After 4 years as an Area Sales Manager, I am joining a new company in a Marketing role, any suggestions of how to prepare myself better in this one month?

ForumCategory: CareerAfter 4 years as an Area Sales Manager, I am joining a new company in a Marketing role, any suggestions of how to prepare myself better in this one month?
Bijoyini Ganguly asked 2 years ago

3 Answers
Aparna answered 2 years ago

Congrats Bijoyini,
Love that you’re taking up a different role – this is going to have a brilliant impact on your long-term career. Sales folks in marketing can rock it like crazy – many years back I was given the red carpet to join a marketing team – because of the business delivery experience I had. You have a lot of strengths – leverage them – you are perhaps closer to the customer and market understanding like no one else.
When I shifted to a new role in a different domain – I did feel anxious – the first few meetings were hard – I did not understand the language itself – each department has it’s own jargon…. What helped me is the friends I made in the new team, and the ability to ask questions unabashedly.
I think you are already on your way to succeed – because you’re asking – live out your learning agility and curiosity – I have no doubt you’ll rock the role.
Also marketing is not about creativity alone (this can be crowd-sourced)… if is about creating demand, giving the sales team tools to engage with the customer and ultimately to create a strong pull for the product. Some of the areas to delve into perhaps would be marketing insights and analytics, stretching the budget to do more, being ahead of the curve with campaigns… a strong domain mentor would be able to give you a lot of insights on how you can make a real difference to role.

Bijoyini Ganguly Staff replied 2 years ago

Thanks Aparna . This is helpful advice. I will indeed find a domain mentor. I am reading books on business philosophies and productivity now to steer my mind to behave in a problem solving mode, with a long-term approach.

Siji Nair answered 2 years ago

That’s an awesome transition Bijoyini, to learn new skills, to upgrade yourself.
When I shifted from Sales to Marketing, I had similar feelings.
But trust me, your experience in sales , insights, the customer interactions that you would have had, are precious. It will surely help you build and customize the campaigns for success. It will help connect with the sales teams better, which is essential in a marketing role. After all while you design the campaign, they execute it.
Brush up on the knowledge , however most of the learning will happen on the job. Don’t hesitate to seek help and guidance .
Wish you the very best.

Bijoyini Ganguly Staff replied 2 years ago

Thanks Siji. I will take a consumer-centric approach and try to formulate a market-friendly, easy-to-execute solution to suit the field sales team without compromising on brand ethos.

Sonalee answered 2 years ago

Hi Bijoyini , firstly congratulations on your new job and profile. It must be very exciting.
I went through a similar situations multiple times in my career, whenever I changed my line of business. Specifically, after 11 years in frontline and product development roles , I found myself in marketing. I would be lost while marketing lingo was thrown around.
I made it a point to showcase my strength, I had the invaluable experience of being close to the customer, understanding their needs and wants. And when in doubt, I would go back to my frontline days for insights/ inspiration. I was in a business which depended on frontline staff to deliver the brand promise. Once again my experience as a sales person, helped me position our marketing campaigns ‘appropriately’ to the frontline.
As for the jargon, the trends, the tools, the popular models – its a good idea to brush up on them. So you have friends in similar profiles who could advise you on what to read. make it a point to research competitive brands , their recent campaigns , awards. Also chose a industry which is similar to the industry your new company is in. Study the upcoming brand in that industry, what’s the strategy the new brand is using. Try and see how you could use it in your industry.
All the best !

Bijoyini Ganguly Staff replied 2 years ago

Thanks Sonalee. I am following your tips in these 20 days before transitioning into the new job.

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