As we enter into Q4, businesses generally place an even bigger emphasis on sales for the end of the year. So, to keep you inspired and motivated to make those sales, we reached out to the incredible CarolRoth.com contributor network of business owners, experts, advisors and entrepreneurs and asked them to share their favorite sales quotes. Their quotes are presented below in no particular order.
*Please note that the quotes and attributions are written in the words of the submitter and may not be portrayed exactly or as originally stated.
1. It's All About Attitude
"I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions." -Stephen Covey
You've probably heard of Covey thanks to his bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He's all about establishing a positive mindset (and related processes) to set goals that get accomplished. To me, this quote removes excuses for finding sales success.
2. It’s Not Me, It’s You
3. More Than PRICE
-Seth Godin
4. Don't Try to Sell! Try to Help
This inspires me because it helps me focus on helping my customers with a need, rather than trying to sell them on a product. I want every customer to walk away from my business feeling like their needs were met, instead of focusing on how much money they spent.
5. A Classic from Zig Ziglar
I like it so much because it perfectly sums up the reasons why people don't buy. If you can overcome these five obstacles, your chances of making the sale dramatically increase. I go out of my way to address these five things whether I'm selling over the phone or writing a sales page for a website.
6. Quality vs. Price
I came across this quote many years ago, before I started Company Folders. This particular quote stuck in my mind and I have eventually built my company around quality products rather than cheap prices.
7. Selling is Heavenly!
Whether I am at my desk prepping a quote or headed into a sales meeting to present myself and my business, repeating to myself this quote grounds me. It allows me to accept a 'No' should it come. After all, if he loves me who wouldn't want to work with me, but maybe it's not the right time or the right service the prospect needs. No is simply No and I move onto the next.
8. Set Goals for Sales
This quote is so true for sales. It puts the imagery of thinking thoughts into reality and how powerful this is to your success. Think and take action is the moral of that quote.
9. My Fathers Last Message To Me
My father & I had an argument one night before I headed back to work about hustle & responsibility. Angry, I went out after work with my boss. When I came home all were sleeping but that quote was on my bedroom desk on a piece of paper and it said love Dad.
That night my mom awoke me at 2AM. My father died from a heart attack.
It was the best note a dad could leave a son & is my daily driver.
10. Listen More, Talk Less
This is an integral sales technique to have in one's arsenal - listening to your potential customers. Hear out the side you are trying to sell to, then tailor your pitch accordingly. It increases the chance of a successful sale and more often than not, you convert a potential customer to a lifelong customer.
11. Just Sign Here!
It was the best sales pitch I ever heard.
12. Selling is All About the KLT
13. Tell YOUR Story!
Too many people are afraid to stand out! You MUST be different than the crowd, for that is what makes us interesting, demonstrates our true character and our brand. Embrace who you are, what your values are and understand WHO you are valuable to and WHY.
If you can understand how you can help others, and they can see how your solutions are unique, different and solve their problem, they will engage!
14. Lead By Not Following
15. Make a Customer, Not a Sale
In the HVAC installation world, our products are meant to last many years, so there aren’t a lot of opportunities to engage with homeowners after I’ve installed a system. However, I can change that by establishing seasonal services for the client, which allows me to earn residual income, stay in their mind’s forefront & set myself up as their first choice for their eventual replacement years later.
16. What Sales Really Is
This thought is right on point because sales is indeed doing a number of things right, from prospecting to closing the deal. I love this quote because it enables a mind shift where we see the sale as part of a whole. The sale, thus, is the natural, successful outcome of all other efforts in the cycle fitting in perfectly, as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. (From the book Snap Selling by Jill Konrath, page 6).
17. The Decision to Act
The Official Website of Amelia Earhart - Quotes
18. Skills Pay the Bills!
19. Why Are You Doing This?
I've learned that if my 'why' is strong enough in a situation, it will give me the courage to act & persevere when business gets tough. I genuinely enjoy delivering relief from health ailments, so that motivates me. I know the more people I bring back into health, the more people I'm serving, & bringing happiness to their lives. That's incredibly rewarding & if it happens to pay the bills too, then it's a win/win for all!
