36 Inspirational Sales Quotes That Can Motivate Your Team

What Makes a Good Sales Motivational Quote?

Certainly, a good sales quote is inspiring. Motivating.

But it also should be practical. Relatable, actionable words of advice are far more effective.

Quotes based on personal experience carry an added layer of authority and credibility.

And if the sales quote offers a fresh perspective — an “aha” moment that makes the rep think “I never quite looked at it that way before” — then that’s all the better.

What Are Things to Say to Motivate a Sales Team?

Let’s face it, to succeed in sales, you need a thick skin. Otherwise, you wouldn’t last long in a profession where it seems like you’re either being interrogated by a cautious prospect or just totally ignored.

At the same time, in a job where a positive frame of mind is essential, we could all use a bit of inspiration, advice, and motivation.

A timely quote can provide that little extra burst of energy, or restore a battered sense of confidence.

Here is a list of 36 of my favorite sales quotes that can help inspire your team to new heights.

Sales Quotes for Prospecting

“If you want to make money, you have to help someone else make money.”

Russell Simmons, record executive and entrepreneur - click to tweet

For salespeople, this quote spotlights the importance of focusing on the benefits you’re offering, not the products. You’re not asking for something from them; you’re offering to them a path to more business success.

“Establishing trust is better than any sales technique.”

Mike Puglia, Chief Marketing Officer, Kaseya - click to tweet

As we said, selling is about people — people connecting with other people and solving their problems or meeting their needs. And prospects are more likely to connect with someone they trust.

“Outbound prospecting is all about quality, not quantity.”

Aaron Ross, author of Predictable Revenue - click to tweet

There’s no point contacting hundreds of poor quality leads, just because it’s easy, when you could spend a little longer nurturing several good quality leads. As a sales manager, ensure the metrics you use to measure your team don’t encourage this kind of behavior.

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them yourself.”

Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady, diplomat, and activist - click to tweet

The corollary is to also learn from the successes of others. By observing what your colleagues and competitors are doing — either right or wrong, you can stay on the winning path and avoid missteps.

“It’s not your customer’s job to remember you. It is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.”

Patricia Fripp, executive speech coach and sales presentation skills trainer - click to tweet

This sales quote highlights the importance of building relationships with prospects and customers — and most importantly, how this is your responsibility.

“Engaging people is about meeting their needs — not yours.”

Tony Robbins, motivational speaker - click to tweet

A good salesperson puts the customer first and uses their interests or pain points as the place where they start the conversation, as opposed to just focusing on what they want to say.

“As marketing converges with customer service and sales, marketing today is more about helping and less about hyping.”

Joel Book, former spokesperson for Salesforce - click to tweet

The line between sales, marketing, and customer service is blurring, and it’s important your team understands this and tries to work with other departments to avoid mixed messages.

     And let me add one of my own here:

“No matter how many customers you have, each is an individual. The day you start thinking of them as this amorphous ‘collection’ and stop thinking of them as people is the day you start going out of business.” - click to tweet

Customers aren't simply revenue numbers on a spreadsheet. Think about how unique one small business is from another when you go shopping, or how one business operates their service offering vs. others. It's important we understand personas and their individual journeys best we can by listening to them!

Sales Quotes for Handling Objections

“Everyone has a plan ‘til they get punched in the mouth.”

Mike Tyson, former heavyweight champion boxer - click to tweet

Salespeople can prepare as much as they want with scripts and plans, but when following a cold lead, you have to expect to get “punched” — and be ready to counter!

“Treat objections as requests for further information.”

Brian Tracy, author and sales expert - click to tweet

This sums up the attitude you need to succeed in sales — to start seeing negatives as opportunities. If a prospect isn’t sure, that’s a great opportunity for you to explain it better or to find another way of engaging them with your product or service.

“I have stood on a mountain of no’s for one yes.”

B. Smith, American restaurateur, businesswoman, and author - click to tweet

Success doesn’t come easily. Your best efforts will often lead to no. But you have to be patient and remain positive that yes is out there.

“One of the best predictors of ultimate success … isn't natural talent or even industry expertise, but how you explain your failures and rejections.”

Daniel H. Pink, author of five books about business, work, and management - click to tweet

These words of wisdom explain the kind of mental strength you need to be a good salesperson. Everyone will experience failure and rejection, but it’s how you deal with that which determines how you succeed.

“Practice is just as valuable as a sale. The sale will make you a living; the skill will make you a fortune.”

Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur - click to tweet

Like every other aspect of sales, overcoming objections is a skill that can be honed through repetition.

Sales Quotes for Closing

“I never lose. I either win or learn.”

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, anti-apartheid acitvist - click to tweet

That is the epitome of a strong, open-minded, and relentlessly positive attitude.

“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”

John Wooden, former legendary coach of the UCLA basketball team - click to tweet

Like an athlete, it’s important for sales professionals to be honest in their self-assessment, to know their strengths and weaknesses, and to work to improve both. This also highlights the value of setting stretch goals — pushing yourself to be better.

“To build a long-term, successful enterprise, when you don't close a sale, open a relationship.”

