Six Quotes To Help You Close More Sales

When it comes to running a business, an entrepreneur should be aware that the ability to close a sale is an entirely new set of skills, different from those required to find prospective customers and those that let you market to them. While all are important parts of the sales funnel, closing a sale is arguably the most important because when you fail to close a sale, all of the effort and resources you put into the entire resource funnel will be wasted.

Businesses thrive on completed sales. If you want sustainability, you have to go from one closed sale to another in perpetuity. Whether you’re closing the sales yourself, or you’re training your salespeople to close, here are 6 quotes that will help you close more sales:

1. The most unprofitable item ever manufactured is an excuse. – John Mason

No matter how good of a salesman you are, you’ll have a difficult time trying to sell an excuse to yourself. So don’t bother thinking of reasons why you won’t be able to close a deal. Focus on actually selling, and pay no mind to the what ifs. If you have a prospect, go in and close the deal. You make money by getting people to sign on the dotted line, not with making up excuses on why they didn’t.

2. Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make. -William Bernbach

This is a quote that is clearly meant for people who think they can buy their way into even more sales (which, you have to admit, is a counterproductive strategy.) Ads are not the be all and end all of the sales funnels; they’re just a means to get the attention of a customer. What matters most is not how many times you get a person to view an ad, what matters is the impression that a single one of those views gives to the person. Basically, it’s quality and not quantity.

3. To succeed in sales, simply talk to lots of people every day. And here’s what’s exciting — there are lots of people! – Jim Rohn

This quote takes into account the fact that different people require different approaches in order to close a sale. So if you really want to close as many deals as you want, you have to get to know a lot of people, learn what it takes to get them to agree and understand their needs and wants. Each one is a learning experience that you can add to your repertoire as you meet even more customers in the future.

4. The key is not to call the decision maker. The key is to have the decision maker call you. – Jeffrey Gitomer

The key to closing sales is to ensure that you, the salesperson, are in control. You drive the conversation and you drive the deal towards its completion. And you need to establish this dynamic beforehand – you want to be the one being approached by the customer, not the other way around. A customer who comes to you is already decided on buying, all you need to do is encourage and assure him that he’s making the right decision. On the other hand, if you have to approach the customer, you have to earn everything from the permission to make your pitch to his trust.

5. Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect. – William Clement Stone

This quote ties in slightly with the previous quote, where it emphasizes that the sales person is the driving force behind a sale. But its main gist is that the attitude of the prospect is rarely the deciding factor. It is the attitude of the sales person. This is because you have no control over the prospect’s attitude, and you don’t have the luxury of being choosy with who to sell to. However, you do have the ability and opportunity to adjust your own attitude in order to match the prospect’s. If you can’t master this crucial skill, you’ll miss out on a lot of sales.

6. A-B-C. Always be closing.  – Blake, Glengarry Glen Ross

It’s the shortest quote in this list but it’s also one of the most powerful, as it states the simplest but most important aspect of selling: you should always make an effort to close. This does not necessarily mean that your pitches should always be short and straight to the point – it only means that whatever you do and wherever you are in the sales funnel, your every move should be done with the intent of leading towards closing the deal. There should be a forward momentum with the end goal being to get the person to sign on the proverbial dotted line.