Do Top Reps Make Good Sales Managers?

In many firms, it's not uncommon for top performing reps to be "rewarded" with positions in sales management, in the hopes that they'll be able to train others to be equally successful. I'm curious about what you guys think of this practice, so here's a poll. Click on the link below to get my opinion on the issue.

CLICK for my opinion on this issue»

I think that top sales reps are often the WORST sales managers. I'm constantly hearing complaints from sales reps whose managers are overbearing, try to close deals for them, and are constantly riding them to act and behave in ways that are unnaturally to them.

To give you an example of this, just watch the movie Glengarry Glen Ross. In it, a sales manager (played by Alec Baldwin) "coaches" a group of sad sack sales reps. During that famous speech, the sales manager repeatedly points out how successful he's been in sales (expensive car, expensive watch, etc.).

In the movie, the speech is motivating (in a sense) to the sales reps, but in real life, I don't think he'd be motivating anybody. It's my feeling that selling and managing are two very different skill sets and it's rare to find them in one individual.

I've heard that some companies provide newly-minted sales managers with training in how to coach, and that may work in some cases.

However, I'm not entirely sure that a good sales manager need necessarily be great at selling. I note that many professional sports coaches are indifferent athletes, at best, but they know how to get the best out of people, even if there's no way that they'd could compete professionally themselves.

I suspect that companies would do better to continue to let top sales reps sell, and leave the managing and coaching to people who are observant, empathetic, and understand how to sell... even if they're not gold circle material themselves.

READERS: Comments welcome on this one.