You’ve been hustling in sales for a while now, making cold calls, making pitches, and building relationships with clients. However, you’ve realized that your typical hobbies have changed in the past few months. Sometimes, you have to ask yourself why people are picking your service or product instead of the competition. Maybe you’ve been thinking about ways to make your company’s website more user-friendly and interesting. On the other hand, perhaps you find yourself constantly considering how to strengthen the brand’s social media presence. If this describes you, it’s possible that you’re prepared to switch gears from sales to marketing. The question is, how?
Before anything else, you need to be familiar with the distinctions between the two. The marketing director of commercial real estate firm SquareFoot, Nell Lanman, sheds light on the ways in which these responsibilities intersect and differ while serving common ends.
- Define Your Ideal Field and Position
Make sure you’re targeting marketing positions in your most enthusiastic industry before you do anything else. A lot of people who work in sales really like the rush that comes from finally closing deals, much more than they enjoy the actual product or service they sell. However, if you lack enthusiasm for either the industry or the particular firm, you may struggle to succeed as a marketer because of the long-term nature of the job. This involves creating campaigns with the goal of increasing brand recognition and consumer loyalty.
You should seek out a field that truly interests you before switching from sales to marketing. Consider not only your professional but also your personal interests and preferences to assist you make a decision. The travel and tourism industries could be a good fit for you, for instance, if you notice that most of the people you follow on social media are travel bloggers and influencers. Alternatively, you might pursue a career in tech marketing if you have a passion for exploring new software and have a history of being an early adopter who enthusiastically recommends new products to their friends and coworkers.
- Take Stock of Your Current Abilities
You may have been quietly perfecting your marketing skills for years, regardless of whether your company has a matched sales and marketing staff or not. Rather than giving up on your sales abilities, you can put them to good use by incorporating them into your marketing strategy.
- Identify the Gaps in Your Skill Set
Changing careers usually necessitates honing your existing set of abilities. Making the switch from sales to marketing is quite similar. When you have experience building connections with clients and comprehending their needs, the shift to marketing becomes a bit less scary. This is especially true if you have come from a sales background. But whether you want to stay put or attempt something new, there are a few talents you might want to hone (and you can usually start with free or inexpensive online classes).
- Get Yourself Interview Ready
What steps can you take to ensure that you present yourself in a way that highlights your strengths to a prospective employer?
If you’re looking to transition from sales to marketing, one question that stands out is, “Why do you want to make the switch?” Follow these steps to create your elevator pitch and use it to tell the tale of your job move in a captivating and succinct manner. Be ready to talk about times when you showed you could handle marketing duties (such creating customer information packets) or any other occasion you were asked to do so throughout your sales career.
In addition, think about how effectively you have collaborated with the marketing team during your sales career and be ready to discuss it. Rather, you should highlight the times when you contributed to the marketing team’s success. Have you worked together on anything like a lead funnel, for instance? To make sure that all teams were on the same page, did you assist in establishing regular check-ins? When the marketing team needed answers, did they come to you, the salesperson?
You can elaborate on your previous experience working with the marketing department, your contributions to that team, the lessons you took away from that experience, and your preparation for the future role here.
The idea of having a sales expert lend a hand with marketing is appealing to a lot of businesses. You offer insight into the role that not all marketers possess due to your substantial experience working with clients. To successfully transition from sales to marketing, it is important to first assess your existing skill set and identify areas where you may benefit from additional training.