ICT presales engineer to ICT account manager
An ICT presales engineer already meets 21% of what the ICT account manager role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.8/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT account manager is expected to do is already part of an ICT presales engineer’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 ICT account manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT account manager role treats 4 of its required skills as things an ICT presales engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- develop account strategy
- implement marketing strategies
- produce sales reports
- product comprehension
What stands in the way is 16 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ICT account manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ICT presales engineer background worth leading with.
- already held develop account strategy management skills
- already held coordinate technological activities management skills
- already held deliver a sales pitch communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held set sales goals management skills
- already held produce sales reports information skills
- already held implement marketing strategies communication, collaboration and creativity
All 8 carried skills, including the 4 the ICT account manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 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 implement customer follow-up required
- still to learn implement sales strategies required
- still to learn maintain relationship with customers required
- still to learn manage contracts required
- still to learn maximise sales revenues required
- still to learn perform customers’ needs analysis required
- optional, not held achieve sales targets optional
- optional, not held build business relationships optional
- optional, not held implement strategic planning optional
- still to learn sales argumentation required
- still to learn sales strategies required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn channel marketing required
- still to learn guarantee customer satisfaction required
- still to learn apply company policies required
- optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with legal requirements optional
- still to learn perform data analysis required
- still to learn use customer relationship management software required
- optional, not held perform data mining optional
- still to learn keep records on sales required
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
- optional, not held maintain customer records optional
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
- still to learn identify new business opportunities required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an ICT account manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 guarantee customer satisfaction practise this
- 02 implement customer follow-up practise this
- 03 implement sales strategies 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held develop account strategy skill
- already held implement marketing strategies skill
- already held produce sales reports skill
- already held product comprehension knowledge
- already held coordinate technological activities skill
- already held deliver a sales pitch skill
- already held perform market research skill
- already held set sales goals skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held Open source model optional
- optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
- optional, not held hybrid model optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Open source model optional
- optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
- optional, not held hybrid model optional
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held perform data mining optional
- optional, not held achieve sales targets optional
- optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional
- optional, not held build business relationships optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
- optional, not held implement strategic planning optional
- optional, not held maintain customer records optional
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
27 held skills the ICT account manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT market knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT sales methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
- not needed by the target role SAS language knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role customer segmentation knowledge
- not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
- not needed by the target role define technology strategy skill
- not needed by the target role develop revenue generation strategies skill
- not needed by the target role digital marketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role emergent technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware components knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware components suppliers knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
- not needed by the target role identify training needs skill
- not needed by the target role keep up to date on product knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role market pricing knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role prepare scientific reports skill
- not needed by the target role software components libraries knowledge
- not needed by the target role software components suppliers knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistical analysis system software knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise sales activities skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
7 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 sales argumentation required
- still to learn sales strategies required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn channel marketing required
- optional, not held Open source model optional
- optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
- optional, not held hybrid model optional
Common questions about this move
Can an ICT presales engineer become an ICT account manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An ICT presales engineer already covers 21% of what an ICT account manager is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 4 of which the ICT account manager role treats as required.
What skills does an ICT presales engineer need to become an ICT account manager?
16 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is guarantee customer satisfaction.
How hard is the move from ICT presales engineer to ICT account manager?
Its learning distance is 77.8 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.