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Jobs After-Sales: 6 Common Career Changes For Salespeople in 2024

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Salespeople are the lifeblood of any company. They're the communicators, the relationship builders, the rainmakers who turn ideas into revenue. Theirs is a world of constant challenge and gratification, a rollercoaster ride of chasing leads, closing deals, and celebrating wins. 

But like any dynamic career path, the world of sales is constantly evolving. While the core skills of effective communication and building rapport remain timeless, the job market presents exciting new opportunities for those seeking a fresh challenge. Just as salespeople adapt their strategies to changing customer preferences, their career aspirations can evolve as well. The good news is the skillset developed in the world of sales is incredibly transferable. The communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and target-oriented mindset developed during a sales career can pave the way for exciting new opportunities. 

This blog delves into six promising career paths that salespeople, with their skillsets and proven track records, are perfectly positioned to explore. Whether you're yearning for a new direction within the sales realm or seeking a complete shift, this roadmap will shed light on the exciting possibilities that await seasoned sales professionals in the ever-changing landscape of 2024. 

The Salesperson Advantage 

The world of sales isn't just about hitting quotas and closing deals. It's a training ground that equips professionals with a powerful arsenal of transferable skills. Communication, the bedrock of any successful sale, allows salespeople to articulate ideas clearly, actively listen to understand needs and tailor their message to resonate with different audiences. These communication skills are invaluable assets in any industry, from project management to teaching to human resources. 

Sales professionals excel at forming strong connections. They grasp how vital it is to build trust, friendly ties, and true bonds with customers. This knack for creating lasting relationships easily extends into roles such as customer success, account management, or business growth. Indeed, the core of success in these areas lies in nurturing long-term associations and adeptly meeting client requirements. 

Moreover, salespeople refine their negotiation skills through their work. They learn to clearly propose value, tackle disagreements, and arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes. This ability to negotiate is highly valued across several job roles. Consider the advantage a salesperson's negotiation prowess could offer to a purchasing leader, a contract attorney, or a marketing team designing key alliances. 

By tapping into and applying these interchangeable skills, sales professionals open doors to a realm filled with opportunities beyond the usual sales environment. From effective communication and relationship cultivation to the skill of negotiation, the arsenal of a salesperson remains a formidable asset in the dynamic landscape of today's job market. 

6 Common Career Paths for Salespeople 

Let's now take a look at some careers that a salesperson can shift to smoothly and unlock new avenues for themselves. The corporate world is budding with possibilites and there is no better time than now to make the change that you feel will bring you closer to your true aspirations.  

Customer Success Manager 

Customer success managers focus on ensuring that their customers achieve their desired outcomes and have a positive, long-term relationship with the company. This role leverages your expertise as a sales executive in building relationships to ensure long-term client satisfaction. Just like in sales, you'll focus on understanding client needs, but now your focus is on exceeding expectations after the sale. You'll identify areas for improvement, proactively address concerns, and identify upselling opportunities to ensure ongoing value for clients. 

As a customer success manager, you will help your clients achieve their desired outcomes and extract maximum value from their investment. Through your experience in sales, you are adept at identifying upselling opportunities. Customer success managers leverage this expertise to identify areas where clients can benefit from additional features or services, promoting long-term product adoption and increased customer lifetime value. The sales world is full of rejection and requires resilience. Customer success managers translate this perseverance into proactively addressing client challenges and finding creative solutions to ensure ongoing satisfaction. A career in sales will help you pick up the basics of customer success management in no time and soon you will find yourself as an established customer success manager.  

Account Manager 

Account managers act as the primary point of contact for their assigned clients. They build strong relationships, fostering open communication and trust to ensure a smooth and collaborative experience. Here, you'll put your client management skills to the forefront.  Account managers are responsible for nurturing existing client relationships and driving ongoing revenue growth from their assigned accounts.  You'll develop strategic plans to maximize client value while ensuring strong communication and maintaining a positive relationship, all of which your career in sales has prepared you for. Your focus will go beyond just maintaining existing business.   

Both sales and account manager roles require a strong foundation in communication, relationship building, and negotiation. As someone with sales experience, no matter how brief or long it may have been you still have the aptitude to excel at all three, allowing you to hit the ground running in account management. You can clearly explain complex concepts to clients, build trust and rapport that fosters long-term partnerships, and negotiate win-win solutions on contracts and pricing. Success in sales often requires a strong understanding of the business landscape, competitor offerings, and industry trends.  Account managers leverage this business acumen to develop strategic account plans that maximize client value and identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities. 

