Quotes about Sales

Some companies have trained their sales associates to tell you that their fragrances are so pricey because they use a high proportion of natural ingredients, perhaps even all natural ingredients, perhaps gathered in rustic baskets among hillsides of heather and clover by barefoot virgin tonsured monks clad in brown burlap while they pray for your soul, as they have done since the late Cretaceous. But there are really very few perfumes you could honestly call all-natural.

I believe in the philosophy, ‘if you build it, they will come.’ When I opened, it was never about the money. It was not about the transaction but rather doing the right thing for the client and the candidate, and then the sales would follow.

Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.

Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.

Self-respect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is never for sale. It cannot be fabricated out of public relations. It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when e suddenly realize that, knowing the good, we have done it; knowing the beautiful, we have served it; knowing the truth we have spoken it.

Samson killed a thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass. That many sales are killed every day with the same weapon.

Determination is the down payment on sales achievement.

There is very little difference between the general manager, the sales manager, the factory manager, the office manager, the factory man, the office man and the salesman. We have different ideas and different work, but when you come down to it, there is just one thing we have to deal with throughout the whole organization - that is the "MAN." Here is the way it lines up: The Manufacturer general manager sales manager factory manager office manager factory man office man salesMan This is a man proposition pure and simple; that includes the ladies too, by the way-all mankind. I think this one point is something we should keep in mind at all times regardless of what our occupations or duties are; we are just men-men standing together, shoulder to shoulder, all working for one common good; we have one common interest, and the good of each of us as individuals affects the greater good of the company. From a talk made at the opening session of The International Time Recording Company Sales Convention, held at Endicott, NY, January 25-30, 1915.

A message sent to all members of the American Sales Organization at the opening of the IBM Election Prize Contest, September 1, 1932. In every walk of life, the highest places and the greatest rewards go to those who have the courage to attempt and ability to achieve big things. That is true in science. It is true in government. It is true in business. And it is true in this organization. IBM leaders in the past have proved their worth by performance, just as they will in this sales campaign.

I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry, too.

I went to a garage sale. "How much for the garage?" "It's not for sale."

I saw a small bottle of cologne and asked if it was for sale. She said, "It's free with purchase." I asked her if anyone bought anything today.

Often when looking at a mass of things for sale, he would say to himself, 'How many things I have no need of!'

Unless the man who works in an office is able to "sell" himself and his ideas, unless he has the power to convince others of the soundness of his convictions, he can never achieve his goal. He may have the best ideas in the world, he may have plans which would revolutionize entire industries. But unless he can persuade others that his ideas are good, he will never get the chance to put them into effect. Stripped of non-essentials, all business activity is a sales battle. And everyone in business must be a salesman.

A salesman, like the storage battery in your car, is constantly discharging energy. Unless he is recharged at frequent intervals he soon runs dry. This is one of the greatest responsibilities of sales leadership.

If we are to have a stabilized market demand, selling pressure should be maintained . . . perhaps increased . . .at the first sign of a decline in business. I know of no single way business managers can do more to stabilize market demand than through greater stabilization of sales and advertising expenditures.

Confidence and enthusiasm are the greatest sales producers in any kind of economy.

He who brings goods for sale is blessed with good fortune, but he who keeps them till the price rises is accursed.

Proposing a sale of Windsor Castle to Disney to improve the royal family's public image: Imagine what Disney could do with this material. There could be a parade . . . with at least one real prince and one real princess on hand.

I realize that by listening I could make improvements and make more sales.

One day, the Devil decided to go out of business. His tools, therefore, being for sale, were put on display; and Malice, Jealousy, and Pride were soon recognized by most of his prospective customers. There was one worn, tiny wedge-shaped tool bearing the highest price, however, which seemed difficult to identify. "What is that?" someone asked. "I can't quite place it." "Oh that!" Satan answered. "That is Discouragement. It is my most valuable tool. With it I can open many hearts, since so few people know that it belongs to me."

On high turnover of salespeople, Simon and Schuster runs a sales contest every year. The winners get to keep their jobs.

Answering a letter from a church asking what else they should try after having failed to raise enough money on bake sales, bazaars, suppers, etc. Why not try religion?

Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.

If some books are deemed most baneful and their sale forbid, how then with deadlier facts, not dreams of doting men? Those whom books will hurt will not be proof against events. Events, not books should be forbid.

The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, and there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence. Yet, government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words.

The Golden Rule of sales is the Golden Rule.

The better your relationships the shorter your sales cycle and the more money you will make.

Every boxer fights differently, and every salesman has his unique style. But the results are the same- you are either a champion or just another fighter, you either get the sale or you don't. The real key to success is to do those things that will prepare you to be a champion.

The Constitution, in addition to delegating certain enumerated powers to Congress, places whole areas outside the reach of Congress' regulatory authority. The First Amendment, for example, is fittingly celebrated for preventing Congress from "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion or "abridging the freedom of speech." The Second Amendment similarly appears to contain an express limitation on the government's authority....This Court has not had recent occasion to consider the nature of the substantive right safeguarded by the Second Amendment. If, however, the Second Amendment is read to confer a personal right to "keep and bear arms," a colorable argument exists that the Federal Government's regulatory scheme, at least as it pertains to the purely intrastate sale or possession of firearms, runs afoul of that Amendment's protections.