As the season of joy is upon us, here are my holiday wishes for all of you salespeople out there.

1. May your products all be great and on time.
2. May your operations people truly understand and appreciate what you do to bring them business.
3. May your customers like you. That’s right. like you, because frankly, this is the first step to a great sale.
4. May you in turn be likeable.
5. May you have the courage to pick up the phone and call someone you don’t know and sell them something.
6. May you always have the wherewithal to find a way to win that sale.
7. May you have the courage to ask for that order…you won’t get it until you ask.
8. May you have the fortitude and strength to absorb rejection. Rejection is part of the sales game.
9. May you have the resiliency to bounce back when rejected, to try to find another way to make that sale.
10. May you never, never, never, ever give up. There is no failure, only quitting. And you need to never quit.
11. May you know when to talk and when to listen.
12. May you listen much, much more than you talk.
13. May you always be helpful.
14. May you always make your customers’ challenges and issues your own. Truly great salespeople solve their customers’ problems.
15. May your have the ability to get your own teammates excited about your target accounts. Great salespeople know they have to sell twice, once to the customer and once to their own company.
16. May you have the creativity to find ways to approach and win accounts. Creativity is the most underrated quality when it comes to being a successful salesperson.
17. May you know how to generate leads.
18. May you know how to find the right decision makers at your target companies.
19. May you know when to hold them and when to fold them when it comes to fighting your battles with your sales manager.
20. May you be smart enough to produce strategic account plans.
21. May you use your account plans to develop the right tactical plan to win over clients.
22. May you have the courage to try to get the best deal for your customers.
23. May you have the loyalty to get the best deal for your company.
24. May you consider all your days as opportunities for success.
25. May you have the attitude that when you get up in the morning you are going to make the world a better place.
26. May you have the sense to do your own marketing. Even if your company is doing some marketing, do your own as well.
27. May you have the courage to deliver bad news immediately, no matter how bad. The worse it is, the sooner your team needs to know about it.
28. May your mind be open enough to follow  up on a lead when someone in your company gives you one.
29. May you always find a way to win the account.
30. May you be fearless at all times. Fear is a great inhibitor of success.
31. May you know enough when someone is lying to you.
32. May you  have the courage to politely disagree, when disagreement is warranted.
33. May you have the ambition to make your numbers no matter what.
34. May you have the creativity to find a replacement when you lose a huge customer and putting a huge hole in your forecast.
35. May you always take responsibility, never refusing to take the heat when something goes wrong or trying to throw the blame on someone else.
36. May you never use excuses, even when they are warranted.
37. May you always realize that success or failure is entirely up to you.
38. May you look in the mirror and ask yourself for a raise when you want to make more money.
39. May you treat your territory and your customer base as your personal business, keeping your own records and doing what you need to do to run your business without your boss having to tell you.
40. May you always be professional, even when you don’t feel like it.
41. May you always keep your wits about you while everyone else is panicking, that is grace under pressure.
42. May you always put your family first no matter what.
43. May you always be a good person no matter the temptations the road might send you.
44. May you always be honest with everyone.
45. May you never stretch your expenses.
46. May you, after your family, put your company next and you third. Do things for the good of your company before you think of yourself.
47. May you always be truthful with your customers, even if in the end it could hurt the sale.
48. May you always be there for your customer in good times and in bad times, especially in bad times when they need to vent. Give them a live person to vent at.
49. May you always respect everyone you meet and treat them accordingly.
50. May you treat everyone as you want to be treated, even your competitors.

And one more in the spirit of under promising and over delivering.

1. May you all have a Happy Holiday season and a safe and prosperous 2020.

It’s only common sense.