Business developer to client relations manager
A business developer already meets 18% of what the client relations manager role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
84.2/ 100
1 How much of what a client relations manager is expected to do is already part of a business developer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the client relations manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A client relations manager role treats 5 of its required skills as things a business developer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- corporate sustainability
- develop professional network
- identify new business opportunities
- liaise with managers
- manage accounts
What stands in the way is 23 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A client relations manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a business developer background worth leading with.
- already held perform customer management assisting and caring
- already held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held corporate sustainability business, administration and law
- already held customer relationship management business, administration and law
- already held manage accounts management skills
- already held analyse business plans information skills
All 11 carried skills, including the 5 the client relations manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 49 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn identify customer's needs required
- still to learn advise on public relations required
- still to learn build business relationships required
- still to learn build trust required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn maximise sales revenues required
- still to learn perform customers’ needs analysis required
- optional, not held communicate with customer service department optional
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held teach customer service techniques optional
- optional, not held achieve sales targets optional
- optional, not held handle customer complaints optional
- optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn manage customer service required
- still to learn supervise the management of an establishment required
- still to learn fix meetings required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn supervise work required
- optional, not held supervise sales activities optional
- optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
- optional, not held monitor customer service optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held plan marketing campaigns optional
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn public relations required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- still to learn guarantee customer satisfaction required
- still to learn follow company standards required
- still to learn business communication required
- still to learn communication principles required
- still to learn analyse consumer buying trends required
- optional, not held collect customer data optional
- optional, not held analyse business processes optional
- optional, not held analyse business requirements optional
- optional, not held analyse customer service surveys optional
- optional, not held keep records of customer interaction optional
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- optional, not held perform business analysis optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a client relations manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 corporate social responsibility study this
- 02 guarantee customer satisfaction practise this
- 03 identify customer's needs practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held corporate sustainability knowledge
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held identify new business opportunities skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held analyse business plans skill
- already held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
- already held customer relationship management knowledge
- already held perform customer management skill
- already held sales strategies knowledge
- already held study sales levels of products skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn knowledge base required
- optional, not held data protection optional
26 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held collect customer data optional
- optional, not held communicate with customer service department optional
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held data protection optional
- optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held supervise sales activities optional
- optional, not held teach customer service techniques optional
- optional, not held achieve sales targets optional
- optional, not held analyse business processes optional
- optional, not held analyse business requirements optional
- optional, not held analyse customer service surveys optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held handle customer complaints optional
- optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
- optional, not held keep records of customer interaction optional
- optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- optional, not held monitor customer service optional
- optional, not held perform business analysis optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held plan marketing campaigns optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
26 held skills the client relations manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse cultural trends skill
- not needed by the target role analyse data about clients skill
- not needed by the target role apply business acumen skill
- not needed by the target role brainstorm ideas skill
- not needed by the target role brand marketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role business analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role business incubation knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out sales analysis skill
- not needed by the target role customer insight knowledge
- not needed by the target role expand store regional presence skill
- not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role international business knowledge
- not needed by the target role market analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role market entry planning knowledge
- not needed by the target role market entry strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role market research knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role negotiate settlements skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate with stakeholders skill
- not needed by the target role prospect new customers skill
- not needed by the target role represent company in exhibitions skill
- not needed by the target role services marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role strategic planning knowledge
- not needed by the target role strive for company growth skill
- not needed by the target role use analytics for commercial purposes skill
- not needed by the target role vertical markets knowledge
10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn corporate social responsibility required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn business communication required
- still to learn communication principles required
- still to learn knowledge base required
- still to learn public relations required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held data protection optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a business developer become a client relations manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A business developer already covers 18% of what a client relations manager is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 5 of which the client relations manager role treats as required.
What skills does a business developer need to become a client relations manager?
23 required skills are missing, plus 26 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is corporate social responsibility.
How hard is the move from business developer to client relations manager?
Its learning distance is 84.2 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.