Patricia Fripp, executive speech coach and sales presentation skills trainer - click to tweet

Excellent sales is not about getting an order; it's about starting relationships. And if you look at it this way, you can view a failure to close a sale as an opportunity.

“Value the relationship more than making your quota.”

Jeff Gitomer, author and sales blogger - click to tweet

The key to being a good sales person is developing relationships with prospects and customers – and if you focus on cold, hard stats, you’re not placing enough emphasis on relationship building.

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don’t quit.”

Conrad Hilton, American hotelier and the founder of the Hilton Hotels chain - click to tweet

This is a great attitude to have in sales — if things don’t go your way, try something else. Doing nothing doesn’t get you anywhere.

“How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.”

Gilbert K Chesterton, writer, poet and philosopher - click to tweet

Everyone experiences setbacks — at work and in their personal lives — but it’s how you deal with it and move on that determines how long it will be until you succeed. In sales, you need to have the right attitude to keep pushing on — even when your emails are ignored and you get objection after objection from a prospect.

“B2B customers want to see a lot of value before buying more. That requires a company-wide effort.”

Todd Berkowitz, Practice VP at Gartner - click to tweet

B2B sales teams need to up their game to compete in 2022 — and that means collaborating more with other departments to help demonstrate how their products or services could add value to their business.

“The best salespeople know that their expertise can become their enemy in selling. At the moment they are tempted to tell the buyer what "he needs to do," they instead offer a story about a peer of the buyer.”

Mike Bosworth, author of Solution Selling - click to tweet

People trust other people like themselves — it’s natural. A story about a peer is always going to have more impact than advice from someone the buyer can’t relate to.

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”

Yoda, legendary Jedi Master - click to tweet

Nothing really to add here. Except perhaps, “May the Force be with you.”

Quotes About the Art of Selling

“Don’t sell life insurance. Sell what life insurance can do.”

Ben Feldman, American businessman and one of the most prolific salespeople in world history - click to tweet

It can be easy to fall into the habit of selling the features of your product or service, but it’s the benefits that make a sale. It’s the difference between simply describing a product or service and explaining how that could enhance a prospect’s life or business.

“Sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect.”

William Clement Stone, businessman, philanthropist and author - click to tweet

With success in sales hugely dependent on a positive attitude, it’s essential that a sales manager focuses on developing this — and motivating their team.

“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.”

Wilson Mizner, playwright - click to tweet

Encourage your team to listen more and talk less. Not only will this lead to them better understanding the marketplace and industry pain points, but they’ll be liked and trusted more by prospects and customers.

“People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.”

Zig Ziglar, legendary author, salesman, and motivational speaker - click to tweet

In many ways, sales is a psychological profession. To succeed, you need to understand the emotional reasons for why people buy. Using logic, statistics, and facts alone won’t get you very far.

And another good one from Ziglar:

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” - click to tweet

Sure, skill and training are essential, but a confident, positive attitude can go a long way toward overcoming objections or closing the deal.

“Nobody likes to be sold, but everyone likes to buy.”

Dr. Earl Taylor, trainer in leadership, sales, and interpersonal and communications skills - click to tweet

We’re all consumers and we all like to buy, but everyone likes to feel that they’re in control — like it was their choice to buy something. The problem with some pushy sales tactics is that the buyer no longer feels in control and they feel like they’re being sold to.

“There is incredible power in leading with research and leading with relevance.”

Kraig Kleeman, author of The Must-React System - click to tweet

The art of selling is to make your product or service relevant to the customer, and the only way you do that is through proper research. Encourage a culture of research to make sure every prospect gets a personalized and relevant approach.

“90% of selling is conviction and 10% is persuasion.”

Shiv Khera, author and self-help expert - click to tweet

To sell effectively you need to believe in what you’re selling — you need to be confident and already sold on the product or service yourself. This counts for much more than simple persuasion skills.

“Most people think ‘selling’ is the same as ‘talking.’ But the most effective salespeople know that listening is the most important part of their job.”

Roy Bartell, sales expert - click to tweet

It’s easy to misinterpret the role of a salesperson — and to think selling is the result of one amazing pitch, where you wow a prospect with your words. In reality, selling is much more about listening to a prospect and working out what they need and how you could help them.

“‘Hey, here’s a gourd!’ is not so different as, ‘Hey, here’s enterprise sales software!’ The language changes, but the humans are the same.”

 Chris Penn, marketing and technology expert - click to tweet

“People like to buy things they need from people they like. And somewhere we screwed it all up by making it some kind of crazy thing. It’s simply, ‘What do you need? What are you trying to solve? Do I have it?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Is it the right price?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Next.’”

Dianna Geairn, aka the Irreverent Sales Girl - click to tweet

The above two quotes go hand-in-hand. No matter what you’re selling, success comes down to how well you meet the needs of the prospect and how well you connect with them as a person.

And Finally …

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Mae West, movie star - click to tweet

OK, Ms. West was probably talking about something other than selling products or services to a cold contact, but the sentiment still works — always strive to live your best life, both personally and professionally.

In Closing

To find out more about sales best practices, be sure to read our informative guides, The Perpetual Challenge of Inside Sales Teams and the Ultimate Guide to Inside Sales.