Product and services manager to sales account manager
A product and services manager already meets 20% of what the sales account manager role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.4/ 100
1 How much of what a sales account manager is expected to do is already part of a product and services 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 sales account manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A sales account manager role treats 5 of its required skills as things a product and services manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- characteristics of products
- characteristics of services
- company policies
- perform data analysis
- product comprehension
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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sales account manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a product and services manager background worth leading with.
- already held consumer protection services
- already held perform data analysis working with computers
- already held characteristics of services business, administration and law
- already held characteristics of products engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held company policies business, administration and law
- already held product comprehension business, administration and law
All 6 carried skills, including the 5 the sales account manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 5 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 prospect new customers required
- still to learn build business relationships required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- still to learn manage contracts required
- still to learn maximise sales revenues required
- still to learn negotiate price required
- still to learn perform customers’ needs analysis required
- optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
- optional, not held adapt to changing situations optional
- optional, not held pose questions referring to documents optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- still to learn keep records on sales required
- still to learn produce sales reports required
- still to learn forecast account metrics required
- still to learn maintain customer records required
- still to learn study sales levels of products required
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- still to learn customer service required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held competition law optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- still to learn use customer relationship management software required
- optional, not held use content management system software optional
- still to learn apply company policies required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a sales account manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 customer service study this
- 02 implement customer follow-up practise this
- 03 keep records on sales 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held characteristics of products knowledge
- already held characteristics of services knowledge
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held perform data analysis skill
- already held product comprehension knowledge
- already held consumer protection knowledge
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held adapt to changing situations optional
- optional, not held competition law optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held pose questions referring to documents optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- optional, not held use content management system software optional
21 held skills the sales account manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advertising techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply business acumen skill
- not needed by the target role assign codes to product items skill
- not needed by the target role build rapport with people from different cultural backgrounds skill
- not needed by the target role channel marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role commercial photography knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate price changes skill
- not needed by the target role content marketing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop the product catalogue skill
- not needed by the target role ensure finished product meet requirements skill
- not needed by the target role ensure products meet regulatory requirements skill
- not needed by the target role handle requests for new product items skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
- not needed by the target role plan digital marketing skill
- not needed by the target role plan marketing strategy skill
- not needed by the target role post-processing of photographs knowledge
- not needed by the target role printed goods processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role services marketing knowledge
6 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 customer service required
- still to learn relationship marketing required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held competition law optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
Common questions about this move
Can a product and services manager become a sales account manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A product and services manager already covers 20% of what a sales account manager is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 5 of which the sales account manager role treats as required.
What skills does a product and services manager need to become a sales account manager?
17 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is customer service.
How hard is the move from product and services manager to sales account manager?
Its learning distance is 77.4 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.