Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Sales manager to brand manager

A sales manager already meets 25% of what the brand manager role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From sales manager
25 % overlap
Distant match
To brand manager
10 You already bring
23 Still to learn
43 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

79.5/ 100

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

Why

Why this move works

A brand manager role treats 8 of its required skills as things a sales manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • carry out sales analysis
  • consumer goods industry
  • create annual marketing budget
  • implement sales strategies
  • manage staff
  • perform market research

What stands in the way is 23 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 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A brand manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a sales manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held create annual marketing budget management skills
  • already held plan marketing campaigns management skills
  • already held carry out sales analysis information skills
  • already held consumer goods industry business, administration and law
  • already held international business business, administration and law
  • already held implement sales strategies communication, collaboration and creativity

All 10 carried skills, including the 8 the brand manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 33 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 management skills 12 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn carry out naming strategies required
  • still to learn create brand guidelines required
  • still to learn design brand's online communication plan required
  • still to learn organise participation in local or international events required
  • still to learn apply strategic thinking required
  • still to learn coordinate advertising campaigns required
  • still to learn define brand identity required
  • still to learn identify new business opportunities required
  • still to learn lead the brand strategic planning process required
  • still to learn manage brand assets required
  • still to learn select optimal distribution channel required
  • still to learn stimulate creativity in the team required
  • optional, not held carry out event management optional
  • optional, not held perform multiple tasks at the same time optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn set brand positioning required
  • still to learn apply social media marketing required
  • still to learn execute marketing plan required
  • still to learn implement marketing strategies required
  • still to learn perform customers’ needs analysis required
  • optional, not held build rapport with people from different cultural backgrounds optional
  • optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
  • optional, not held plan new packaging designs optional
03 information skills 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn perform brand analysis required
  • still to learn comprehend financial business terminology required
  • still to learn maintain financial records required
  • optional, not held price product optional
  • optional, not held seek innovation in current practices optional
04 business, administration and law 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn company policies required
  • still to learn channel marketing required
  • optional, not held services marketing optional
  • optional, not held employment law optional
05 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn have computer literacy required
  • optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a brand manager 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 10 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held carry out sales analysis skill
  • already held consumer goods industry knowledge
  • already held create annual marketing budget skill
  • already held implement sales strategies skill
  • already held manage staff skill
  • already held perform market research skill
  • already held plan marketing campaigns skill
  • already held sales strategies knowledge
  • already held international business knowledge
  • already held manage budgets skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held build rapport with people from different cultural backgrounds optional
  • optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
  • optional, not held price product optional
  • optional, not held services marketing optional
  • optional, not held carry out event management optional
  • optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
  • optional, not held employment law optional
  • optional, not held perform multiple tasks at the same time optional
  • optional, not held plan new packaging designs optional
  • optional, not held seek innovation in current practices optional
52 held skills the brand manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role align efforts towards business development skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse customer service surveys skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse external factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse internal factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
  • not needed by the target role brand marketing techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
  • not needed by the target role content marketing strategy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role coordinate marketing plan actions skill
  • not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • not needed by the target role customer segmentation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role define geographic sales areas skill
  • not needed by the target role define measurable marketing objectives skill
  • not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate marketing content skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast sales over periods of time skill
  • not needed by the target role identify potential markets for companies skill
  • not needed by the target role impart business plans to collaborators skill
  • not needed by the target role integrate headquarter's guidelines into local operations skill
  • not needed by the target role integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy skill
  • not needed by the target role integrate strategic foundation in daily performance skill
  • not needed by the target role investigate customer complaints of food products skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
  • not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
  • not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role manage distribution channels skill
  • not needed by the target role manage profitability skill
  • not needed by the target role market pricing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role market research knowledge
  • not needed by the target role marketing mix knowledge
  • not needed by the target role motivate employees skill
  • not needed by the target role plan marketing strategy skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare visual data skill
  • not needed by the target role present arguments persuasively skill
  • not needed by the target role pricing strategies knowledge

12 further entries not listed here

4 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 company policies required
  • still to learn channel marketing required
  • optional, not held services marketing optional
  • optional, not held employment law optional
Index

Other moves recorded from sales manager

Full index of moves from sales manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a sales manager become a brand manager?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A sales manager already covers 25% of what a brand manager is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 8 of which the brand manager role treats as required.

What skills does a sales manager need to become a brand manager?

23 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is carry out naming strategies.

How hard is the move from sales manager to brand manager?

Its learning distance is 79.5 out of 100, which is the career change 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.