In this day and age, it seems like there’s a holiday for everything. National Rubber Duckie Day, National Gum Drop Day, Tell a Fairy Tale Day – you name it, there’s probably a date dedicated to it. Perhaps one of the lesser known, but one of our favorites, is National Salesperson Day.
Thanks to sales training guru Maura Schreier-Fleming, the first Friday of March has been dedicated to celebrating salespeople throughout the U.S. for the last 17 years. Dishing out some well-deserved recognition can help to boost team morale, while also serving as an opportunity to improve performance.
Here are our top five ways to show your team appreciation this year:
- Recognize the greatest.
Who are some of the greatest salespeople you’ve heard of? For those in the industry, Mary Kay Ash or Joe Girard might ring a bell.
You don’t have to be the creator a billion-dollar cosmetic company to possess (and showcase) some of the same characteristics of some of the well-known industry salespeople. Take a minute to read up on some of these sales tips to help you and your team better your skills. Here are a few:
- Despite being more than 100 years old, Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” is still a top read for sales trainees and is used in college curriculums throughout the country.
- Love to laugh? David Olgivy was a big fan of “wise-cracking” to make a sale.
- Joe Girard holds a Guinness Book of World Records title for selling more than 13,000 Chevrolet models in 15 years. Legend says he found his sales inspiration at a funeral.
- Brush up on your selling skills.
Do you know what kind of salesperson you are? Regardless of your “selling style,” there are four traits every successful salesperson should embody. Whether it’s being direct with your prospects or having the speediest response time, there’s always room for improvement. For some additional sales tips, listen to our VP of sales Mark Ripley’s two keys to success on The Sales Whisperer.
- Incentivize and reward your team.
Ever notice those pink Cadillacs rolling down the street? You can thank Mary Kay Cosmetics for that. To increase morale, Mary Kay Ash was known to give her employees an incentive for meeting or surpassing their goals.
While lavish gifts simply aren’t in the cards for most businesses, there are other ways to motivate employees. Consider holding a contest where the person with most sales or most creative pitch wins a free lunch or extra day of paid vacation.
- Thank your customers.
Onboarding and retaining repeat customers is a difficult feat. However, those sales teams that can do so are on the fastest track to success, so don’t forget to thank your customers. After all, sales wouldn’t go through and revenues wouldn’t increase without them!
- Treat yourself.
Disclaimer: We’re not saying you should go crazy like Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle from “Parks and Recreation” (your wallet might regret those velvet slippers and cashmere socks).
Praise from colleagues is great, but the most rewarding recognition comes from yourself. To celebrate your own successes, make sure you’re giving yourself some time to unwind. Take a brain break and go for a walk, meet some colleagues for lunch or spend a few minutes catching up with your friends and family over the phone.
To all the sales teams out there, happy National Salesperson Day.
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