TL;DR
Sales manager CVs are judged on the numbers the team delivered, but the ATS gates on keywords first. UK employers now receive an average of 280 applications per advertised role, more than double the 2022 figure. If your sales manager CV is filtered before a human reads it, the keywords an ATS expects are usually missing.
The fix is not keyword-stuffing
At CVPilot the pattern that works is consistent:
- Summary leads with your strongest keywords, anchored to a quantified result
- Every bullet pairs a keyword with a number
- Tools and systems named explicitly so the parser matches them
The contrarian bit
Most sales manager CVs read like an IC CV with "manager" added. The best ones are written from the team's point of view: the coaching, onboarding, and playbook you built.
Full guide with the exact sales manager keywords, placement, and metrics: https://cvpilot.pro/blog/sales-manager-cv-keywords-ats?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=sales-manager
What keyword do most sales managers forget?
