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| Q.
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I'm not a natural salesperson, and would much rather design and run projects than concentrate on business development. I've reached the stage of my career (5-6 years of experience) where a lot of openings require or assume sales input. Is there room in the profession for me to stick with what I like / am good at and continue to progress in roles that have only a small amount of business development?
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| A.
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Karen
Morgan
says: Many researchers feel this way and “sales” certainly doesn’t seem to come naturally! It does seem like an oxymoron. However, in today’s competitive market, we are all selling in one capacity or another. Many research companies have realized that a consultative sales approach is what clients are looking for; hence, the sales function within research is more about building relationships and offering high quality solutions to your clients. If you plan to remain on the research supplier side, it is inevitable that you will need to move into some sort of new business development capacity as your career advances. If you really feel this is not your strength or interest, you should consider moving to the client side early on in your career. Down the road, as you become more confident and experienced you may decide you do want to go back to the supplier side; your client side experience will be valued in a new business development role. The other path would be to remain in project management. The challenge here is that if you are looking to advance and grow within an organization, this path is unlikely to lead to a key position within the organization.
Phil Reeve says: Yes, but remember the more you move away from sales the better your quantitative and writing skills need to be. If you plan to remain on the supplier side and make more money you will need to add some kind of sales. A lot of suppliers do have client service roles where you mange one or more existing clients.
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