A PRAYER FOR SALESMEN

You are the salesman. You are the foundation of human commerce.

You are the salesman. Without you, no services or inventions would reach those who need them.

No homes would change hands.

No safety or security would be had through the issuance of insurance and sound financial plans.

Products and advances would stagnate.

Inventors, doctors, financiers, police, and peacemakers would not know how to find the tools they need — or help others to use what they offer.

Who praises your work? You are unseen by the scholar, the social critic, and the artist.

But you support them.

You send your children and loved ones to their schools and galleries.

You sell their books and make their beautiful things available.

You the salesman. The person of commerce and service, who makes so much possible in our world.

Contracts and selling appear in some of the earliest human documents. Your work is sacred.

You are the salesman. You weather a thousand “no’s” with patience until you discover that one person who needs what you offer.

You are never bitter. You cannot be.

You are the salesman. The one on whom all commerce depends.

This hour we think of you: We pray for your success; we thank you for your forbearance; we ask God’s blessings on you and those you support.

You are the salesman. Never give up. We need you.