Good sales people do not always make good managers and vice versa- over the years I have met many managers, I have also met many more salespeople, it seems that many in the executive world have a tendency to reward good salespeople by "promoting" them to management. I have to disagree with this. Good salespeople are good at sales, good managers are good at managing others, these are definitely not qualities that go hand in hand, sometimes they do, but more often than not they do not.
First off, why would you want to take a good sales person out of the world they are most suited for and put them into a brand new position? I get that many executives believe that they can train a manager and if that manager can teach what they have been doing to the sales team then they all will enjoy the fruits of this managers past successes. However, sales people, especially the good ones are wired a little differently, just as good managers are wired differently form sales people.
I believe people that are good at sales enjoy the hunt, they are exceptional at finding the right target and 
zeroing in on that targets specific needs and finding a solution. Good sales people also really enjoy that their income is uncapped, that they can make whatever they want of their position. They tend to be independent thinkers, they operate very well on their own and have a fairly organized game plan that matches their personality, albeit that game plan could be completely different than another successful sales person.
A good manager is someone that can bring out the best in their sales team, someone that understands the uniqueness of each individual and can bring that personality to its full potential. A manager prefers to have a little more regimentation to their day and prefers to have a little more consistency in their pay. A very good managers pay will be a combination of salary and bonus based on production of the overall team, it should also be based on retention of a good sales force and even on directing those that are not meant to be in sales on to another career sooner than later so that all can move forward with their lives.
A good manager will find that driver in each individual sales person and help them to achieve even higher and higher goals each and every year, they will help them to organize systems that work for the individual so that that individual can make the best use of their time doing what they do best, making sales happen. Taking care of clients.
A good manager is on top of the latest technology and the latest laws so that they can not only pass the information along to the sales people but also to help them perform at their peak.
A good manager will schedule time with each and every sales person to make sure that no one is left behind. Sales meetings are important, but many times a "quieter" personality will not get their issues resolved or even ask the burning question they have in these larger group settings. Many times these "quieter" sales people are the ones that can really make a difference.
I have seen top performing sales people get "promoted" to management only to slowly disappear and there is absolutely no reason for this. Sales people are the drivers of any business, if you have a good one or many with potential, it is much better to bring out the best in them, let them do what it is they love to do and bring on a manager that understands this, most likely that manager has some sales skills, but was not a top producer, more than likely he or she just wants to help bring out the best in others.
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