8 Things for Salespeople to Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving is one of the TextExpander team’s favorite holidays of the year. We’re all about gravy and gratitude: what’s not to love about thankfulness and pumpkin pie? Our answer: absolutely nothing, provided you’re not allergic to pastry… in which case, may your gluten-free recipes hold firm this season.

There’s plenty of research out there showing how beneficial gratitude is to our wellbeing, and for you sales pros out there it’s no different. Today we’re letting that good feeling come front and center… serving up a little side of merriment mash.

Whether your mashed potatoes are lumpy or soft, your family video call lagging or smooth, now’s the time to look back – and look away from the green bean casserole your partner insisted on using their mom’s 70s recipe for. Let’s walk you through our eight things for salespeople to get thankful about, in honor of one grateful holiday.

1. Give Thanks for Those Speedy Closers

Let’s show a little love for the deals that come together in the timeliest of manners. No email chains that push Gmail to its limit. No calls longer than a novel’s first draft. No admin struggles that involve accidentally deleted filesit’s totally okay, Kevin, that’s what the trash folder is for. Just great chats, good people, and solid timekeeping all over.

2. Appreciate That Passionate Purpose to Rally Around

Work’s never easier than when you know you’re working towards a goal you love. You might have a product you love, clients you admire, team members you respect, a mission statement that speaks to you… or even all of the above. We’re grateful for being able to serve our customers in a meaningful way, for supporting our organization with the work we do, and knowing that we’re contributing back to our loved ones too.

3. Notice Those Tough Lessons That Made for True Progress

Sometimes you come across a situation that is just there to teach us something. It might be a mistake of your own, a fault in your processes, a tricky client experience that didn’t go your way. It’s so easy to frame tough lessons as a negative, but the further your career progresses, the more you’ll value its bumps along the road. Every hard conversation is a learning opportunity— get appreciative of anything that’s helped you grow stronger.

4. Laugh at Sales Team Calls That Descended Into Sales Team Chaos

We get it, gang. We know you’re hard-working hustlers, Pomodoro timer perfectionists, to-do list tigers, highlighter pen heroes, and all-around deal-doing machines. You’re great at that, but you’re allowed to be great at getting in a giggle too. Most calls are coherent, succinct, probably a little inspiring… but then there’s the “quick Friday catchup” that turns into end-o’-week delirium with more jokes than a 2-hour comedy movie, and a lot of laughing at one team member’s unfortunate frozen screen. Give it up for the belly laughs at 4 pm, and the Friday drinks party that just comes out of nowhere.

5. Here’s Lots of Love for Lots of Leads

We’ve written plenty about attracting and nurturing leads here on the blog, so we know the work that goes into sourcing and converting sales opportunities. It’s not often that you’ll get the chance to sit back and appreciate where your hard work has got you, but today let’s give some thought and thanks to the leads that have come your way.

6. Thank You to Tech and Tips That Helped Us Level Up

We’re all about finding ways to streamline what we do, which is why we love what we’re able to offer to clients. This year we know you’ll have found plenty of process improvements to jumpstart your growth, so here’s a little reminder that the world of technology is finally making the human sides of our jobs easier to do, and there’s more info on working with us available here.

7. Gratitude for the Great Team at Your Side

We’re not just talking about high performance, or even the fun team times mentioned above. This one’s also about the array of greatness from your team, from the little things to the largest moments. We appreciate thoughtful check-in emails from concerned colleagues. We appreciate much-needed pep talks that helped get a Monday morning going. We appreciate getting to work alongside individuals that made us smile while helping us learn through what they do.

8. Recognize the Great Work You’ve Done

Gratitude isn’t just about what’s around you: it’s about what you bring too. No one else could have got you to where you are right now, especially if right now involves excited anticipation for that Thanksgiving roast. If nothing else, you made it through a tough year. Nice work.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

We’ve got plenty more to get you inspired for the rest of 2020, including how to plan ahead for sales in 2021—take a look once you’ve finished your pie.