The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Senior Social Selling Specialist (Internal Promotion)
3-5 years as a Senior SpecialistSkills to master
- Mastering advanced social selling tactics, consistently exceeding individual targets, informal mentoring of peers, leading small projects, and demonstrating an interest in team development and strategy.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently hitting 120%+ of individual pipeline influence targets.
- Successfully mentored 2-3 junior specialists who then hit their targets.
- Proactively identified and implemented a new social selling tactic that improved team performance.
- Demonstrated strong leadership qualities in cross-functional projects.
- Expressed a clear desire to move into management and develop others.
- 2
Sales Enablement Manager (from another organisation)
5-7 years in Sales Enablement, with a strong digital focusSkills to master
- Experience in designing and delivering sales training programmes, managing sales tools, and developing sales playbooks. A proven track record of driving sales adoption of new methodologies, ideally with a focus on digital or social selling.
You're ready to move on when
- Managed a sales enablement programme that significantly improved sales team performance.
- Successfully launched new sales tools or methodologies across a large sales organisation.
- Demonstrated strong project management and stakeholder management skills.
- Possesses a deep understanding of modern sales processes and digital engagement strategies.
- 3
Digital Marketing Manager (with sales focus)
7-10 years in Digital Marketing, with B2B experienceSkills to master
- Expertise in content marketing, social media strategy, lead generation, and digital analytics. An understanding of the sales funnel and how marketing efforts translate into sales pipeline, with a strong desire to directly impact sales outcomes.
You're ready to move on when
- Managed successful B2B digital marketing campaigns that generated high-quality leads.
- Deep understanding of social media platforms and content strategies for professional audiences.
- Proven ability to analyse digital marketing performance and optimise campaigns.
- Demonstrated strong collaboration with sales teams to achieve revenue goals.