Looking to further your career path? Interested in marketing? At its most basic marketing is the promotion of a product, service or idea. But what type of marketing position will fit you best?

If you are a motivated individual who is interested in accepting broad responsibilities with little supervision, and you communicate well while thriving on change; Marketing Manager is the position for you. Here are the top 10 skills you need to succeed as a marketing manager.

1. An ability to understand buyer needs

Customers want different things, you need to be able to determine who your target market is, what they want, and how to give it to them.

2. Know the sales process

There are many different schools of thought about what this entails, but generally it consists of the following steps: Prospecting, Preparation, Approach, Presentation, Handling Objections, Closing, and Follow-up. Each of these steps requires a knowledge and understanding of your target market. Many people are going after your customer, how do you stand out?

3. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills

Marketing is all about asking and answering the right questions in the right way at the right time. Common sense, emotional intelligence and risk management are all important aspects of problem-solving.

4. Creativity and writing skills

The ability to tell a story is important when you’re in marketing. You need to be able to write and identify different styles and different audiences. Business to customer, business to business and social media; all require a different approach.

5. Good teamwork skills

Both marketing and management require you to work with others. You need to be able to maximize the relationships and abilities of those on your team. Being able to encourage and inspire is important, do you have it in you? Teamwork requires many additional skills such as negotiation, influencing, advising and interpreting.

6. Communication skills and networking

Communication is important in every job and every relationship you will have. For some people it comes naturally, but if it doesn’t, you can always learn. Networking is the ability to develop relationships and the exchange of information with others for professional or social purposes. It can happen anywhere; you never know what will come of the people you interact with!

7. Adaptability

Adaptability is an advantage in the competitive global economy. It is the ability to change actions, course, or approach, in order to suit a new situation. Marketing is a fast-moving industry and not every attempt will result in success. If you are adaptable you can re-focus and change failure into positive outcomes.

8. Good organization and planning skills

These aren’t just marketing or management skills; they are life skills! As a Marketing Manager you will be required to handle many different projects at the same time and often have to deal with last minute changes. How you succeed effectively is to be organized and have a coherent plan.

9. Know the technology

From spreadsheets to PDF’s, analytics to Adwords, InDesign to Photoshop; technology drives marketing. There are always new programs and approaches, it is important to know the tools you will be required to interact with.

10. A willingness to learn

Really this one skill is used in all the others. No matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn. A great employer will recognize the importance of this skill and continually provide opportunities to grow.

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