Career Advice: How to transition out of sales?

[Captain Cactus]

Good afternoon:

I come to the group today to ask for some career advice, specifically how one transitions out of field medical sales and into something more strategic in nature (ie marketing, business operations, etc...).  I've been doing this type of work for over 10 years now and I'm ready to move on.  The customers, the quotas, the traveling around... it's do-able but it's wearing me down and I don't want to invest another 5 years in this line of work. 

I'm currently 4 years into my sales role at my current organization, a large player for the industry I'm in.  I joined the sales team here because I was told there would be (non-sales) advancement opportunities available for which I would not need to relocate to the corporate headquarters.  Ie, I would be able to work from home, perhaps travel on occasion to HQ or customer sites, etc... but generally work from home.  Since I joined, there has been consolidation of those types of field-based roles into the home office...fewer such jobs have been available (even though everyone is essentially working from home now anyway).

I left my last company because they required folks to work at the HQ in Georgia if they were going to advance...I was asked several times, and was tempted, but I just wasn't willing to relocate.  Did over 4 years there too.

So here I am.  The people working in the department I want to get into (marketing) keep telling me that there may be some good opportunities in the months to come, but I've been waiting over a year since the last time I interviewed for such a position (and didn't get it).  They know I'm interested.  My management team knows I'm interested, and they "say" they're supportive of such a move.

Do I stick it out and hope it works out?  Or do I start the process over again someplace new?  As an aside, I find that a company that doesn't know me/my abilities/my brain is only interested in me for sales roles.  So I'm not really interested in another lateral move into another sales role to start the process all over again in the hopes of being able to move away from sales! 

Advice welcome!       




 

[Captain Cactus]

Geez...would have thought someone would have a perspective to share!  Oh well.

[dcheesi]

Not in sales or marketing, sorry. From the outside, my cynical take is that many companies treat Sales as a wholly different animal from Marketing and other strategist positions; more like interchangeable cogs, rather than people with unique abilities.

I'm sure the "strategic-role advancement" carrot gets dangled in front of a lot people's noses just to get them in the chair, and wonder how many ever really manage to break out of that Sales "box"? I hate to say it, but maybe lack of response here is indicative of the number of people who've managed to make that jump?

[Assetup]

Having you been working on a degree or anything else that makes you really stand out and qualified for the roles you want to obtain?

Sent from my moto g(6) plus using Tapatalk

[mozar]

Try the "ask a mustachian" section

[mm1970]

I'm not in sales or marketing.  I'm an engineer, and I've moved quite a bit, but it's sort of been gradual.

So, I'm a process engineer in the fab, and I start doing more test.  Then I start learning QA, so I end up in management.  Then I set up the WIP database, and I end up being in integration - helping to link all of the processes.

Then I move into device engineering because I've been learning how the device works while building it.  Then I move into product engineering, and while looking at test data learn about how the device turns into a final product.  Then because I'm organized, I end up being in program management.  It's all been gradual.

I have a coworker who is in marketing /sales.  She was a technician who went to school nights to get an electronics degree.  She became an engineer who built test kits using our parts.  She helped troubleshoot our parts in applications, so became an applications engineer.  Now she works for the marketing / sales department, going to conferences and continuing with applications (you know, as much as we can with no travel.)

Again, it was all gradual.

[knigry01]

I've been in medical device in the past at Stryker and have been in sales the past 15 years so here is some basic advice for breaking out of the individual contributor role you say you're burning out on:

1.) Sales Management- If you've been successful in an IC role, then you can make this jump provided you're clear that you know the skill sets required are different for leadership.

2.) MBA- Start working on an evening/part time MBA program (ideally get your employer to pay for it!) with a Marketing emphasis, etc. AND make sure the school you attend has strong recruiting relationships with employers in your area that you're targeting.

3.) Lateral- Companies want relevant experience when hiring outsiders into the org. You're correct in that if all you've done is sales for the last 10 years, that's all anyone is going to consider you for. So- if you don't want to do options 1 or 2 or relocate to HQ for your current company, you should target a company that is HQ'd near you and move into a sales role there and then look to branch out. It's much, much more difficult to get a remote role in positions other than sales. just is.

My $.02

[okits]

Not the medical field but I did work in sales for a decade and eventually left.

My experience lines up with what @knigry01 says in point #3.

I got my foot in the door for something else (new industry, new role) by volunteering extensively for my desired org and showing a level of commitment few others could manage (and years of it). 

If you want to switch to something else and don't want to wait for it to happen at your current employer (or don't have faith that it will happen) I suggest you invest in where you want to land next, whether that's extra training or certifications, unpaid internship, volunteering, or related projects you manage on your own.  You'll have a much easier time transitioning if you can prove capability for what you want to do next. 

If what you're doing now is lucrative, be prepared that the money might not be there for the next thing, especially at the start.  Some people can't leave sales because, for all that it burns you out, it pays. 

One imperfect solution is to set better boundaries so your sales job is less draining.  Change companies, set expectations that you'll be an adequate-not-stellar performer, and guard your spare time and energy as belonging to you.  It's hard to dial it back when your employer has only experienced you as a strong performer so a new place might give you better quality of life because they haven't seen your heroics on a regular basis (and grown to expect them).

Good luck!!!!