My dear Sales colleague,

Now that the yearly sales closing is done, I am sure you would be experiencing a sense of great relief! Like the person gasping for air after having been forcefully thrust under water for a full three and a half minutes, this sense of freedom is unfathomable. A thousand kudos to you for withstanding the immense pressure of the 31^st March deadline for achieving the annual sales target under which lesser humans would have easily succumbed. You have successfully managed to process the last minute orders, overcame debilitating internal challenges and ensured timely supplies… all these are nothing short of near super human feats that only a sales person like you could ever deliver!

A Sales person’s job is one of the hardest as it involves mastery over a range of hard and soft skills while the outcome is never certain. In a profession where you need to demonstrate unparalleled grit and determination just to stay afloat and relevant, it’s the great salesmanship in you that emerge triumphant. The communication and persuasive traits, that unique hallmark of a vintage salesman, is amply evident in the longevity of your career while your ability to empathise and evolve out-of-the-box solutions to customer demands is a trademark forte of a seasoned salesman. And when matters go wrong and bizarre and sales figures take a nosedive, it’s your resilience that stands you apart from the lesser mortals. You bounce back every time you are beaten, you adapt every time market conditions evolve and you call out every time internal systems become non-responsive! When success smiles, you take it in your stride knowing only too well that to continue in sales you cannot afford to rest on your laurels.

Yet it is always your job that is in the line of fire whenever figures slump even for reasons that are beyond your control. Though it is you who got in the revenue for the company for many years, helped it build the brand and identify new markets, it is always the sales man’s job that is at stake at the first whiff of adversity. The new product could be out of sync with market demands, the credit policies could be detrimental to sales growth and the problems of logistics and servicing could be appalling… yet none of them operating in these areas will be accountable for these lapses but only you, the sales person. While you are made to explain the downfall and risk job loss, others continue unaffected, even gain pay rise and promotions and enjoy the unfettered security of a permanent job.

But as a Sales person you are only too aware of this anomaly and take it spiritedly as part of your job hazard and continue with your amazing work, smiling. For you too have a family to feed, a monthly home loan to pay, the children’s school fees to remit and elderly parents to take care of. You remain jovial and enterprising for you cannot afford to be otherwise, for the larger good. But let me assure you that the job you do is completely inimitable, most essential for the business enterprise and the value you bring to the table is indeed priceless. You are the jewel in the crown!

The month of March may have come and gone but as a true hero you continue to march valiantly, and unfazed!

Yours

Narayanan