Thirty-four percent of Inc. 500 CEOs are their own best sales people-they flaunt sales and marketing as their greatest strength. More than 60% of those sales-savvy CEOs exercise that strength 18-plus hours a week, confessing that handling customers comes more easily than supervising employees does.

Sales Pros' Big Weaknesses*
Managing people 25%

Financial strategies 22%

Managing technology 12%

Managing capital 10%

Managing innovation 9%

Other** 22%

*As a percentage of the 173 respondents who cited sales and marketing as their greatest strength.

**Includes delegation, time management, and focus.

Source: Inc. survey of 500 companies with median 1992 sales of $5.8 million and five-year sales growth of 551% or more.