20. Stand Still- Don't Move
StoryTelling Corner exists so that business owners can make more impact, return more profit and improve self-esteem by gaining and maintaining confidence when facing a live audience or the video camera.
The actions you perform will be remembered for longer and make more impact than most of the words you use. So, give the people a performance to remember.
21. Convert Failure into Success
-Dale Carnegie
Each person is unique due to genetics and upbringing. Use your clients as mentors. Ask upfront how they select vendors and about their priorities. When a deal is lost, ask how your effort can improve. Show your appreciation for the insight, and indicate you will take their advice. Next, ask if you have permission to contact them again. The answer will be ‘yes'.
22. Measuring
"Measure Twice, Buy Once" -Adapted from Alistair MacLeod
It is a perfect quote to give parents who buy clothes for their kids, grandparents who want to buy clothes for their grandchildren, actually anyone for anyone at any time for the surprise factor when you don't have them with you at the time of purchase. It's a no brainer and it's foolproof.
No hassles, no tantrums and best of all, an all-round better way to buy sanely.
23. Dare Mighty Things!
It inspired me to give 100 percent to sales and to reach my goals. Roosevelt's quote inspired me to succeed and helped my business grow ten fold. I owe my success in sales, in part, to him.
24. 3 Words Netted 6-Figure Deal
25. Sales Success, a State of Mind
"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" -Robert H. Schuller
26. I Want the Buyer to Say No!
"When the buyer says no the salesman goes to work!"
It has been my mantra for my entire career, as I ultimately managed nationwide sales over $60 million dollars of business at the highest prices and margins in a highly competitive and vicious business.
27. A General's Advice
28. For Greatest Impact, Do This
This is a great reminder for me every time I start my day or a new project. Since it's easy to get caught up in the minutia of running a business, this simple quote puts things into perspective. It helps me to focus on those activities that are going to produce the greatest results.
29. No Excuses
It's actually a quote that I thought of back in 2011, as I was driving home through rural Mississippi after a long day. I was on the phone with some of my direct reports and they were making excuses for not making sales quotas, and the quote just came out! I actually tweeted it the next morning. I still say it today when I start to hear excuses!
30. Coffee's for Closers Only
31. Get Over Expecting Perfect!
The best advice I received was, “Done is better than perfect.” - Sheryl Sandberg, Author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. She’s right; being done allows you to confidently accept that what you put forth is good enough and move on.
32. Be a Competitor
–Pat Summitt
33. Activity Vs. Achievement
As I listen, I'm looking to see if they are busy with a purpose or busy for the sake of being busy. When they plan and work on something, it should be done with a purpose and at the end of the day, they can look back and ask: what did I accomplish today?
34. Don’t Sell. Make Them Buy.
I find this quote a whatness of sales. In order to sell something, you have to try not to sell it, but to make a person buy it. At first, it might seem to be a bit counter-intuitive, but when we think about the thought process that happens when we suddenly feel the need to buy something, it all starts to make sense.
Don’t sell. Make them buy.
35. Sales Success Starts Within
-Alister Christopher
Sales is an internal game. While we expect highs and lows, many business builders are high-achievers who take rejection personally. It’s easy to feel stuck, defeated or overwhelmed. The quickest way up is to find the positive. Celebrate the wins. Ask, “What are all the things I am doing well?” A confidence boost from within is much more stable than external validation, and the foundation for sales success.
36. Stay in the Middle
A friend in sales gave this advice when I asked him how he handled it, how he handle the objections, the no's, the disappointments and being rejected. It was the best advice and I have since coached many women in business with the same advice. Mindset is key when it comes to sales and we just need to focus on the activity, not the outcome. Stay in the middle.
37. My Fav Sales Quote
38. Conviction Over Persuasion
Newer sales representatives may think that they must have the ability to argue like a politician in order to make sales. Instead, you should cultivate an earnest belief in the value of the product you’re selling. Meet your prospect halfway, and show that you care enough to stake your reputation on the pitch. Your customer will feel much better about putting their money where your mouth is!
39. People Love to Buy
This quote is exemplary of how sales should be. There is a false concept that selling is only successful when people are convinced and pressured to buy. However, consultative selling, where you ask a lot of questions and qualify a prospect, is more effective. This way, the individual believes that you have their best interest in mind.
