National Salesperson Day is annually celebrated on every first Friday of December in the United States. This year it falls on December 9th.
How many times have you walked around a department store, especially during the holidays, and felt badly for whoever had to fix all those messy shelves? That’s where National Salesperson Day comes in. Shoppers should always be thankful for their help, but on December 10, be sure to go out of your way to say "I appreciate you!"
Salespersons have an incredibly difficult job and are often the employee that does the most foot-miles per day around the store they work in. They know every product, every nook and cranny, and every hidden stockpile in the mythical back room and that's why they must be appreciated enough for their services and hardwork.
| Event | National Salesperson Day |
|---|---|
| Date | December 9, 2022 |
| Day | Friday |
| Significance | The day honors and celebrates salespeople and their vital roles |
| Observed by | United States |
National Salesperson Day History:
While salespersons existed all across the world from a very long back in time, the profession started as a uniquely American one in the 19th century. For many hundreds of years, Europe had seen the existence of travelling peddlers, though these vagabonds were seen with suspicion and most often lumped in with the criminal classes of society. The industrializing landscape of 19th century United States, however, with its growing companies and manufacturing firms, developed selling campaigns and new business methods.
One of these new methods was having professional salespeople who could travel around the country and persuade people on the merits of the company's product so that they will purchase them. European industry—rooted in craftwork traditions—was reluctant to focus so heavily on methods of selling (the quality of one's craft should sell itself, no?) Furthermore, salesmanship fit in with an overarching American narrative, that of the self-made man. Skills in selling offered another path to success. Later the concept of having salesmen or salesperson spread throughout the world.
Even though the traditional door-to-door salesman has disappeared now but we still live in a world in which salespeople are ubiquitous. They take on disguises as celebrities, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and consultants. The idea of salesmanship has become so pervasive, that young people today are told to be their own salesman, to market their own personal brand. If you want to sell anything like your grandmother's secret tomato sauce recipe, a novel, a luxury brand of perfume you are told to be on social media, providing your followers with updates on your every move, regardless of how it relates back to the product your selling.
Maura Schreier-Fleming, president of Best@Selling and an author, consultant and speaker on salesperson training, established National Salesperson Day in March 2000. In 2010, the holiday was moved to December. The holiday was established in recognition of the fact that salespeople such as register clerks at the grocery store, door-to-door salespeople, insurance agents, and manufacturer's representatives provide important services that make all our day-to-day lives better. Given how thankless and uncertain a salesperson's job can be, it's nice to have a day to recognize their hard work and thank them.
National Salesperson Day Significance:
Salespeople still are the greatest single engine of the global economy. One name for a salesperson is: entrepreneur. Without successful salespeople a business goes broke and all those wonderful employees who design, build, service, support, account, manage and lead… just would not have jobs. Nothing good happens in business until someone sells something. Although the roles is salespeople have changes as mentioned earlier like they are no longer just people going to door-to-door to ask people to buy their products but they plays a huge role in marketing of any product.
Salespeople are resilient, optimistic, humorous and caring. The best ones love people and love to help them solve extremely challenging problems with their acumen. They actually provide a public service which goes beyond money. Humble altruism is their secret true intent and that's how they become trusted advisors and inspire enough confidence to liaise the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in sales across a constellation of vertical industries. So being a salesperson is definitely not easy as it requires a lot of skills.
They are very important for any company or firm too as salesperson actually interact with the customers and are able to provide unique feedback to the business in order to improve it. Thereby, salespeople impact product development and innovation itself. Without salespeople, many of the greatest technologies would never have proliferated, even the supercomputer you're reading this on right now in the palm of your hand. So they plays a vital role in innovation and improvement for any firm.
We also needs to understand that, sales jobs can bring uncertainty, pressure, long hours and, yes, thanklessness and all of these things greatly affects the mental and physical health of them. So it's easy to help alleviate at least one of those: say "thank you!" And why we shouldn't be after all it is because of salesperson's knowledge of their merchandise which is unsurpassed which helps us greatly in making the right choices for our products and services. Hence we must appreciate them for that.
National Salesperson Day Activities:
You can take National Salesperson Day as an opportunity to give all the salespeople you come into contact with, such as baristas, shop employees or sales staff at your company, a thank you. In the case of your barista, you could add an extra-generous tip to your morning coffee order to express your appreciation for their hard work ensuring you can get your daily caffeine boost.
If you're a manager or team leader at your company, you could suggest that your employer give its salespeople small gifts, such as $5 gift cards for their favorite coffee shops, in recognition of their hard work and contributions. A card signed by their coworkers expressing their appreciation for your company's salespeople is also a nice touch.
National Salesperson Day is the perfect opportunity to take to social media to express your appreciation for salespeople. If you choose to go this route, use the #NationalSalespersonDay hashtag in your posts so other people can find them, too. If a salesperson has ever gone above and beyond to help ensure that you get what you need, this is a great way to share that story.
Most Searched FAQs on National Salesperson Day:
1. When is National Salesperson Day celebrated?
National Salesperson Day is annually celebrated on second Friday of December in US.
2. Who is the greatest salesperson in the world?
Joseph Samuel Girard holds the Guinness World Record for being the greatest salesman in the world. He sold 13,001 cars at the Chevrolet dealership between 1963 and 1978. If you take the average, Joe was selling more than two cars each day. The number climbs up to six when you take holidays and weekends into account.
3. What are the three types of salesperson?
All salespeople can be grouped into one of three categories: The Commodity Salesperson. The Price Salesperson. The Solution Value Salesperson.