84 motivational sales quotes to reignite your fire in 2023

Crunching to meet your quota this quarter? Breaking down your sales goals into smaller, manageable tasks is an effective sales strategy for hitting targets. For an extra boost, here are some motivational quotes that will help you crush that quota and encourage you to keep going during tough times.

1. “When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.” —Zig Ziglar
2. “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” —Oprah Winfrey
3. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” —Henry David Thoreau
4. “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.” —Elon Musk
5. “Things never go as planned, so you need to always be ready to think on the fly. Always know that if you have a certain plan, it most likely won’t end up that way.” —Blaise Bevilacqua, enterprise account executive at UserGems
6. “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” —Barack Obama
7. “The worst troll is the one that lives in your head.” —Austin Kleon
8. “The way you ask a question—and how you follow through in the conversation—has an impact on the result you get. It might not change the outcome, but it can take a lot of the sting out of hearing no.” —Jia Jiang
9. “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” —Zig Ziglar
10. “Finally, I learned rejection is a compass. It teaches you what you don’t want so you can learn what you do.” —Cam Adair
11. “Rejection is one of life’s most painful experiences, especially if you are used to being successful. It doesn’t have to be debilitating. Underneath rejection’s disappointment, there are lessons and growth awaiting us if we have the courage and humility to uncover them.” —Ron Carucci
12. “There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work … there are no limits.” —Michael Phelps
13. “If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.” —Zig Ziglar

Meeting sales quotas can be overwhelming, especially when you’re on a tight deadline. Setbacks can feel colossal, but don’t give up, and stay positive. Whether you’re trying to complete weekly, monthly, or quarterly goals, it’s helpful to remember: When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

Sales is often incorrectly categorized as a soulless, heartless industry. In reality, it can be a helpful and fulfilling field where you make real connections with customers and actively work to make their lives better. The following quotes will help inspire you and remind you that sales can be financially and ethically sound.

1. “Stop selling. Start helping.” —Matt White
2. “Advertising works most effectively when it’s in line with what people are already trying to do.” —Mark Zuckerberg
3. “If you work just for money, you’ll never make it. But if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.” —Ray Kroc
4. “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 R. Covey
5. “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
6. “I stopped caring so much whether I got a yes or a no. Which meant, I supposed, that I was starting to care a bit less about what other people thought about me. And it felt liberating.” —Jia Jiang
7. “If you wait for certainty, you will spend your whole life standing still. And if you grow discouraged and give up when things get rough, you’ll miss out on your best possible destiny. So the secret is to be excited about what is in your power to control, be accepting of what’s not in your power to control, and then move with certainty into an uncertain future.” —Kevin Hart
8. “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” —Richard Branson

Despite your best efforts, things won’t always go your way in sales, but there’s always a lesson that can help you do better next time. Even sales conversations that lead nowhere are still great ways to grow. Stay inspired and keep going.

An optimistic attitude will make even the most mundane tasks a bit easier and help you power through any problems the day brings. Here are some positive sales quotes to get you in the right headspace.

1. “Escape competition through authenticity.” —Naval Ravikant
2. “Sales is about helping others and making a difference in their lives.” —Mark Hunter
3. “You only need one ray of light to chase all the shadows away.” —Fredrik Backman
4. “Love of sales + love of life = a happy result.” —Jeffrey Gitomer
5. “We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
6. “Think of your emotions as messages that give you the freedom, rather than the obligation, to respond. Fear protects. Regret teaches. Sadness releases. Joy uplifts. Empathy unites.” —Chip Conley
7. “A great use for the word ‘but’: ‘We’ve never done that before, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it now.’” —Don Cooper
8. “Quality performance starts with a positive attitude.” —Jeffrey Gitomer

9. “Sales rarely get better by just waiting around.” —Colleen Francis

10. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” —Steve Jobs

A large part of succeeding depends on your mindset. A positive outlook will motivate you to get back up after the toughest days and keep you knocking on doors until one opens up to you. Use these positive sales quotes to stay pumped each day and continue winning.

Prospects often have reasons why they can’t purchase your product or service. “It’s too expensive” and “Our company needs X, Y, and Z features” are two particularly common sales objections. You must learn how to address concerns and form a connection with prospective buyers. Here are a few sales quotes that illustrate what’s important when you’re trying to win over a new customer.

1. “People don’t ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good, soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts.” —Robert Keith Leavitt
2. “A salesperson tells, a good salesperson explains, and a great salesperson demonstrates.” —Harvey Mackay
3. “Always deliver more than expected.” —Larry Page
4. “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect.” —William Clement Stone
5. “The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” —Barack Obama
6. “Pitches grow stagnant when you start to doubt.” —Mykola Tymkiv, COO at MacKeeper
7. “Forget about the business outlook … be on the outlook for business.” —Paul J. Meyer
8. “Excellence is not a skill, it’s an attitude.” —Ralph Marston
9. “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” —Zig Ziglar
10. “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” —Steve Jobs

Perseverance, consistency, and great communication are all essential elements of a winning prospecting strategy. Whether it’s an email or a cold call, give every conversation your all, and keep at it!

Sales is all about closing the deal. As you continue in your sales career, you should always be looking toward your sales goals. Read these quotes for great advice and perspectives on how to win sales.

