Sales Manager Cover Letter

Sales Manager Cover Letter (With Examples)

If sales is your game, writing a cover letter shouldn’t be any reason to stress. It’s just another sales pitch, except this time, the product you’re selling is yourself. No sweat, right?

Although cover letters are often optional in today’s world, they’re still an essential part of the job-search process. It’s always a good idea to send a cover letter if given a choice, especially if you’re applying for a managerial position. Taking the time to introduce yourself through a cover letter lets a hiring manager know that you’re serious about the job and ready to work for it.

This article breaks down the various components of a cover letter and provides tips and samples to help you draft a strong pitch to your next potential employer.

What Is a Cover Letter and Why Is It Important?

A cover letter is a brief letter of introduction that usually accompanies a resume. It provides a welcome opportunity to elaborate on your experiences in a way that may not be as easily conveyed in a bulleted list on your resume.

When writing a cover letter, you are pitching your value, highlighting your skills, accomplishments, and goals, and explaining what you hope to bring to the company if hired.

Parts of a Sales Manager Cover Letter

Whether your cover letter is geared toward an entry-level position, managerial position, job promotion, or career change, there are key parts of a standard cover-letter formula you need to include:

1. Your contact information

2. The organization’s information

3. Dear [Manager Name],

4. First paragraph: intent and opening hook

5. Second paragraph: main body with key skills and accomplishments concerning the job requirements

6. Third paragraph: closing lines with a compelling call to actio

7. Best regards, followed by name and title

Every sentence in the cover letter needs to serve a purpose and convey relevant information; you have only one page to make your pitch and can’t afford to waste any of that precious space.

If you’re feeling confident about how to sell yourself in a cover letter but are a bit more hesitant on the graphic design aspect of having a professional layout, utilize free cover letter templates to ensure your letter is properly formatted to industry standards.

Sales Manager Cover Letter Opening

Start with the basic contact information for both you and the company you are applying to at the top of the letter. You want to make it as easy as possible for a hiring manager to contact you.

Address your cover letter to the hiring manager by name if at all possible. If you don’t know the hiring manager’s name, don’t guess from an employee roster. Use a gender-neutral greeting such as “Dear [Company Name] Recruitment Manager.”

Tip: “Dear Sir or Madam” or “To whom it may concern” isn’t going to score you any originality points. The generic, impersonal greeting might come across as a red flag indicating that you’re sending a mass cover letter to multiple employers without taking the time to tailor each one to the specific position.

While a neutral “Dear Hiring Manager” or similar phrase is acceptable in place of a name, consider mentioning the company and/or department to make it a little more personalized.

You know how a sales pitch works, so now is the time to do what you’re best at. The first few sentences of your opening need to be attention-grabbers.

Start by assertively announcing your application to the position and following it with an impactful achievement, preferably a quantifiable one, since numbers are particularly eye-catching. If you can bolster your accomplishment with an impressive statistic, percentage, or dollar amount, your letter is much more likely to get a full read and avoid the reject pile.

The applicant in the example started with appreciation and familiarity toward two of the company’s core values: quality products and great customer service. She then used specific growth measurements instead of relying on market buzzwords and empty, generic claims about increasing revenue and cutting costs. This technique is much more likely to garner attention.

Sales Manager Cover Letter Body

You have a hiring manager’s attention; now you need to keep the excitement going. To prove that you’re a worthy candidate, you need to explain:

1. Why you want this job

2. The skills that qualify you for the specific requirements of the job

3. Why you are the perfect fit for the position

Rather than listing off general skills and accomplishments that have nothing to do with the specifics of the job listing, it’s crucial to draw direct connections to your specific skills and experiences in relation to what the company is looking for.

This shows that you aren’t just applying to any old job; you did your research and fully understand what will be expected of you if you get the position.

Note that the applicant clearly understands what is expected in the job description and breaks down her exact qualifications to meet every requirement in a concise, easy-to-read format. She also provides specific examples to demonstrate her expertise.

Sales Manager Cover Letter Closing Lines

Your strong pitch needs to wrap up with a powerful closing. The ending needs to serve a double role as a quick final summary while also leaving a lasting impression that will leave a hiring manager eager for an interview.

Note that the applicant didn’t miss an opportunity by just saying “Thanks for your time” and leaving her strong pitch hanging. She wrapped up her closing in a way that demonstrates her knowledge, enthusiasm, desire for the company’s success, and goal of being with this company long-term.

Example of a Sales Manager Cover Letter

Putting all the parts together illustrates how the ideal cover letter should start with an attention-grabber right off the bat and keep that same level of energy and competency throughout the entire pitch.

Tips for a Sales Manager Cover Letter

• Treat the cover letter as a sales pitch. Use the same confident language you would use when selling a product. Instead of using weak language like “could” or “might” to undermine your skills, choose absolute phrases like “did” or “willt.” Remember to be positive and enthusiastic.

• Use numbers. Quantifiable achievements make a more significant impact, so use statistics. Instead of saying, “I helped my previous company grow its annual revenue,” give a specific number: “I facilitated an annual 26% growth increase.”

• Don’t repeat your resume. Instead of repeating your resume skills verbatim, utilize the cover letter as an opportunity to expand on relevant experiences and accomplishments.

  This especially applies to any sort of leadership, coaching, and team-building, as these are important points to a hiring manager searching for a candidate who can upskill a team.

• Use an appropriate format. If you have a brilliant pitch but are worried about the layout, use a cover letter template to get started. You don’t want a poorly formatted letter to hurt your chances and result in your perfect pitch never being read if it goes straight into the reject pile.

Final Thoughts

A well-crafted cover letter on top of a professional resume can make a massive difference in the highly competitive application process. A good one might mean an interview, while a poor one may result in a hard pass even if you have all the right skills listed on your resume.

In the world of sales, a cover letter should be seen as a prime opportunity to highlight the most important parts of your overall pitch and strike a more conversational tone with a hiring manager.

You aren’t just listing off what you’re good at; you’re discussing your goals and experiences and connecting them directly to the company’s needs. That’s something that is much more difficult to do in a resume.

If you’re nervous about your cover letter, remember: it’s just another sales pitch. You’re playing to your strengths.