“As much as the coach of the Boston Celtics is in the NBA, he is not an NBA player,” Adam Rataj, senior director of North American sales at NextRoll, said to Built In.
Rataj wasn’t talking about basketball, though. The sales leader was sharing advice for team members who want to move into sales management.
“You need to realize you are in the sales department but you are not in sales anymore,” Rataj said, explaining how making the mental shift from player to coach can be more difficult than people realize.
“The transition to managing the folks that were previously your peers can be hard,” Rataj said. “It might bother people at first that you are their manager, but your job is to help others succeed by coaching them and helping them improve, and once you build their trust they will eventually respect you for it.”
Alli Giusti, senior vice president of client partnerships at Grocery TV, added that what makes the biggest difference during this time of transition is focusing on what you can control.
“Success — whether as an individual contributor or a leader — comes down to maximizing effort where it truly counts,” Giusti said.
Built In spoke with both sales leaders to hear about what it takes to make the jump from sales “player” to “coach” and how to keep your team on track to win.
NextRoll is a marketing technology company delivering products ambitious companies use and rely on to grow their businesses.
Tell us about your journey into sales management. What specific roles, networking opportunities or projects helped you get to where you are in your career today?
During my time as an individual seller I found myself hyper-focused on how to maximize my time and smooth out inefficiencies. A strength of mine was my ability to identify problems, create a solution and spread my solution to the rest of the team to help them improve their processes. With the idea of solving for the business, I led several key projects that became global changes for an organization with 10,000 employees, including a complete territory model change, an overhaul of communication strategies, and a global "shark tank" competition that led to several revenue generating investments from the executive team.
What advice, skills or best practices do you find most valuable in sales? How do those skills translate into sales management?
The best advice I have for anyone in sales is to find the most difficult/unpleasant/wasteful part of your day to day and figure out a change or improvement. Rather than dwell on an issue, come up with a solution and teach others. This will not only help you become more productive but has exponential benefits for your personal brand and company.
What is your top advice for sales professionals interested in breaking into sales management?
Another tip is to always be truthful with the folks that are working for you. They can smell B.S. from a mile away.
Grocery TV is an in-store retail media network with over 22,000 displays in grocery stores across the United States and over 200 retail partners.
Tell us about your journey into sales management. What specific roles, networking opportunities or projects helped you get to where you are in your career today?
Throughout my career as an individual contributor, I consistently made an effort to mentor younger employees — whether they were part of our support teams or junior sellers. I loved helping them problem-solve, navigate challenging client situations and strategize for their business. I did this both informally and through structured mentorship programs within the company. Beyond building meaningful connections, I found that mentoring and teaching others also made me stronger in my own role, sharpening my skills and deepening my understanding of the business.
What advice, skills or best practices do you find most valuable in sales? How do those skills translate into sales management?
I’m a huge believer in the concept of “control what you can control” and it’s one of the core values I instill in my team. The concept is simple: there is so much within the sales process that is out of your hands. If you’re having a tough quarter, or things aren’t breaking your way, it is critical to focus on what *is* within your control. Make a plan, engage with your clients, secure conversations with decision-makers, refine your pitch, know your clients’ businesses, etc. You have better chances of securing critical meetings, building your pipeline, closing deals and ultimately hitting your goals IF you do the things that are fully within your command at max effort.
These principles apply just as much to management, though the levers are different. As a leader, what’s within your control could mean ensuring that your sellers have the tools, knowledge, and time to sell effectively, removing roadblocks, empowering and motivating your team, and setting clear expectations beyond just revenue goals.
What is your top advice for sales professionals interested in breaking into sales management?
I have SO much advice, and could probably write a thesis on this topic, but here are my top three.
Do it for the right reasons: It’s not just the natural “next step” because you’re a rockstar individual contributor. Great sales leaders are those who genuinely find fulfillment in helping others succeed. If the idea of watching your team close big deals excites you as much as (or more than) closing your own, you’re on the right track.
Develop your coaching skills: Get involved in mentorship programs within your company or industry organizations, or simply offer to be a sounding board for junior teammates. Strong sales managers excel at guiding and developing others, and the sooner you start honing that skill, the better.
Build your leadership presence: Take ownership of strategic projects beyond your day-to-day responsibilities, volunteer to run team meetings, or raise your hand to speak at companywide gatherings. Visibility is key to breaking into sales management — it doesn’t just come to you. You have to actively seek out those opportunities and be confident to own the moment.
