From Sales Rockstar to Sales Manager: Why Your Ego Needs a Time-Out

Back in the day, my early 20s to be exact, I was that salesperson. The one hitting all the numbers, stacking commission checks, jet-setting to 30 countries before turning 30. I was good. Like, really good. Like, mic-drop-on-stage-and-smirk-while-you-applaud good.

And yes, people hated me.

Not in the “she’s fabulous and we’re obsessed with her success” kind of way. More in the “wow, she’s kind of the worst” kind of way. I wasn’t exactly a team player. I was more of a “watch me crush this quota and maybe you’ll learn something” type. Inspiring, right?

So imagine my surprise when my company, bless their risk tolerance, decided to invest in my leadership development. They sent me to the middle of the desert (Nevada, to be exact) for an intense 3-day personal and professional unraveling courtesy of Rapport Leadership. Think desert boot camp meets emotional excavation. No distractions, no emails, just lots of breakthroughs and some good old-fashioned ego-checking.

And it worked.

I finally understood the difference between being a great salesperson and being a great sales leader. Spoiler alert: they’re not the same. At all.

The major mindset shift that has to happen

• From winning as an individual to winning through others

• From chasing your own trophy to celebrating someone else’s win like it’s your own

Simple? Sure. Natural? Not even a little.

I’ve seen it too many times: a high-performing rep gets promoted to sales manager without any support or training, and it’s a disaster. The manager is miserable. The team is lost. Leadership is scratching their heads wondering what happened to their golden child.

Let me break it to you gently:

• Great salespeople rarely make great managers.

• Great managers always think differently.

If you’re in the middle of that transition or if your leadership just tapped you for that shiny new role, please don’t wing it. You can’t wing it. The skills that helped you close deals don’t automatically translate into leading people.

One book that helped me unlearn my solo performer mindset: The Accidental Sales Manager. Read it. Study it. Give it to your boss and your boss’s boss.

And if you’re sitting in a sales seat right now thinking that management looks like the next logical step, take a breath. Then ask yourself: Am I ready to trade in the win for the assist?

Because that’s what leadership is. And if that idea doesn’t get you just as excited as closing a big deal, you might be chasing the wrong thing.

Honestly? Sometimes that grass-is-greener feeling turns out to be turf.

So if you’ve already made the leap and you're drowning in the deep end without a floatie, we’ve got you.

And if you’re a founder or sales leader watching one of your top performers flounder in a new management role, send them our way.

We build sales leaders. It’s what we do.