The season of Thanksgiving will be soon
upon us. Oftentimes in the past I’ve written about being thankful to those that
have made my career successful. I’ve given personal thanks too, to those close
to me for their support, especially my wife and children. However, I haven’t
put my time into saying “you are welcome”.
Sales people, by the nature of the
professional, are criticized more than almost any other chosen career.
Consumers, clients, customers – whatever you want to call them – are critical
of your every step in the sales process. In fact, many are skeptical of your
intentions. Sometimes you act too quickly with an email reply. Or, you’ll get
the “I didn’t hear from you immediately, so I thought you gave up”.
It never ceases to amaze me that no
matter how professional sales people try to act, there is always someone on the
other side unhappy with the sales persons performance. Sales, however, is a
two-way street. For sales people to be in business they must have consumers,
clients or customers. There must be someone to sell to. And so, during this upcoming
holiday season, the season of Thanksgiving, as consumers, clients and customers
ourselves, let us not forget to say “you’re welcome”.
As a long-time, career sales person, I
can speak with firsthand experience when I say that sales is often a thankless
job. In fact, we (the sales people) are the ones always saying thank you, with
few gestures of appreciation returned. Think about it for a moment, you are
expected to act professional at all times, always showing your appreciation as
the sales person, yet with no expectation of kind words being returned. It is
your job after all.
So, this year I am vowing to take on the
actions so often overlooked, and I am going to show my appreciation to those
sales people I encounter daily. From store clerks to the kid at the car wash. I
will say “thank you”, “you’re welcome”, and “happy Thanksgiving (fill in the
holiday blank)”.
A kind gesture can go a long way. I
believe in the golden rule to treat others as I want to be treated. As a sales
person I know how far words can go and it is my goal to use my words to
brighten someone’s day.