80 Sales Quotes to Motivate and Inspire Your Sales Team in 2024

We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite motivational and inspirational sales quotes. From some of the greatest innovators, athletes, and sales leaders, we know these quotes will inspire when you’re feeling overwhelmed, facing rejection, or just needing a little extra motivation as you navigate the world of sales. 

There’s a reason motivational quotes are so popular: the best ones are simple and powerful. It’s likely that you or your sales reps have already heard or read some of the quotes that usually appear on these kinds of lists. 

For sales managers looking to give their team a productivity boost, look no further than these motivational sales quotes.

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Motivational Sales Quotes from the Icons

1. “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” – Willie Nelson

2. “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – William Shakespeare

3. “Don’t bother telling the world you are ready. Show it. Do it.” – Peter Dinklage

4. “You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you.” – Andy Warhol

5. “If you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it.” – Chester A. Arthur

6. “I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.” – Gustav Mahler

7. “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

8. “I never lose. I either win or learn.” – Nelson Mandela

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

10. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

11. “True nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemingway

12. “Missing a train is only painful if you run after it! Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

13. “Humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life.” – Alan Simpson

14. “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee

15. “When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.” – Walter Payton

16. “All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find it was in vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” – T.E. Lawrence

17. “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” – Abraham Lincoln

18. "The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance — and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning." –Oprah Winfrey

19. "Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives." -Michelle Obama

20. "Don’t try to do everything by yourself, but try to connect with people and resources. Having that discipline and perseverance is really important." -Chieu Cao

21. “And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” – Kurt Vonnegut

22. “There are three choices in life: be good, get good, or give up.” – Hugh Laurie (as Dr.House)

23. “You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” – Walt Disney

24. “You’ve got enemies? Good, that means you stood up for something in your life.” – Eminem

25. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie

26. “You have to drop your sales mentality and start working with your prospects as if they've already hired you.” – Jill Konrath, Sales Manager and Author

27. “We are stronger when we listen and smarter when we share.” – Rania von Jordanien, Queen

28. “Check your ego at the door. The ego can be the great success inhibitor. It can kill opportunities, and it can kill success.” – Dwayne Johnson, Actor

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

30. “If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs

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

32. “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou, American Poet

33. "Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us." -Angela Bassett

34. "I have never worked a day in my life without selling. If I believe in something, I sell it, and I sell it hard." -Estée Lauder

35. "The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." – Bruce Lee

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Motivational Sales Quotes from the Sales Experts

36. “Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.” – Zig Ziglar, legendary sales author and speaker

37. “If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.” – Bob Hooey, Business Coach and Entrepreneur

38. "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." -Tony Robbins

39. "Motivation will almost always beat mere talent." -Norman Ralph Augustine

40. "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

41. "It’s not about having the right opportunities. It’s about handling the opportunities right." -Mark Hunter

42. “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” – Timothy Ferriss Author and Entrepreneur

​​43. “You have to drop your sales mentality and start working with your prospects as if they've already hired you.” – Jill Konrath, Sales Manager and Author

44. “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. “ –  "Zig" Ziglar, Sales Manager and Author

45. “Success looks a lot like failure up until the moment you break through the finish line.” – Dan Waldschmidt, Co-CEO, Edgy Inc.

46. “Please think about your legacy, because you’re writing it every day.” – Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO, VaynerMedia

47. “Establishing trust is better than any sales technique.” – Mike Puglia, Chief Marketing Officer, Kaseya

48. “Refuse to attach a negative meaning to the word ‘no.’ View it as feedback. ‘No’ tells you to change your approach, create more value or try again later.” – Anthony Iannarino, best-selling author and keynote speaker

49. “The best salespeople know that their expertise can become their enemy in selling.” – Mike Bosworth, author, speaker and sales trainer, Mike Bosworth Leadership

50. “Today, the salesperson isn’t the sole conduit of information to the firms.  If the buyer has a poor experience with a seller, they’ll simply move onto the next channel.” – Mary Shea, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research

51“You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.” – Simon Sinek Inspirational Speaker

