Veteran reps will tell you that sales isn’t as simple as prospect, pitch, and close. A steady stream of objections, rejections, and pivots make it more of an uphill slog than a gong-ringing joy. And it’s become more challenging: Two-thirds of sales professionals say sales is harder now than it was in previous years. One way to overcome the slog: finding inspiration in tactical and insightful sales motivational quotes.
Need a pick-me-up in between sales calls? Or how about a splash of inspiration before you go in for the close? We’ve got you. Here’s a list of top quotes to keep you going as you work toward those end-of-quarter quotas. We’ve even included inspiration for two of the most difficult stages of the sales process: prospecting and closing.
Take a breather, soak in some wisdom, and hit those numbers. You’ve got this.
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Sales prospecting and nurturing quotes
- “Prospecting: Find the man with the problem.” — Benjamin M. Friedman, economist
- “Start working with your prospects as if they’ve already hired you.” ― Jill Konrath, sales strategist and consultant
- “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.” ― Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author of 20 best-selling sales and marketing books
- “A salesperson tells, a good salesperson explains, and a great salesperson demonstrates.” ― Harvey Mackay, businessman and author of “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”
- “Sales is not about convincing anybody of anything. It’s about helping people solve problems or achieve goals.” — John Barrows, CEO, JB Sales
- “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the sales[person], not the attitude of the prospect.” ― William Clement Stone, insurance businessman and author of “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude”
- “Speak to the customer like you’re speaking to a friend you care about, and tailor your message to meet them where they are.” — Elyse Archer, founder and CEO, She Sells
- “Treat objections as requests for further information.” ― Brian Tracy, best-selling author and speaker/sales trainer
- “Good questions get to the heart of the problem or the need very quickly, and the buyer doesn’t feel like he or she is being pushed.” – Jeffrey Gitomer, creator of sales skills test The Gitomer Sales Assessment
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Sales close quotes
- “The real problem with closing is not adequately defining or diagnosing the prospect’s problems in the first place.” – Keith M. Eades, founder of Sales Performance International (now Richardson Sales Performance)
- “Customers don’t care at all whether you close the deal or not. They care about improving their business. It’s easy to forget this in the heat of a sales cycle.” – Aaron Ross, SaaS sales and leadership consultant
- “Make a customer, not a sale.” ― Katherine Barchetti, former owner of K. Barchetti retail shops
- “Closing isn’t something you do to someone; it’s something you do for and with them.” ― Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar, Inc.
- “If you have done your job properly, you don’t need a magic close, because you have come to a mutual conclusion that the purchase will be the right choice.” – Alice Heiman, B2B sales consultant
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Quotes on building customer and prospect trust
- “Establishing trust is better than any sales technique.” ― Mike Puglia, general manager and former CMO, Kaseya
- “Care enough to create value for customers. If you get that part right, selling is easy.” ― Anthony Iannarino, speaker and founder of The Sales Blog
- “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” ― Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. President
- “Thank your customer for complaining and mean it. Most will never bother to complain. They’ll just walk away.” ― Marilyn Suttle, sales consultant and professional relationship expert
- “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” ― Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon
- “People don’t want to be sold, they want to be served.” ― Rob Liano, sales strategist and author
- “Make every interaction count. Even the small ones. They are all relevant.” ― Shep Hyken, service consultant and keynote speaker
- “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” ― Douglas Adams, author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
- “Filter everything you’re doing, saying, and pitching through the customer point of view, and you’ll improve just about every metric you care about today.” ― Matt Heinz, physician and American politician
- “The best salespeople wonder what it would be like to be in the other person’s shoes. They know they can’t play that game unless they continually strive to train themselves in how we as human beings communicate.” ― Bob Phibbs, business strategist
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General sales motivational quotes
- “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” — Zig Ziglar, salesman and speaker
- “Escape competition through authenticity.” — Naval Ravikant, former CEO of AngelList
- “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” — Erica Jong, author of “Fear of Flying”
- “I stopped caring so much whether I got a yes or a no. Which meant, I supposed, that I was starting to care a bit less about what other people thought about me. And it felt liberating.” — Jia Jiang, author, speaker, and rejection expert
- “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” – Ann Landers, advice columnist
- “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.” – Tony Hsieh, former CEO, Zappos
- “Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat.” ― Denis Waitley, motivational speaker
- “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” ― Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company
- “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” ― Robert T. Kiyosaki, finance expert and author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad”
- “Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” – Og Mandino, founder of Og Mandino Leadership Institute
- “Practice is just as valuable as a sale. The sale will make you a living; the skill will make you a fortune.” ― Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, speaker, and author
Maintain your drive with these inspirational quotes
Sales is a journey, filled with ups and downs. Not even the pros bat one thousand. Wherever you’re at, you can always return to these sales motivational quotes to give you the encouragement, insight, and perspective you need to hit (and surpass) your numbers. What are you waiting for? Go crush that quota!
Need more inspiration? Ask a Salesblazer
Ask top sellers in our community how they find inspiration in challenging times, and share your tips for staying motivated.
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