Letter template · Apprenticeship

Cover letter for a sales apprenticeship

A sales manager reads your letter like a first cold call: do you get straight to the point, and do you make them want to know more?

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What the recruiter is looking for

Figures

An average basket, a number of calls a day, a target hit. Even in a student job, a figure makes the experience credible.

Customer contact

Retail, reception, hospitality, events: anything that put you in front of customers counts.

A taste for prospecting

Field visits, the phone, follow-ups. Say they don't scare you, and prove it with an example.

Product knowledge

What the company sells and to whom. A salesperson who doesn't know the catalogue doesn't sell.

Example letter

Apprenticeship application, sales

Dear Sir or Madam,

Starting a [BTS NDRC] at [school] in [September 2026], I am looking for a [two-year] sales apprenticeship, with [two days at college and three days at work]. Your offer caught my attention because [you sell solutions to local businesses, a market I know well].

Over [two summers] at [store], I advised a wide range of customers and beat the [add-on sales] target by [15%] over the season. I learnt to listen before suggesting anything, and to close without pushing.

I am not afraid of the phone. For [the association / the student project], I approached [40 shops] to find partners and won over [8] of them. I tracked every contact in a spreadsheet and followed up with those who hesitated.

[Company name] appeals to me because of [specific reason: the quality of your products, which I saw at a client's, and the field role you give apprentices]. I want to learn B2B sales with a team that has clear targets.

I would be happy to discuss this with you at an interview.

Yours faithfully,

[First name Surname]

Replace everything in square brackets. Keep the structure, change the examples: a recruiter spots a copied letter within one line.

Keywords found in these ads

  • Prospecting
  • Customer relations
  • Negotiation
  • Customer retention
  • CRM
  • Sales targets
  • Business development
  • B2B
  • B2C
  • Appointment setting
  • Account management
  • Cold calling

Reuse the exact terms from the ad, but only the ones you can back up with experience, a project or a course. A keyword you can't explain at interview costs you more than it earns you.

The same rules apply to your CV.Read the ATS CV guide

The mistakes that lose the reader

  • "I have good people skills" without a single example.
  • Not one figure in the whole letter.
  • A letter that is too long: a salesperson has to know how to be brief.
  • Saying nothing about what the company sells.

Frequently asked
questions

I have no sales experience, what should I highlight?

Anything that put you in contact with the public: a summer job, reception work, a club or association, team sport. And a figure, even a modest one, to show you measure what you do.

Should I mention commission?

No, not in the letter. It is a topic for the interview, and often set by the apprenticeship contract.

See also

Letter templates

Apprenticeship cover letter examples by job: web developer, UX/UI designer, sales, HR, marketing, accounting. With practical tips.

Digital marketing

Example cover letter for an apprenticeship in digital marketing, community management or SEO: what recruiters expect, a full letter, keywords.

AI cover letter

Generate a cover letter from your profile and the job you are after. Keywords from the ad spotted, your choice of tone, one page. Free to start.

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