Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Sales manager to marketing consultant

A sales manager already meets 29% of what the marketing consultant role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From sales manager
29 % overlap
Distant match
To marketing consultant
15 You already bring
16 Still to learn
58 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

75/ 100

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

Why

Why this move works

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

  • analyse external factors of companies
  • analyse internal factors of companies
  • identify potential markets for companies
  • integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy
  • market pricing
  • marketing mix

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A marketing consultant 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 evaluate marketing content information skills
  • already held identify potential markets for companies management skills
  • already held integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy management skills
  • already held marketing mix business, administration and law
  • already held pricing strategies business, administration and law
  • already held coordinate marketing plan actions management skills

All 15 carried skills, including the 8 the marketing consultant role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 43 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 business, administration and law 6 required, 15 supplementary
  • still to learn management consulting required
  • still to learn project management required
  • still to learn services marketing required
  • still to learn market analysis 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 digital marketing techniques optional
  • optional, not held neuromarketing techniques optional
  • optional, not held web strategy assessment optional
  • optional, not held advertising techniques optional
  • optional, not held channel marketing optional
  • optional, not held copyright legislation optional
  • optional, not held financial capability optional
  • optional, not held international trade optional
  • optional, not held online ads campaign techniques optional
  • optional, not held relationship marketing optional
  • optional, not held reputation management optional
  • optional, not held social media management optional
  • optional, not held social media marketing techniques optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn maintain relationship with customers required
  • still to learn conduct research interview required
  • still to learn use consulting techniques required
  • still to learn use different communication channels required
  • optional, not held develop creative ideas optional
  • optional, not held liaise with advertising agencies optional
03 information skills 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn carry out strategic research required
  • still to learn document project progress required
  • still to learn identify customer requirements required
  • optional, not held interpret financial statements optional
  • optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
04 management skills 2 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn identify market niches required
  • still to learn use theoretical marketing models required
  • optional, not held conduct online competitive analysis optional
  • optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
  • optional, not held plan social media marketing campaigns optional
  • optional, not held define technical requirements optional
  • optional, not held plan digital marketing optional
05 assisting and caring 1 required
  • still to learn respond to enquiries required
06 working with computers 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
  • optional, not held creatively use digital technologies optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a marketing 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 15 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held analyse external factors of companies skill
  • already held analyse internal factors of companies skill
  • already held identify potential markets for companies skill
  • already held integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy skill
  • already held market pricing knowledge
  • already held marketing mix knowledge
  • already held plan marketing strategy skill
  • already held pricing strategies knowledge
  • already held brand marketing techniques knowledge
  • already held coordinate marketing plan actions skill
  • already held evaluate marketing content skill
  • already held make strategic business decisions skill
  • already held perform market research skill
  • already held plan marketing campaigns skill
  • already held sales strategies knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
27 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held conduct online competitive analysis optional
  • optional, not held customer insight optional
  • optional, not held customer service optional
  • optional, not held digital marketing techniques optional
  • optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
  • optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
  • optional, not held neuromarketing techniques optional
  • optional, not held plan social media marketing campaigns optional
  • optional, not held web strategy assessment optional
  • optional, not held advertising techniques optional
  • optional, not held channel marketing optional
  • optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
  • optional, not held copyright legislation optional
  • optional, not held creatively use digital technologies optional
  • optional, not held define technical requirements optional
  • optional, not held develop creative ideas optional
  • optional, not held financial capability optional
  • optional, not held international trade optional
  • optional, not held interpret financial statements optional
  • optional, not held liaise with advertising agencies optional
  • optional, not held online ads campaign techniques optional
  • optional, not held plan digital marketing optional
  • optional, not held relationship marketing optional
  • optional, not held reputation management optional
  • optional, not held social media management optional
  • optional, not held social media marketing techniques optional
  • optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
47 held skills the marketing consultant 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 supply chain strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out sales analysis skill
  • 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 consumer goods industry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role content marketing strategy knowledge
  • 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 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 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 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 research knowledge
  • not needed by the target role motivate employees 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 produce sales reports skill
  • not needed by the target role public relations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role recruit personnel skill
  • not needed by the target role sales argumentation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role sales department processes knowledge

7 further entries not listed here

22 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 management consulting required
  • still to learn project management required
  • still to learn services marketing required
  • still to learn market analysis 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 digital marketing techniques optional
  • optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
  • optional, not held neuromarketing techniques optional
  • optional, not held web strategy assessment optional
  • optional, not held advertising techniques optional
  • optional, not held channel marketing optional
  • optional, not held copyright legislation optional
  • optional, not held financial capability optional
  • optional, not held international trade optional
  • optional, not held online ads campaign techniques optional
  • optional, not held relationship marketing optional
  • optional, not held reputation management optional
  • optional, not held social media management optional
  • optional, not held social media marketing techniques 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 marketing consultant?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A sales manager already covers 29% of what a marketing consultant is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 8 of which the marketing consultant role treats as required.

What skills does a sales manager need to become a marketing consultant?

16 required skills are missing, plus 27 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is maintain relationship with customers.

How hard is the move from sales manager to marketing consultant?

Its learning distance is 75 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.