52. “Having the aspiration to be memorable is easy. The hard part is creating a crisp message you want others to articulate when you’re no longer in the room.” – Dr. Carmen Simon, Cognitive Neuroscientist, Memzy

53. “Whether B2B or B2C, I believe passionately that good marketing essentials are the same. We all are emotional beings looking for relevance, context and connection.” – Beth Comstock, Business Executive

54. “Willpower is a finite resource in every person’s day – if a work environment contains elements that further promote distraction, rep productivity could be drained even faster.” – Peter Zink, Director, Sales Training and Enablement, Forrester Research

55. “To be seen as a credible and trusted advisor, every touch you have with a customer should provide added value.” – Sharon Gillenwater, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Boardroom Insiders

56. “How you sell is more important than what you sell.” – Andy Paul, author, speaker and strategist, Zero-Time Selling

57. “You don’t have to be liked to be trusted.” –CEO/President, A Sales Guy

58. “You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. You don’t have to rely on luck or getting a better territory. You just have to plan your work and work your plan. It works every time it’s tried.” – Kelly Riggs, Founder & President, The Business LockerRoom

59. “The greatest only become the greatest because they are willing to expose themselves to people who can help them become better. Your goal is to find those around who can and will do just that for you.” – Mark Hunter, sales speaker and trainer, The Sales Hunter

60. “Great sellers go into a meeting with multiple next-steps; this allows them to proactively respond if a plan does not unfold as planned.” – Tibor Shanto, Chief Sales Officer, Renbor Sales Solutions

61. “The focus from years of negative conditioning is to look at weaknesses or talents ranked lower instead of focusing on those strengths or talents ranked higher. To increase sales leadership we must begin with knowing one’s talents not one’s weaknesses.” – Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Chief Results Officer, Advanced Systems

62. “True productivity comes from allowing yourself to make mistakes. Do so, and you’ll succeed more often than any ten perfectionists.” – Laura Stack, CEO, The Productivity Pro

63. “Sales enablement can’t be reactive. It has to be a full-blown strategy that’s woven into the fabric of the company.” – Roderick Jefferson, CEO, Roderick Jefferson & Associates

64. “The top salespeople are usually the ones with the most activity; it doesn’t guarantee you will close more deals, but if you have no activity, you won’t be closing any deals.” – Colleen Honan, Chief Sales Officer, Brainshark

65. “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” – Seth Godin, Founder and CEO, Seth Godin Productions

66. “It’s no longer about interrupting, pitching and closing. It is about listening, diagnosing and prescribing.” – Mark Roberge

67. “If you don’t believe in what you’re selling, neither will your prospect.” – Frank Bettger

68. “Sales enablement can’t be reactive. It has to be a full-blown strategy that’s woven into the fabric of the company.” – Roderick Jefferson

69. “How you sell is more important than what you sell.” – Andy Paul

70. “Don’t expect to be motivated every day to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on Discipline.” – Jocko Willink

71. “Establishing trust is better than any sales technique.” – Mike Puglia

72. “There is no magic to closing. There are no magic phrases. Closing the deal is completely dependent on the situation.” – Alice Heiman

73. “Sellers who listen to buyers carefully and then give them the missing ingredients – those are the ones who stand out.” – Deb Calvert

74. “When reps take the role of a curious student rather than an informed expert, buyers are much more inclined to engage.” – Jeff Hoffman

75. “Success looks a lot like failure up until the moment you break through the finish line.” – Dan Waldschmidt

76. “Sales success comes after you stretch yourself past your limits on a daily basis.” – Omar Periu

77. “The major difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that the former look for problems to resolve, whereas the latter make every attempt to avoid them.” – Grant Cardone

78. “Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service.” – Brian Tracy

79. “Before LinkedIn and other social networks, in the sales world, ABC stood for Always Be Closing. Now it means Always Be Connecting.” – Jill Rowley

80. Great sellers go into a meeting with multiple next-steps; this allows them to proactively respond if a plan does not unfold as planned.” – Tibor Shanto

81. "I love side doors. The front doors are usually too crowded" – Mafalda Johannsen, BD Director Wonderway

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