Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Sales manager to market research analyst

A sales manager already meets 25% of what the market research analyst role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From sales manager
25 % overlap
Distant match
To market research analyst
12 You already bring
17 Still to learn
72 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

80.2/ 100

1 How much of what a market research analyst 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 market research analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A market research analyst role treats 10 of its required skills as things a sales manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • analyse consumer buying trends
  • analyse external factors of companies
  • analyse internal factors of companies
  • consumer goods industry
  • identify potential markets for companies
  • make strategic business decisions

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A market research analyst 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 customer segmentation business, administration and law
  • already held identify potential markets for companies management skills
  • already held marketing mix business, administration and law
  • already held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held analyse external factors of companies information skills
  • already held analyse internal factors of companies information skills

All 12 carried skills, including the 10 the market research analyst role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 60 missing skills fall into 8 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 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn identify customer's needs required
  • still to learn advise on market strategies required
  • still to learn prepare market research reports required
  • still to learn prepare presentation material required
  • still to learn present reports required
  • optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
  • optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
  • optional, not held conduct research interview optional
  • optional, not held deliver visual presentation of data optional
02 information skills 3 required, 20 supplementary
  • still to learn analyse economic trends required
  • still to learn analyse market financial trends required
  • still to learn draw conclusions from market research results required
  • optional, not held analyse supply chain trends optional
  • optional, not held build predictive models optional
  • optional, not held follow the news optional
  • optional, not held manage data optional
  • optional, not held analyse big data optional
  • optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
  • optional, not held conduct public surveys optional
  • optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
  • optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
  • optional, not held design questionnaires optional
  • optional, not held document interviews optional
  • optional, not held document project progress optional
  • optional, not held evaluate interview reports optional
  • optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
  • optional, not held gather data optional
  • optional, not held keep updated on innovations in various business fields optional
  • optional, not held manage database optional
  • optional, not held perform business analysis optional
  • optional, not held study website behaviour patterns optional
  • optional, not held tabulate survey results optional
03 business, administration and law 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn marketing department processes required
  • still to learn marketing analytics required
  • still to learn marketing principles required
  • optional, not held customer insight optional
  • optional, not held customer service optional
  • optional, not held data quality assessment optional
  • optional, not held business analysis optional
04 social sciences, journalism and information 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn demography required
  • still to learn quantitative analysis required
  • still to learn trendwatching required
  • optional, not held interview techniques optional
  • optional, not held psychology optional
05 working with computers 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn digital data processing required
  • optional, not held establish data processes optional
  • optional, not held perform data analysis optional
06 management skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn identify market niches required
  • optional, not held perform project management optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a market research analyst 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 12 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • already held analyse external factors of companies skill
  • already held analyse internal factors of companies skill
  • already held consumer goods industry knowledge
  • already held identify potential markets for companies skill
  • already held make strategic business decisions skill
  • already held market research knowledge
  • already held marketing mix knowledge
  • already held perform market research skill
  • already held statistics knowledge
  • already held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
  • already held customer segmentation knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 arts and humanities 1 required
  • still to learn visual presentation techniques required
08 information and communication technologies (icts) 10 supplementary
  • optional, not held LDAP optional
  • optional, not held LINQ optional
  • optional, not held MDX optional
  • optional, not held N1QL optional
  • optional, not held SPARQL optional
  • optional, not held XQuery optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
  • optional, not held query languages optional
  • optional, not held resource description framework query language optional
  • optional, not held database optional
43 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held LDAP optional
  • optional, not held LINQ optional
  • optional, not held MDX optional
  • optional, not held N1QL optional
  • optional, not held SPARQL optional
  • optional, not held XQuery optional
  • optional, not held analyse supply chain trends optional
  • optional, not held build predictive models optional
  • optional, not held customer insight optional
  • optional, not held customer service optional
  • optional, not held data quality assessment optional
  • optional, not held establish data processes optional
  • optional, not held follow the news optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
  • optional, not held manage data optional
  • optional, not held query languages optional
  • optional, not held resource description framework query language optional
  • optional, not held analyse big data optional
  • optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
  • optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
  • optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
  • optional, not held business analysis optional
  • optional, not held conduct public surveys optional
  • optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
  • optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
  • optional, not held conduct research interview optional
  • optional, not held database optional
  • optional, not held deliver visual presentation of data optional
  • optional, not held design questionnaires optional
  • optional, not held document interviews optional
  • optional, not held document project progress optional
  • optional, not held evaluate interview reports optional
  • optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
  • optional, not held gather data optional
  • optional, not held interview techniques optional
  • optional, not held keep updated on innovations in various business fields optional
  • optional, not held manage database optional
  • optional, not held perform business analysis optional
  • optional, not held perform data analysis optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional

3 further entries not listed here

50 held skills the market research analyst 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 customer service surveys 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 carry out sales analysis 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 create annual marketing budget skill
  • 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 impart business plans to collaborators skill
  • not needed by the target role implement sales strategies 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 international business knowledge
  • 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 manage accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets 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 manage staff skill
  • not needed by the target role market pricing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role motivate employees skill
  • not needed by the target role plan marketing campaigns 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
  • not needed by the target role produce sales reports skill
  • not needed by the target role public relations knowledge

10 further entries not listed here

23 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 marketing department processes required
  • still to learn visual presentation techniques required
  • still to learn demography required
  • still to learn marketing analytics required
  • still to learn marketing principles required
  • still to learn quantitative analysis required
  • still to learn trendwatching required
  • optional, not held LDAP optional
  • optional, not held LINQ optional
  • optional, not held MDX optional
  • optional, not held N1QL optional
  • optional, not held SPARQL optional
  • optional, not held XQuery optional
  • optional, not held customer insight optional
  • optional, not held customer service optional
  • optional, not held data quality assessment optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
  • optional, not held query languages optional
  • optional, not held resource description framework query language optional
  • optional, not held business analysis optional
  • optional, not held database optional
  • optional, not held interview techniques optional
  • optional, not held psychology 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 market research analyst?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A sales manager already covers 25% of what a market research analyst is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 10 of which the market research analyst role treats as required.

What skills does a sales manager need to become a market research analyst?

17 required skills are missing, plus 43 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is digital data processing.

How hard is the move from sales manager to market research analyst?

Its learning distance is 80.2 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.