your Skill Set

Though it’s tempting to talk about what you can get out of working for a company, a much better and more effective approach is emphasizing why you’d be an asset for them. Talk about potential problems common in a sales manager position, and then walk through how you’d handle them. This can give your recruiter a very clear idea of what you’re capable of. With this information, they are much more likely to ask you back to see what else you can do.

This piece was guest-authored by Chloe Bennet.