1. “This is not hard sell—it’s heart sell. Good questions get to the heart of the problem or the need very quickly, and the buyer doesn’t feel like he or she is being pushed.” —Jeffrey Gitomer
2. “The only way I can get you to do anything is by giving you what you want.” —Dale Carnegie
3. “People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.” —Zig Ziglar
4. “Don’t celebrate closing a sale; celebrate opening a relationship.” —Patricia Fripp
5. “In every sales conversation, the person who exerts the greatest amount of emotional control has the highest probability of getting the outcome they desire. You must first gain control of your emotions before you can influence the emotions of other people. Getting past no in all its various forms, begins and ends with emotional control.” —Jeb Blount
6. “If you don’t see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner.” —Zig Ziglar
7. “Goals aren’t enough. You need goals plus deadlines: goals big enough to get excited about and deadlines to make you run. One isn’t much good without the other, but together they can be tremendous.” —Ben Feldman
8. “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
9. “Confidence and enthusiasm are the greatest sales producers in any kind of economy.” —O.B. Smith
10. “Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.” —Vince Lombardi

Confidence can get you far in sales, but when it’s coupled with compassion and curiosity, any salesperson can become unstoppable. If you believe in yourself and know your stuff, closing deals will become second nature to you.

Leading a sales team isn’t easy. Not only do you have to stay energized, but you also have to motivate your sales reps every day. These sales leadership quotes will help ensure you keep your team moving forward, even when times are challenging.

1. “Remember, you are not in charge; you are responsible for those in your charge.” —Simon Sinek
2. “One way to encourage people to perform better is to let them take the lead in setting their own goals, rather than dictating the terms and manner of their development.” —Jonathan Farrington
3. “While it is the sales team’s job to bring in business, simply cranking up the heat to get the numbers you want can produce an environment where stress backfires.” —Scott Edinger
4. “Great salespeople are not born, they are made. They are continually coached to flex their smarts and inquisitive nature. Training should encourage them to be hungry and to have the confidence to show their true colors.” —Ed Calnan
5. “It’s easier to manage by metrics (e.g., ‘How come you only did 15 demos this week?’) than to lead the whole person. Great sales leaders think of themselves not as a manager, but as a coach. A coach who develops each salesperson to their full potential.” —Kevin Kruse
6. “Teaching people doesn’t subtract value from what you do, it actually adds to it. When you teach someone how to do your work, you are, in effect, generating more interest in your work. People feel closer to your work because you’re letting them in on what you know.” —Austin Kleon
7. “The true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.” —Simon Sinek
8. If you don’t have a defined process that moves your people forward so they can achieve greater results, then what is it you are managing? You’re managing the status quo.” —Keith Rosen
9. “Good is the enemy of great.” —Jim Collins
10. “Take risks now. Do something bold. You won’t regret it.” —Elon Musk

The best sales managers help their team overcome the hurdles of selling while harnessing individual strengths to close more deals. A sales engagement platform is great, but inspired sales management techniques also boost sales and spirits. Use the sales leadership quotes above to remind yourself to be empathetic and encourage team members to boldly face challenges.

In sales, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. With so many tasks to juggle—finding sales leads, following up with prospects, scheduling demos—one’s to-do list can seem never-ending. Here are some quotes on sales productivity that will help you reevaluate how you’re spending your time and refine your focus.

1. “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have 24-hour days.” —Zig Ziglar
2. “Workaholics aren’t heroes. They don’t save the day, they just use it up. The real hero is home because she figured out a faster way.” —Jason Fried
3. “One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that needs not to be done at all.” —Brian Tracy
4. “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” —Theodore Roosevelt
5. “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.” —Florence Nightingale
6. “The first part of success is ‘Get-to-it-iveness’; the second part of success is ‘Stick-to-it-iveness.’” —Orison Swett Marden
7. “You cannot fail if you resolutely determine that you will not.” —Abraham Lincoln
8. “Call the damn leads!” —Drewbie Wilson, VP of Break Free Academy
9. “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” —Paul J. Meyer
10. “Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” —Jim Rohn
11. “If you don’t produce, you won’t thrive—no matter how skilled or talented you are.” —Cal Newport
12. “Only those who believe they can get better make an effort to do so.” —James M. Kouzes
13. “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” —Stephen R. Covey

With these great sales quotes as your guide, focus on using your time wisely. Use tools to organize and manage sales data, automate as much as you can (like follow-up emails), and work closely with marketing to find quality leads.

A little humor can brighten your mood and give you a boost to get through the workday with a positive outlook. Enjoy these funny sales quotes—they will make you smile and impart some solid business advice.

1. “The difference between ‘try’ and ‘triumph’ is just a little ‘umph.’” —Marvin Phillips
2. “‘If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.’ This is another way of saying that if you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest, and most important task first.” —Brian Tracy (via Mark Twain)
3. “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” —Richard Branson
4. “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” —Napoleon Bonaparte
5. “My sales objective is to get my prospects to look at my products the same way I look at bacon.” —Kurt Mortensen
6. “When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.” —Walter Payton
7. “Customers are like teeth. Ignore them and they’ll go away.” —Jerry Flanagan
8. “I design, manufacture, distribute, and sell elevator buttons. I specialize in the fourth floor. And I don’t mean to brag, but I’m such a good salesman that I could sell one of my fourth-floor elevator buttons to the owner of a three-story building. … My motto in life: You can’t push my buttons if you don’t buy them.” —Jarod Kintz
9. “Hustle until your haters ask if you’re hiring.” —Steve Maraboli
10. “There’s no secret about success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn’t tell you about it?” —Kin Hubbard

With the right attitude, you can be successful and happy in sales. The next time you need a laugh, read these funny quotes and share them with your team.