Garage manager to client relations manager
A garage manager already meets 33% of what the client relations manager role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
72.9/ 100
1 How much of what a client relations manager is expected to do is already part of a garage manager’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 11 of its required skills as things a garage manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communication principles
- corporate social responsibility
- create solutions to problems
- follow company standards
- guarantee customer satisfaction
- identify customer's needs
What stands in the way is 17 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 16 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 garage manager background worth leading with.
- already held supervise the management of an establishment management skills
- already held customer relationship management business, administration and law
- already held achieve sales targets communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held communication principles generic programmes and qualifications
- already held supervise work management skills
- already held plan health and safety procedures management skills
All 16 carried skills, including the 11 the client relations manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 44 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 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 develop professional network 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 teach customer service techniques optional
- optional, not held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies 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 fix meetings required
- still to learn identify new business opportunities required
- still to learn manage accounts 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 marketing campaigns optional
- still to learn corporate sustainability required
- still to learn public relations required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- still to learn analyse consumer buying trends required
- optional, not held collect customer data optional
- optional, not held analyse business plans 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
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
- still to learn knowledge base required
- optional, not held data protection optional
- still to learn business communication required
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 sustainability study this
- 02 manage customer service practise this
- 03 advise on public relations 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 16 skills that carry over
- already held communication principles knowledge
- already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held product comprehension knowledge
- already held supervise the management of an establishment skill
- already held supervise work skill
- already held achieve sales targets skill
- already held customer relationship management knowledge
- already held customer service knowledge
- already held implement sales strategies skill
- already held plan health and safety procedures skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held perform customer management optional
27 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 data protection optional
- optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- optional, not held supervise sales activities optional
- optional, not held teach customer service techniques optional
- optional, not held analyse business plans 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 collaborate in the development of marketing strategies 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 customer management optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held plan marketing campaigns optional
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
24 held skills the client relations manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on customs regulations skill
- not needed by the target role automotive diagnostic equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
- not needed by the target role car controls knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out inventory planning skill
- not needed by the target role carry out repair of motorcycles skill
- not needed by the target role carry out repair of vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose problems with vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate internal communications skill
- not needed by the target role employment law knowledge
- not needed by the target role engine components knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify vehicles service requirements skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role monitor daily work skill
- not needed by the target role monitor equipment condition skill
- not needed by the target role plan employees work in vehicle maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role promote organisational communication skill
- not needed by the target role provide operational efficiency training to employees skill
- not needed by the target role quote prices skill
- not needed by the target role types of vehicle engines knowledge
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role visit manufacturers 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 corporate sustainability required
- still to learn business communication required
- still to learn knowledge base required
- still to learn public relations required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held data protection optional
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a garage manager become a client relations manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A garage manager already covers 33% of what a client relations manager is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 11 of which the client relations manager role treats as required.
What skills does a garage manager need to become a client relations manager?
17 required skills are missing, plus 27 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is corporate sustainability.
How hard is the move from garage manager to client relations manager?
Its learning distance is 72.9 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.