Your best sales rep could be your future sales manager. But most founders skip the process that makes that possible. Here's what usually happens instead: a top rep gets promoted because they're good at selling, not because they've been trained to lead. Suddenly they're running meetings and coaching reps with zero structure behind it. It doesn't stick. The founder ends up right back in the middle of the sales team. The problem isn't the rep's potential. It's that most teams never build an actual path from rep to manager. A repeatable version looks like this: a commission-based rep proves themselves for 3 consistent months, then earns the title of sales manager in training. Over months 4 through 6, they're handed one leadership responsibility at a time — team meetings first, then one-on-ones, accountability reporting, coaching, and communication. By month 6, they're carrying the full role, and you're no longer the one holding it together. If you want to build this: write down the exa...