Sales management

55 Inspiring Sales Quotes to Hang on Your Calendar

When you’re stuck in a rut, a few truly inspirational sales quotes can go a long way.

With this in mind, we’ve assembled a list of the best sales quotes from inspiring figures throughout history. These wise words still hold every bit of resonance for today’s sales pros. Pin them up next to your 2020 calendar to fuel your resolve and reach new heights.

(Meanwhile, if you’re seeking more timely advice and practical tips for the current selling environment, make sure to check out our collection of top quotes from modern sales experts and influencers.) 

55 Inspirational Sales Quotes to Drive You in 2020

  1. “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” – Zig Ziglar

  2. “If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.” – Bob Hooey

  3. “In sales, a referral is the key to the door of resistance.” – Bo Bennett

  4. “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

  5. “The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first.” – Iyanla Vanzant

  6. “Surround yourself with a trusted and loyal team. It makes all the difference.” – Alison Pincus

  7. “If this is something that you really want to do, if you believe in it … simply keep forging forward because success will come.” – Cassandra Sanford

  8. “To me, job titles don’t matter. Everyone is in sales. It’s the only way we stay in business.” – Harvey Mackay

  9. “Remember that failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night.” – Zig Ziglar

  10. “Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.” – Mary Kay Ash

  11. “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” – Josh Billings

  12. “On any given Monday I am one sale closer and one idea away from being a Millionaire.” – Larry D. Turner

  13. “The sale most often goes to the most interested party.” – Steve Chandler

  14. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” – Vince Lombardi

  15. “You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” – Charles Robert Buxton

  16. “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills

  17. “Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you. Most of all, other people can’t stop you. Only you can stop you.” – Jeffrey Gitomer

  18. “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson

  19. “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

  20. “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” – Ann Landers

  21. “You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars. With it, there is accomplishment. Without it there are only alibis.” – Henry Ford

  22. “The best sales questions have your expertise wrapped into them.” – Jill Konrath

  23. “Make a customer, not a sale.” – Katherine Barchetti

  24. “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” – Benjamin Franklin

  25. “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” – Sir Richard Branson

  26. “To swear off making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is swear off having ideas.” – Leo Burnett

  27. “Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. Not even me.” – Chris Gardner

  28. “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel

  29. “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates

  30. “There is no royal road; you’ve got to work a good deal harder than most people want to work.” – Charles Wilson

  31. “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” – Arianna Huffington

  32. “There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do any business there.” – Colonel Sanders

  33. “I learned that you don’t get anywhere by sitting comfortably in a chair.”  – Conrad Hilton

  34. “I’m not afraid to take a swing and miss.” – Fred Smith

  35. “Train yourself to let go of the things you fear to lose.” – George Lucas

  36. “The minute you start compromising for the sake of massaging somebody’s ego, that’s it, game over.” – Gordon Ramsay

  37. “Success is best when it’s shared.” – Howard Shultz

  38. “The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.”– J.K. Rowling

  39. “I talk a lot about taking risks, and then I follow that up very quickly by saying ‘take prudent risks.’” – Irene Rosenfeld

  40. “Make every detail perfect, and limit the number of details to perfect.” – Jack Dorsey

  41. “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos

  42. “When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for people telling you that you are nuts.” – Larry Ellison

  43. “Life is too short to spend your time avoiding failure.” – Michael Bloomberg

  44. “I don’t believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.” – Oprah Winfrey

  45. “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” – Warren Buffet

  46. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain

  47. "I got lucky because I never gave up the search. Are you quitting too soon? Or are you willing to pursue luck with a vengeance?" – Jill Konrath

  48. "Whatever you are, be a good one." – Abraham Lincoln

  49. "Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." – John R. Wooden

  50. "All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust." – Bob Burg

  51. “We must focus on purposes instead of just setting goals, for long-term vision is what keeps us from being frustrated by short-term failure.” – Dan Clark

  52. “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” – Richard Branson

  53. “Ask that extra question. It’s that one little extra question that makes the difference.” – Steve Richard

  54. “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” – Stephen Covey

  55. “The only thing that’s keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself.” – Tony Robbins

     

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