Embracing the Side Quest – how taking a sideways move can benefit your career in the longer term.

Do you have an opportunity in your business to move to another cross-function?

Does the thought of a cross-functional move frustrate you, or excite you?

If the thought of the sideways move frustrates you then I would bet this is because it interferes with your personal career timeline. 

The reason I make this specific assumption is because it’s how I felt when I previously had the opportunity to make a sideways move to Brand Marketing.  I had set myself a goal to become a Sales Director by the age of 40 and taking a 2-year detour to work in Brand was not part of the plan.  Plus, the idea of not getting a pay rise during that period was too unpalatable to overcome!

However, I now consider the decision to reject that cross-fucntional move as one of the biggest mistakes of my career.  I should have been excited for opportunity to expand my skill set.  Not everyone in FCMG has the good fortune to be able to work in a different cross-function.  Often, we are pigeon-holed as either a Salesperson or Marketeer or Finance Expert. 

The business I worked for at the time identified what they saw as a creative spark in me, and I essentially threw it back in their face.

Being older and wiser, I now see the massive value in having breadth of experience.  Why do I think this is so important? I believe that being too specialised stymies the acquisition of wider business knowledge and development of strategic skills, which in turn creates a ceiling that makes it more difficult to land future senior leadership roles.

For me, the perfect metaphor for gaining a breadth of experience through working in cross-functional roles, is the undertaking of “side quests” in role-playing computer games (RPGs).

What is a “side quest”? Side quests are optional missions that you can complete in role-playing games.  These quests are non-essential to completing the game, but their inclusion make the gaming experience more interesting and fun!

It is this very side quest metaphor which inspired me to name my coaching business “EXP Coaching”.  Even if a side quest is tangential to the main story, you can still gain valuable experience points (or EXP) to level-up your character, or in the best-case scenario acquire some unique treasure or over-powered weapon that will make your in-game progression easier thereafter.

With that being said, in this article I provide my thoughts on three cross-functional roles which I believe will compliment an Account Manager’s skill set and propel them to future senior leadership positions.

1. Commercial Strategy & Planning/ Revenue Growth Management

In my opinion, a role in Commercial Strategy & Planning (CS&P) or Revenue Growth Management (RGM) is the ideal secondment role for an Account Manager or Sales Leader.

I hadn’t encountered the business function until I joined a Consumer Healthcare business in 2015, but I immediately saw the appeal of the role.  CS&P Managers work closely with all the commercial cross-functions in an FMCG business to ensure the implementation of the major annual plans for their category.

It is arguably one of the most diverse roles in FMCG.  From my limited knowledge of the role, a CS&P Manager could be closely involved in the launch of NPD, liaise with Account Managers to influence the total business forecast, help source products with the Demand Planning and Supply Chain teams, create the pricing and promotion plan…and the list of responsibilities go on and on!

Such a varied role has the benefits of not only being fun, but also broadening one’s knowledge of business functions, developing strategic skills and perhaps most importantly it enables the incumbent to build a robust network across the wider company. 

This in turn can prove very useful when it comes to succession planning, since it is likely that the decision-makers will all have first-hand experience working with you.  Provided you have had positive interactions with them, this can put you in pole position for future promotions.

The CS&P role is one I wish I had done in my career, and I would highly recommend exploring if you get the opportunity!

2. Category Management

If you are fortunate enough to work in a well-resourced organisation with a Category Management team, you will know how valuable this function is to an Account Manager.

I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with some fantastic Category Managers throughout my career.  They have helped me to build compelling sales narratives by analysing reams of market and customer loyalty card data. 

In Category Management, you will acquire skills to analyse and manage large data sets and package them into persuasive stories.  And don’t underestimate the power of storytelling – powerful stories can simplify abstract concepts and inspire your customer to act.

Furthermore, I think that doing a Category role can really dial up an Account Manager’s soft skills – particularly empathy.  As a Category Manager, you will still be customer facing but wear a different hat to that of a salesperson.  Category Managers need a greater degree of objectivity, in recommending the best solutions for a customer to grow their business.  Consequently, they have put their own agenda aside and be more considerate of the customer’s goals and objectives.   

Whilst the Category Manager role might not be for every Account Manager, if you have a passion for data, then a stint in Category Management would certainly be time well spent. 

3. Customer Marketing

I believe that Account Managers can also learn so much from spending time in a Customer Marketing role.

Given that there are fewer opportunities for brands to differentiate their offerings through range and pricing, in store and online execution it is becoming increasingly important.  Therefore, detailed understanding of the shopper journey can enhance a salesperson’s overall knowledge of the end-to-end sales process.

Execution is pivotal to maximising the visibility of brands which in turn impacts rate of sale.  This is most obvious with regards to in store theatre by creating displays and point of sale which makes brands stand out to the shopper.

However, as the share of Online sales continues to grow ahead of Big Box formats, having the best digital assets increases the likelihood of your brands being featured on your customer’s Homepage or Category pages.

Product landing pages also offer an opportunity to deeply educate the shopper on the key features and benefits of your business’ products.  This is key since there are a significant proportion of shoppers who are researching products Online before converting the sale in physical stores. 

Hence, there is so much more to Customer Marketing than merely sourcing cardboard and experience gained in this business function can supercharge your career in the long term!

How building Mental Fitness can help you make the best choices for your career in the long term.

Building the core muscles of Mental Fitness will give you the tools to make decisions which will truly elevate your skills and capabilities.  Having the awareness of how your Saboteurs can hijack your mind and trigger self-doubt is a powerful tool.  Once you can control the negative thoughts, you can access your inner wisdom and big picture thinking to best map out your career path.

As is true of any lasting habit change, this takes at least 6-weeks of intense work.  If you are interested in this game-changing program then take the Positive Intelligence Saboteur Assessment https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/ and then book a free 30-minute coaching call with me at https://www.expcoaching.co.uk/ to find out more!