40. Social ≠ Sales
The reason I love this quote is so many businesses get into social media with a goal of "making sales", which puts them on the wrong path. They need to start by building relationships first, which, if done properly, will naturally lead to sales conversations. But, if you start with sales, you'll turn people off.
41. Be Too Proud to Buy, Beg & Bug
It’s no longer enough to be omnipresent online, be a sales strategy wunderkind or have the most meetings. In the end, we’re all salespeople. If we lose sight of the value of connection through a creative story, there’s nothing meaningful to sell.
42. Driven By Passion
Failure happens when we stop trying and we stop trying because we simply do not love what we do. When we finally find that one thing that we love doing and are so passionate about, no matter how difficult, we will keep doing, or die trying.
43. Simple Little Sales Secret...
From: Direct Selling 101: The Step by Step Guide to #RockThatDream in the Direct Sales Industry
44. Keep Your Eyes on One Prize
When I was starting off in sales, I’d chase dozens of different leads at once. I’d inevitably lose focus and let my follow-up process slip. A missed email here and a late phone call there, every mistake feels so small, but when you add them all up, they make a huge difference. I really like this quote because it reminds me to focus my attention on one deal and close it before moving onto the next one.
45. Quote on Sales
In sales, only rarely will you talk to someone who will immediately want to buy what you are selling, particularly a professional who believes that they know everything about their field. If they did, they would already have it. Any successful sales pitch must therefore begin with a demonstration of what the client does NOT know and how you can help them fill this knowledge gap.
46. Consider Why You Sell
Why this quote inspires: My purpose in life is to help people. Our software is the vehicle to help the hospitality industry be more efficient, profitable & to create a better guest experience. It’s critical for my team to be genuine & always sell on purpose. We can help more people get what they want & provide valuable results for organizations to thrive.
47. Be a Friend, Not a Salesperson
*Don’t always be selling yourself. That keeps people at a distance from you, because it shows you’re not friends.*
*So even if it starts professional, get personal as soon as possible. Be a friend. That’s how things are done.*
I like it because he points out the deep human tendency to buy from people they trust, aka friends, as opposed to salesmen or people who are always selling.
48. Build Up, Don't Tear Down
In business ownership and sales, problem solving and enthusiasm are must-haves to achieve success in the ways that matter to you.
The mindset to stay positive and avoid playing the blame game is advice for life, leading you down paths of building others and yourself up. Paired with the humility to know when (and how) to adjust your plans as you go along, this quote's a quick, simple plan for greatness.
49. Attitude is Everything
W. Clement Stone built an empire from nothing by selling newspapers to restaurant customers back when it was unheard of to sell newspapers anywhere but the sidewalk. He then started selling insurance policies inside office buildings, when door-to-door home sales were far more common. He attributed the lack of resistance he saw in these new arenas to his politeness and confidence.
50. Increase Your Actions!
This quote has stood the test of time for me in all my business dealings. Whether I was on the phone or just trying to increase the revenue for my company, this has always been some of the best, and simplest, advice. A lot of times, you can't sell more if you just don't work more. Productive hours put in have always resulted in results.
51. Road to Success
“Great success seldom comes from doing twenty things right. More often, it's the result of focusing on the right one, two, or three big things. What are those?”
―Linda A. Hill, Ph.D. the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard
52. My Quote for Me Everyday
53. Who's Driving?
One of the top PGA golfers says 'the 6 inches between your ears' is your most important golf tool. It's not your driver or putter.
The same is true about selling. Whatever your attitude and thoughts are when you pick up the phone, write an email or knock on a door, drives the results.
When I need sales motivation, I look at this quote and know that "I Am Driving!"
54. Motivating Sales Pros
"When selling, use words for what they will do, not for what they mean."
55. Good, Fast, Cheap
"If its good, if I can get it quickly, and if you're not charging an arm and a leg, I'll take it!"
This helps to keep us focused on what the consumer is looking for. If we make the process too long for them to get what they want, then they'll probably pass on it.
The Good, Fast, Cheap mantra is alive and well in our offices!
As always, many thanks to everyone that contributed to this article!
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