Customer service representative to sales processor
A customer service representative already meets 45% of what the sales processor role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.7/ 100
1 How much of what a sales processor is expected to do is already part of a customer service representative’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 sales processor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A sales processor role treats 9 of its required skills as things a customer service representative already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure client orientation
- have computer literacy
- identify customer's needs
- perform multiple tasks at the same time
- process data
- process order forms with customer's information
What stands in the way is 11 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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sales processor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a customer service representative background worth leading with.
- already held process order forms with customer's information information skills
- already held provide information assisting and caring
- already held use e-services working with computers
- already held show diplomacy communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held process data information skills
- already held sales activities business, administration and law
All 15 carried skills, including the 9 the sales processor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 6 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 work independently in sales required
- still to learn present reports required
- still to learn use different communication channels required
- optional, not held negotiate sales contracts optional
- still to learn issue sales invoices required
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- still to learn process payments required
- still to learn use databases required
- still to learn use spreadsheets software required
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held channel marketing optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held multimodal transport logistics optional
- optional, not held supply chain principles optional
- still to learn characteristics of products required
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
- still to learn provide customers with order information required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a sales processor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 characteristics of products study this
- 02 characteristics of services study this
- 03 issue sales invoices 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held ensure client orientation skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- already held process data skill
- already held process order forms with customer's information skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held provide information skill
- already held sales activities knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held customer service knowledge
- already held e-commerce systems knowledge
- already held show diplomacy skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held use e-services skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held negotiate sales contracts optional
- optional, not held channel marketing optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- optional, not held multimodal transport logistics optional
- optional, not held supply chain principles optional
24 held skills the sales processor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role carry out active selling skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role consumer protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role contact customers skill
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role data mining methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine charges for customer services skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate official agreement skill
- not needed by the target role guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- not needed by the target role implement customer follow-up skill
- not needed by the target role keep records of customer interaction skill
- not needed by the target role knowledge base knowledge
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role manage schedule of tasks skill
- not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform escalation procedure skill
- not needed by the target role process customer orders skill
- not needed by the target role process refunds skill
- not needed by the target role relationship marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role upsell products skill
- not needed by the target role use customer relationship management software skill
8 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 characteristics of products required
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held channel marketing optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held multimodal transport logistics optional
- optional, not held supply chain principles optional
Other moves recorded from customer service representative
- after-sales service technician 44% covered · substantial
- call centre agent 44% covered · substantial
- ICT help desk agent 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in office machinery and equipment 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in chemical products 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in agricultural machinery and equipment 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in mining and construction machinery 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in hardware, plumbing and heating equipment 35% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a customer service representative become a sales processor?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A customer service representative already covers 45% of what a sales processor is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 9 of which the sales processor role treats as required.
What skills does a customer service representative need to become a sales processor?
11 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is characteristics of products.
How hard is the move from customer service representative to sales processor?
Its learning distance is 57.7 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.