Dear Top: It's nice that your colleagues see you as a high-potential kind of guy. It could also be -- is my cynicism showing? -- that they are just tired of competing directly with you and would like to see you kicked upstairs so they no longer have to. In either case, before you decide whether to shoot for a management job, you'd be smart to take a close look at a couple of key assumptions.

First, are you sure you would make more money as a manager? "Salespeople who get paid largely in commissions often make more money than bosses who receive a flat salary, " notes Brian Tracy, a serial entrepreneur, executive coach, and author of a new book called Earn What You're Really Worth. "Research the market in your industry and your geographical area, and find out the going rate for sales managers."

You may discover that it's about the same as, or less than, your current pay. In that case, the best way to boost your income by 20% may be to supercharge your sales performance and increase your commissions and bonus -- even if you have to jump sideways to a different sales job at another company to do it.

Another point to ponder before you go after a management job: Why do you think you'd be good at it? "Top salespeople do not usually make good sales managers, " says Tracy. "I've made that jump a couple of times in my career, and it is huge. The two roles are completely different and take very different mindsets. For one thing, salespeople are motivated by individual achievement, while a manager has to be focused on the performance of the group."

Even assuming you could make that shift, he adds, you'll need to convince higher-ups that you can. "What management skills and experience do you have?" Tracy asks. "You need to think through your qualifications for the job and be ready to spell out the reasons why you should be 'hired' for a promotion."

Try to build your case as if you were walking in off the street to interview for the job, since in fact you may be competing against candidates who are -- and who bring with them a track record of managing successful sales teams.

Then, don't neglect to test the political waters. Going after a promotion is one of the countless situations where a mentor, preferably one who is higher up in the company than your immediate boss, can save you from a misstep you'll regret later on. "There may be dynamics at work in the organization that aren't visible from where you sit now, " Tracy says. "Lay out your argument for a promotion and ask for advice.

升职有风险，行动需谨慎

从技术类或销售类职位晋升到管理职位通常比想象中更加复杂，有时候甚至并没有看上去那么美。 Anne Fisher为《财富》杂志《向Anne提问》的专栏作者，这个职场专栏始于1996年，帮助读者适应经济的兴衰起落、行业转换，以及工作中面临的各种困惑。

亲爱的安妮：我从事目前的销售工作已有两年多时间，在此期间，我从一名兼职人员变成全职，而且还得到了一次晋升。我在工作中成绩非凡，因此有几位同事鼓励我去争取一个管理职位。我也想尝试一下，当然部分原因是为了能有更丰厚的收入【（包括奖金在内）比我去年的收入高出约20%】。我应该怎么做才能获得晋升呢？——销售精英

亲爱的销售精英： 你的同事认为你潜力无限，这是好事。但请原谅我以小人之心度君子之腹，有没有另外一种可能——他们厌烦了直接与你竞争，于是希望一脚把你踢到管理层，这样他们就少了一个强劲的竞争对手。不管是哪种情况，在决定是否要争取一个管理职位之前，最好擦亮眼睛，对以下几种情况加以仔细考虑。

首先，进入管理层真的就能赚到更多吗？资深企业家、高管培训师，同时也是《追求真正值得拥有的东西》（Earn What You're Really Worth）一书的作者布莱恩•特雷西解释道：“销售人员通常按照业绩领取工资，他们的收入往往高于领取固定工资的高管。首先应该调查所在行业和地区，确定销售经理的薪资行情。”

之后，你可能会发现，销售经理的工资充其量也就是和当前的收入持平，甚至还会有所减少。在这种情况下，要想使自己的收入增加20%，最好的方法是大幅提高销售业绩，增加绩效工资和奖金——有时候，甚至只有通过跳槽，到另一家公司从事另外一种不同的销售工作才能实现这一目标。

争取管理工作之前，另外一个需要考虑的因素是：你为什么认为自己擅长管理工作？特雷西说：“优秀的销售人员不见得能成为出色的销售经理。我自己就有过几次晋升的机会，过程非常艰辛。因为这两个职位完全不同，需要有完全不同的心态。销售人员受到个人成就的激励，而管理人员则必须关注团队的绩效。”