You know you'd be great in sales. You've been solving problems, building relationships, and persuading people in every role you've held. But every application asks for "2+ years of sales experience" and you're stuck in the catch-22: can't get sales experience without a sales job, can't get a sales job without sales experience.
Here's the truth hiring managers won't tell you: they're not really looking for sales experience. They're looking for sales traits.
The challenge is that traditional hiring processes (resume screening, keyword matching, applicant tracking systems) can't see those traits in career changers. Your CV gets filtered out before a human ever looks at it. That's why video has become your biggest advantage.
Video Lets You Show What Your CV Can't Say
A resume is a list of where you've worked and what your job title was. It can't capture how you think, how you connect with people, or how you handle challenges. That's why career changers get filtered out. Not because they lack ability, but because algorithms can't read between the lines.
Video changes that completely.
In two minutes, you can demonstrate curiosity by explaining why you're making this move and what you've learned researching the role. You can show communication skills just by speaking clearly and confidently about your background. You can display resilience by owning a career pivot instead of apologizing for it.
Most importantly, you can frame your "non-sales" experience as relevant instead of letting a recruiter decide it's not.
A project manager who's negotiated with stakeholders, managed competing priorities, and delivered under pressure? That's sales.
A teacher who's adapted lessons for different learning styles, motivated reluctant students, and dealt with difficult parents? That's sales.
A customer support specialist who's de-escalated angry clients, identified upsell opportunities, and exceeded satisfaction targets? That's absolutely sales.
But none of that comes through on a CV that says "Customer Support Specialist, 2021-2024." Video lets you tell the real story.
The Four Traits Hiring Managers Actually Want (And How to Demonstrate Them on Video)
When we assess candidates at Meritt, we ignore job titles and focus on four characteristics: curiosity, coachability, grit, and communication. These predict who'll succeed in sales better than any previous role.
Curiosity means you ask good questions and genuinely want to understand problems before proposing solutions. On video, show this by explaining what drew you to sales and what you've learned about the company. Don't just say "I researched your product." Mention something specific that impressed you or a question you'd ask a prospect.
Coachability means you take feedback without getting defensive and actually implement suggestions. Demonstrate this by acknowledging what you're still learning and showing openness to development. Career changers who say "I know I have lots to learn and I'm excited to get coaching" are more appealing than experienced reps who think they know everything.
Grit means you persist when things get hard and find alternative routes when blocked. Your career change itself demonstrates this. Own it. Talk about why you're making the move despite the barriers, and what keeps you motivated when applications get rejected.
Communication means you explain ideas clearly, read situations accurately, and build rapport with different people. Your video is your proof. If you can articulate your background, frame your transition convincingly, and connect authentically in 90 seconds, you've already shown you can communicate.
What to Actually Say When You Record Your Video
This is where most career changers mess up. They either over-apologize for lacking sales experience, or they oversell and sound desperate. Neither works.
Start with transferable achievement, not job title.
Bad: "Hi, I'm Sarah. I've been a project manager for four years and I'm looking to transition into sales."
Better: "I've spent the last four years negotiating with stakeholders, managing competing priorities, and delivering projects that required buy-in from people I had no authority over. That's why I'm pursuing sales. I've essentially been selling internally, and I want to do it as my actual job."
See the difference? The second version shows relevant capability before mentioning the career change.
Frame your transition as strategic, not desperate.
Don't say: "I'm just looking for any sales role to get my foot in the door."
Do say: "I'm specifically interested in SaaS sales to mid-market companies because my project management background gives me credibility with operations leaders, and I understand longer sales cycles."
Specificity signals you've thought this through. Vagueness signals you're throwing spaghetti at walls.
Show enthusiasm without faking energy you don't have.
You don't need to be a hype machine. But if you sound bored or uncertain while explaining why you want to move into sales, hiring managers will assume you're not committed. Genuine interest comes through naturally when you talk about what excites you about the role or the company.
Acknowledge the pivot honestly while projecting confidence.
Don't say: "I know I don't have traditional sales experience, so I understand if that's a problem."
Do say: "I'm coming from project management rather than a traditional sales background, which means I bring a different perspective on stakeholder management and a fresh approach to client relationships."
You're not asking permission to be considered. You're explaining why your background is valuable.
End with what you bring, not what you hope to gain.
Weak: "I'm really excited to learn from your team and develop my sales skills."
Strong: "I bring four years of client negotiation, a track record of hitting delivery targets under pressure, and the ability to build relationships with technical and non-technical stakeholders. I'd love to discuss how that translates to your sales team."
How Meritt Coach Helps Career Changers Get Better Faster
Here's the frustrating part about being a career changer: nobody gives you honest feedback. Recruiters ghost you. Friends and family tell you your video is great because they don't want to hurt your feelings. You're left guessing what went wrong.
We built Meritt Coach to solve that.
When you record your video, you get immediate feedback on how you're actually coming across. Not how you think you're coming across.
It tells you things like:
"Your energy dips when you talk about your previous role. That might signal you're not genuinely interested in your background, which raises questions about your commitment. Maintain consistent enthusiasm throughout."
"You're using phrases like 'just' and 'sort of' that undermine your authority. Career changers need to project confidence, not apologize for their path."
"Your opening is too focused on what you lack rather than what you bring. Lead with capability, then explain the transition."
This isn't generic advice. It's specific to your recording and designed to help you improve immediately. You can re-record, apply the feedback, and see the difference.
The feedback isn't guesswork. Meritt Coach measures expressive signals (vocal patterns, language choices, facial expressions) that predict sales success. But unlike other assessment tools that just score you, we translate those measurements into coaching. You don't get "your prosody score is 6.2/10." You get "you're rushing through your value proposition, which makes you sound nervous. Slow down here to project confidence." That's the difference between assessment and development.
Most career changers spend months applying and getting rejected without understanding why. Meritt Coach gives you the insight in two minutes that would normally take dozens of failed applications to figure out.
Your Non-Sales Background Can Be a Differentiator, Not a Liability
Here's something experienced sales reps won't admit: many of them have bad habits. They've learned manipulative techniques, they're burnt out from high-pressure environments, or they've been taught to prioritize close rates over customer success.
You don't have those habits.
You're coming in fresh, coachable, and genuinely interested in solving problems. If you can demonstrate the four core traits (curiosity, coachability, grit, communication), your lack of traditional experience becomes irrelevant.
Video is how you prove that. Not by listing transferable skills in bullet points, but by showing hiring managers who you are and how you think.
Record with honesty. Show the traits that matter. Frame your background as strength, not weakness.
That's how career changers break into sales.