We have written about the importance of persistence in selling before (see The Not So Fine Line Between Persistence and Stalking in Sales). Knowing that it plays such an important role in helping to win accounts, here are some quotes to inspire one of the core most important traits of selling – persistence.
Incredible salespeople relate and provide detail, focusing on benefits rather than features.
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
– Benjamin Franklin
“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
– Thomas Jefferson
“Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.”
– Bruce Lee
“I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.”
– Paul Hogan
“The real excitement is playing the game.”
– Donald Trump
“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.”
– Babe Ruth
Why can a former shoe salesperson become the top seller on a software team? Sales is in the blood and an inescapable skill.
“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.”
– Bill Bradley
“When it’s time to go home…make one more phone call.”
– Frank Pacetta
“Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.”
– John Adams
“I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be.”
– Muhammad Ali
“Where you start is not as important as where you finish”
– Zig Ziglar
“The most unprofitable item ever manufactured is an excuse.”
– John Mason
Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.”
– Albert Einstein
The best listen to consumer concerns versus discussing the product or service. Making a sale requires listening and emotional intelligence.
“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”
– Margaret Thatcher
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
– John F. Kennedy
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but such echoes are truly endless.”
– Mother Theresa
“Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.”
– Rick Pitino
“The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.”
– Dale Carnegie
Good salespeople know which dialogues to entertain and which to leave alone, keeping focus on consumer needs and then fulfilling them.
“Make a customer, not a sale.”
– Katherine Barchetti
“The customer’s perception is your reality.”
– Kate Zabriskie
“The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works.”
– Jeff Bezos
“Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.”
– Brian Tracy
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
– Oprah Winfrey
“Show class; have pride; and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.”
– Paul Bryant
A good salesperson sees the forest through the trees and success despite immediate odds. Great salespeople run marathons rather face short challenges.
“The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.”
– Henry Ford
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”
– Beverly Sills
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
– Michael Jordan
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
– John Wooden
“The best sales questions have your expertise wrapped into them.”
– Jill Konrath
Success means working smarter, not harder, and building successful, profitable connections. Each day brings new opportunity to strengthen existing connections and open new doors.
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”
– Dale Carnegie
“Hire character. Train skill.”
– Peter Schutz
“Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.”
– J. Paul Getty
“It is 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
“A sale is not something you pursue; it’s what happens to you while you are immersed in serving your customer.”
– Unknown
“To satisfy our customers’ needs, we’ll give them what they want, not what we want to give them.”
-Steve James
A good salesperson is a magician, a step ahead of the audience, knowing what amazes. Great products and services sell; but, great salespeople provide experience.
“The better I get, the more I realize how much better I can get.”
– Martina Navratilova
“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they never quit.”
– Conrad Hilton
“Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.”
– Vince Lombardi
“Success is 99% failure.”
– Soichiro Honda
“A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.”
– Harvey MacKay
“You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event – it is a habit.”
– Aristotle
*Banner photo used and modified under Creative Commons. Original photo
Other Photo Credits:
Martina Navratilova (Damon Dahlen, AOL)
Do you have any favorite sales quotes? Leave them in the comments below!
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Eliot Burdett
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Latest posts by Eliot Burdett (see all)
- 20 Of Our Favorite Books About Sales Management and Sales Leadership – October 20, 2023
- How To Make Progress On Your Sales Goal Without A Sales Leader – September 15, 2021
- Augment Your Recruiting Strategy During “The Great Resignation” – July 26, 2021
