How to Put Door-to-Door Sales on a Resume — The Easy Way

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In the world of sales, being a door-to-door salesperson is a job that even the most experienced professionals have had at least once in their careers.

It takes a wealth of dedication, motivation, and social skills to be able to succeed in this position.

The skills gained from door-to-door sales transfer to other positions extremely well, so how can you reflect this on a resume.

 

How to Put Door-to-Door Sales on a Resume

Door-to-door sales experience should be listed in the experience section. List the company name and “door-to-door salesperson” as the job title. In the description make sure to highlight your successes when selling to new people and mention your social skills.

Door-to-door sales is an especially relevant experience for the sales industry because it involves selling products to people who were not looking to buy something.

It takes a lot of courage to speak with strangers in this way, and a lot of charisma to get them to listen long enough to be convinced to buy. 

The marketing skills gained from doing these door-to-door sales are what you want to make sure come across clearly on a resume.

When writing in the experience section, be sure to choose your bullet points wisely.

Do not just tell a potential employer what you did, nudge them toward a full understanding of your value! 

 

What to include for a door-to-door salesperson’s resume?

Responsibilities of a door-to-door salesperson written on a resume should always have a relevant reason for being included. Include skills that are transferrable to higher positions, such as people skills, marketing, communication, presentations, etc. 

A few responsibilities which may be included on a resume are:

• Meeting clients in their homes
• Building a presentation using company marketing materials such as catalogues
• Accepting various types of payment including cash, check, electronic, etc.
• Strategically convincing customers to purchase
• Following up with customers, and maintaining call or e-mail lists

Much like educational achievements such as Dean’s List or CALI awards, you should also list any types of achievements from a job as bullet points in the experience section.

Achievements are great ways to show proficiency and they prove that you have gone above and beyond for a job, so do this whenever possible.

Achievements that may come from door-to-door sales may include the following:

• Employee of the month
• Top sales within a given period
• Great customer reviews
• Company recognition (best new salesperson, best customer retention)

These types of things not only show that you are experienced in the work, but also that you are exceptionally good at it! If you have earned any of these achievements, you deserve to brag a little.

 

How do you format a door-to-door salesperson job experience?

Include the company/employer name, the job title, list the dates worked, and touch on some responsibilities or achievements from the job.

You can choose to use periods or leave them off, but make sure that formatting remains consistent throughout the whole resume.

When formatted correctly, this will look like the following:

 

Experience

Mediacorps Marketing 

Door-to-Door Salesperson (2-2012) – (5-2014)

• Recommended products to potential clients at their homes using promotional materials
• Successfully persuaded clients to purchase items, and followed up by telephone
• Demonstrated product pricing and utility using company catalogues
• Achieved top salesperson of the month during eight different months

While it is generally recommended to use 3-4 bullet points per job, you may choose to include more if you do not have many jobs to include on your resume.

 

What is the best job title for door-to-door work?

There are many different ways that you can write the job title for door-to-door work. Here are a few to consider:

• Door-to-door salesperson
• Door-to-door sales representative
• Door-to-door sales rep

Typically, an abbreviation such as “rep” should be avoided when possible to avoid making a resume seem unprofessional.

“Rep” is used as a common term in the industry, however, so you may use it if you find “representative” taking up too much space.

“Salesman” and “saleswoman” are slightly outdated terms and are not commonly seen on resumes these days. 

 

Is it “door to door” or “door-to-door”?

The phrases “door to door” and “door-to-door” are both considered to be correct and are used in near equal measure.

Either way is acceptable to be used on a resume, but make sure you only use one of the two.

Do not write “door to door” in one sentence, and switch to “door-to-door” in another.

Formatting needs to remain consistent in the resume, otherwise, it looks like an oversight on your part. 

 

How to format references for a door-to-door salesman

If you are seeking an internal promotion, your references should be from within the company. If the job you are seeking is external, include outside references as well.

Include the reference’s name and phone number, and only include e-mail if specified in the job advertisement.

When including references as a door-to-door salesman, there are two possible formats. For internal promotions, higher-ups from within the same company are the most valuable references to have.

Include people such as your direct manager, supervisor, or co-worker if they rank higher than you. 

For those seeking external jobs, include one or two references from the most recent company, and include a third reference from elsewhere.

This can be from a previous job or a volunteering experience, but it is recommended to use a reference from a professional setting. 

Include the reference’s full name, their relationship to you (including the company name), and their telephone number. Both work phone numbers or personal phone numbers are alright, but make sure you ask your reference which they prefer before including it.

When formatted correctly, a references section for a door-to-door salesperson will look like the following:

References

John Smith – Mediacorps Marketing Supervisor (555) 123-4567 ext.5

Jane Doe – Mediacorps Marketing Project Lead (555) 123-4567 ext.6

Travis Worker – TrueToYou Marketing Supervisor (432) 765-7878

If your reference has a direct extension be sure to include that information.

If they do not, then be sure that the full name and position are accurate so the caller can correctly ask for the person in question.