Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Renewable energy sales representative to solar energy sales consultant

A renewable energy sales representative already meets 78% of what the solar energy sales consultant role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From renewable energy sales representative
78 % overlap
Very strong match
To solar energy sales consultant
34 You already bring
4 Still to learn
44 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Short step

27.4/ 100

1 How much of what a solar energy sales consultant is expected to do is already part of a renewable energy sales 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 solar energy sales consultant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A solar energy sales consultant role treats 15 of its required skills as things a renewable energy sales representative already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on heating systems energy efficiency
  • assess customers
  • characteristics of products
  • characteristics of services
  • domestic heating systems
  • electricity market

What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A solar energy sales consultant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a renewable energy sales representative background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held inform customers on energy consumption fees communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held assess customers assisting and caring
  • already held prepare sales checks information skills
  • already held inform on government funding communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held provide information on solar panels assisting and caring
  • already held advise on utility consumption communication, collaboration and creativity

All 34 carried skills, including the 15 the solar energy sales consultant role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 10 missing skills fall into 4 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn energy efficiency required
  • still to learn photovoltaic systems required
  • still to learn solar products required
  • optional, not held electricity optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn develop professional network required
  • optional, not held manage distribution of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held manage production of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held negotiate sales contracts optional
03 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held sales promotion techniques optional
04 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held identify suppliers optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a solar energy sales consultant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 34 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advise on heating systems energy efficiency skill
  • already held assess customers skill
  • already held characteristics of products knowledge
  • already held characteristics of services knowledge
  • already held domestic heating systems knowledge
  • already held electricity market knowledge
  • already held energy conservation knowledge
  • already held identify customer's needs skill
  • already held industrial heating systems knowledge
  • already held inform customers on energy consumption fees skill
  • already held inform on government funding skill
  • already held promote environmental awareness skill
  • already held promote sustainable energy skill
  • already held provide information on solar panels skill
  • already held solar energy knowledge
  • already held advise on utility consumption skill
  • already held answer requests for quotation skill
  • already held assess supplier risks skill
  • already held attend trade fairs skill
  • already held carry out sales analysis skill
  • already held deliver a sales pitch skill
  • already held energy performance of buildings knowledge
  • already held identify energy needs skill
  • already held implement marketing strategies skill
  • already held implement sales strategies skill
  • already held negotiate improvement with suppliers skill
  • already held negotiate terms with suppliers skill
  • already held perform market research skill
  • already held prepare sales checks skill
  • already held prospect new customers skill
  • already held renewable energy knowledge
  • already held review completed contracts skill
  • already held sales argumentation knowledge
  • already held sales strategies knowledge
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held manage distribution of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held manage production of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held negotiate sales contracts optional
  • optional, not held sales promotion techniques optional
  • optional, not held electricity optional
  • optional, not held identify suppliers optional
10 held skills the solar energy sales consultant role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role achieve sales targets skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with advertising agencies skill
  • not needed by the target role manage contract disputes skill
  • not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
  • not needed by the target role manage development of promotional material skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor after sales records skill
  • not needed by the target role plan customers' sales visits skill
  • not needed by the target role plan event marketing for promotional campaigns skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on geothermal heat pumps skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on wind turbines skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn energy efficiency required
  • still to learn photovoltaic systems required
  • still to learn solar products required
  • optional, not held sales promotion techniques optional
  • optional, not held electricity optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a renewable energy sales representative become a solar energy sales consultant?

Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A renewable energy sales representative already covers 78% of what a solar energy sales consultant is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 15 of which the solar energy sales consultant role treats as required.

What skills does a renewable energy sales representative need to become a solar energy sales consultant?

4 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is energy efficiency.

How hard is the move from renewable energy sales representative to solar energy sales consultant?

Its learning distance is 27.4 out of 100, which is the adjacent band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.