Blog · Leadership

From seller to leader: how to train people who don’t depend on you

A good seller earns a salary. A leader who develops people builds a business. It’s the hardest leap in this industry, and the one that pays off the most.

Jorge Torres Culla Premier Ambassador Board of Director 9 years leading teams 8 min read
Jorge Torres leading on the inCruises stage
in
Current rank Premier Ambassador
Board of Director

You can be an excellent seller and still be trapped. I know because I lived it: the better you sell, the more everything depends on you, and the more your business turns into a job that collapses the day you stop. The leap that changes everything isn’t selling more; it’s developing people who don’t depend on you. It’s the hardest step in this industry, and the one that separates a salary from a business.

The seller’s ceilingIf everything depends on you, you don’t have a business: you have a job

The star seller has a ceiling, and it’s himself. There are only 24 hours in his day and only one of him. As long as your team depends on you to close, you to train live and you to answer every question, your growth is capped by your own calendar. A leader understands something uncomfortable: his job isn’t to be the best player, it’s to develop players who are better than him in their own field.

The mindset shiftDuplicate yourself instead of multiplying yourself

Multiplying yourself means doing more yourself: more calls, more meetings, more hours. It has a limit. Duplicating yourself means teaching someone else to do what you do, and then teaching them to teach. It has no limit. That’s why individual talent doesn’t scale but a system does: a system is precisely what lets someone replicate your results without having your talent. My job stopped being selling the day I understood that one trained person was worth more than ten sales of my own.

Jorge Torres on stage at an inCruises event
It wasn’t my talent that filled that stage: it was the people I helped grow.

How it’s doneDeveloping people means letting go, not controlling

Truly developing people hurts a little, because it demands letting go. At first you’ll do things better and faster yourself; the temptation to do it all on your own is huge. But every time you solve something for your team instead of teaching them to solve it, you take away a muscle. Teach them the system, let them make small mistakes, recognize their progress in public and correct in private. A leader doesn’t build followers who applaud him: he builds leaders who no longer need him.

What you build by developing people instead of selling
9years leading teams
22cruises taken
46countries visited
+75,000clients in my organization

The short manualFour keys to developing people who fly on their own

Developing people isn’t a gift, it’s a method. These four keys sum up how I work on it with my team:

01

Teach the system, not your style

Your charisma doesn’t duplicate; the process does. Give them something anyone can replicate.

02

Let go early and in small steps

Let them act and make mistakes while mistakes are still cheap. That’s how they really learn.

03

Recognize in public

Sincere recognition creates more leaders than any bonus. People grow where they are seen.

04

Measure their autonomy, not your effort

The goal is for them to work without you. If they still need you for everything, you haven’t developed anyone yet.

A leader doesn’t build followers who applaud him: he builds leaders who no longer need him.The leap that changes everything

Nine years building a team, on video.

On my channel you’ll see how I work with my organization, how I recognize my people and what it means to develop people instead of giving orders. It’s the part of the business nobody puts in the flyers.

Watch the vlogs ▸

Honesty firstWho this is for (and who it isn’t)

Leadership isn’t for everyone, and that’s fine. But it’s worth knowing which side you’re on:

You’re a fit if…

  • You want to build a business, not buy yourself a better-paid job.
  • You’re willing to let go of control so others can grow.
  • You understand that developing leaders is worth more than closing sales yourself.
  • Seeing your people grow motivates you as much as growing yourself.

    • You’re not a fit if…

  • You always want to be the star everything depends on.
  • You’re not willing to teach what you know.
  • You’d rather control everything than delegate anything.
  • You measure your success only by your own sales, not your team’s.
    • Take the first step

    Ready to make the leap to leader?

    If you already sell well but feel that everything depends on you, let’s talk. I’ll tell you how I started developing people who now fly on their own. I’ll write to you myself, no speeches.

    ⚖ Legal notice

    All monetary values, if any, are expressed in US dollars (USD). This article reflects a personal experience and opinion and does not constitute a promise or guarantee of income. Any income projections in inCruises literature are hypothetical and do not guarantee future results. Success as an inCruises Independent Partner depends solely on sales and team-building efforts, which require hard work, diligence and leadership; most Partners do not reach the income levels of top-performing leaders. inCruises® is a trademark of inGroup International. See the current income disclosure at incruises.com/disclosure.

    Keep reading
    Talk to Jorge