Business Development Manager 

Business Development Managers (BDMs) are the new business hunters.  They utilize prospecting and lead generation skills practiced in sales to identify and secure new business opportunities.  Just like salespersons, business development managers stay on top of industry trends, identify emerging markets, and research potential clients to pinpoint lucrative business opportunities. They actively generate leads through various channels, such as networking, attending industry events, and cold calling. They qualify leads, assess their potential, and nurture them through the sales funnel.  

As a sales executive strong communication and relationship-building abilities will be key in building rapport with potential clients and converting them into long-term customers. A background in sales lets you excel at identifying and qualifying potential leads. This prospecting expertise translates directly to the business development role, where finding and securing new business opportunities is paramount. Sales are driven by achieving goals. This target-oriented mindset perfectly aligns with the business development role, where securing new business translates to achieving revenue targets. Business development requires you to understand the importance of setting goals, developing strategies, and persistently pursuing new opportunities. 

Digital Marketing Specialist

This path takes your sales communication skills to the digital realm. Digital marketing specialists influence customer decisions through online channels.  You'll craft compelling marketing content, manage social media engagement, and utilize your understanding of customer needs to create targeted campaigns that drive brand awareness and sales.  

In sales, success hinges on understanding what motivates customers and what solutions they seek.  This translates perfectly to digital marketing, where crafting targeted campaigns requires a deep understanding of your audience's online behavior, pain points, and interests. The world of sales is increasingly data-driven, and this is also true for digital marketing.  Salespeople who are comfortable analyzing sales data and using it to inform their strategies will find it easy to adapt to the data-centric world of digital marketing.  Here, you'll use website analytics, social media insights, and other data sources to measure campaign performance and optimize your strategy for maximum impact. 

Project Manager 

The organization, communication, and client management skills you've developed in sales translate seamlessly to project management.  Project managers lead teams, ensuring projects are completed within a budget and timeframe.  Your ability to communicate effectively, manage expectations, and navigate challenges will be invaluable in guiding projects toward successful completion.  

A career in sales enable you to excel at planning and staying organized. You are used to juggling multiple leads, deadlines, and tasks, ensuring you meet your quotas. This translates perfectly to project management, where keeping projects on track, managing resources, and adhering to timelines is crucial. Sales requires you to be adept at negotiation, a skill highly valuable in project management. You must negotiate project timelines, resources, and budgets with stakeholders, ensuring everyone is aligned and the project remains feasible. 

Corporate Trainer 

Your sales knowledge and effective communication can empower others. Corporate trainers leverage their expertise to train new hires and develop existing employees.  You'll have the opportunity to share your sales techniques, guide trainees through product knowledge, and prepare them for success in their own sales careers.   This path allows you to make a lasting impact by shaping the next generation of sales professionals. You already have a deep understanding of the products or services they sell. This in-depth knowledge will let you effectively train new hires on product features, benefits, and how to position them for success with potential customers. Salespeople are natural storytellers, adept at capturing attention and keeping audiences engaged. This ability to create a dynamic and interactive learning experience is crucial for effective corporate training.  

Sales success hinges on building trust and rapport with clients.  This skill translates well to training, allowing salespeople-turned-trainers to connect with trainees on a personal level, fostering a positive learning environment.  Salespeople have a proven track record of success in a competitive environment. You can leverage these successful sales techniques and strategies to train new workers and equip them with the tools they need to excel in their own sales careers. 

What Next? 

Did you see a career in this list that appeals to you? If you want to change careers, don’t just quit your job right away. Familiarize yourself more with your desired role. Try to read about it, network with people in that field, or better yet find other people like you who were once in sales and are now where you are.  

The beauty of the modern world is that it is filled with resources all around. You can start by taking bridge courses with capstone projects in your desired field. You can also begin by taking small internships in the job role you want to pursue full-fledged after-sales. At the beginning of your new career endeavor, you may face challenges and ever feel disheartened. But that is part of the process. Each failure will become an indicator of an area of improvement for you. 

Don't however, spend too much time only talking about your career change and taking online courses, get exposure too. Try to work under and observe an established professional in your desired field. Apply for entry-level kind roles in your new career and just go all the way in. Nobody expects you to be perfect in a new role right away. But your willingness to learn will let your colleagues know that you will be a reliable team player.  

Don't be apprehensive about a career change either. In this golden age of corporate abundance and interdisciplinary roles, the more diverse your portfolio is, the greater your chances of staying relevant and successful in the industry are.  

Conclusion 

We have covered what sets salespeople apart from the rest and what skills define a good saleperson. If you are from the field of sales and you feel that there are other places where you can apply yourself, we encourage you to explore the career paths mentioned in this blog or even find ones that appeal to you best. The competitive world of sales has already taught a multitude of skills which are sure to help you wherever you go. We wish you the best of luck in your future plans! Platforms like BeeinJobs will guide you in the right direction and bring you closer to a fruitful career in the private sector. 

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