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Get your daily sales motivation by finding the right mantra—and who better than Zig Ziglar to point you in right direction?

It’s been over twenty years since Alex Baldwin coined the famous ABC’s: Always Be Closing. The characters in Glengarry Glen Ross didn’t see a positive ending, but that’s not the point. The phrase stuck. It became a truism in the sales world. And it provides a trump card for teams that need a little direction and daily sales motivation.

When it comes to motivation, it doesn’t get much better than these quotes from one of the most influential salespeople of all time: Zig Ziglar. His words contain a wealth of knowledge and experience. We chose five of our favorites for daily sales motivation and ways to implement change.

In Ziglar’s own words: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

daily sales motivation

5 Quotes to keep your daily sales motivation in high gear

1. If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost

All salespeople (especially new ones) deal with “defeats.” It happens when sales fall through! And it happens a lot, for many different reasons. Is it hard to keep your motivation going in those situations? You bet. Every lost opportunity takes it toll.

The key is to learn. Think deeply about how the unfortunate result came about. Analyze your behavior. What could you do differently next time? When you learn from defeat, you haven’t lost—you’ve learned something.

2. Stop selling; start helping!

As you can expect, salespeople’s minds tend to focus on one thing: making sales. The money, in other words. Does that work for daily sales motivation? Sure, more money is lovely. But that goal alone doesn’t work forever. In fact, it makes the job boring and customer service suffers down the line.

Great sales teams are made up of people who love to help others, not money-hungry opportunists. Finding new ways to help people is a great motivator for those types of professionals. Include them in the conversation, as well. Ask, “How can we improve experiences for our customers?” and “How can we better explain how our services help alleviate problems? Why do we do it better than anyone?”

3. Remember that failure is an event, not a person

Everybody gets down when they fail. It’s natural. The salesperson loses out on a deal because he forgot to follow up. Or maybe he tried hard and didn’t make his quota for the month. Next comes the despair, the inner-voice of criticism, and low self-esteem.


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With a job that assumes repeated trials and errors, it’s tough not take it all personally. But keep in mind the Ziglar quote here. Failure doesn’t define you as a person. It’s only an event. If your sales team carries that weight into the next day, it creates useless negativity.

Keep looking forward, leave failures behind.

4. Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude

The word play here is fantastic, right? And it’s so true: a natural born talent for selling won’t get your far in your career. Attitude makes all of the difference. It’s the shield that protects you from mental and emotional setbacks. It’s the sword that keeps you coming back for more every day. A positive attitude is a driver behind daily sales motivation, and it’s a mindset we all need to develop over time.

How do you keep your attitude in a positive, focused frame?

  • Try to see the many sides of all situations. You’d be surprised how nearly everything is viewable from several angles.
  • Learn from your mistakes and don’t be afraid to make them. A high-performing salesperson steps out of their comfort zones.
  • Remember not to sweat the small stuff. Focus on the things you can control, and relinquish your need to be everywhere at once.

5. Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem; we all have twenty-four hour days

How many times have you heard a colleague complaining about “not having enough time”? It’s a weak statement. If you took a closer look into their daily actions and organization, you’d find the real trouble.

When a salesperson is busy, that’s a good thing. But not when the eight-hour day turns into a fourteen-hour day. Prioritizing and working effectively are underlooked paths to sales success.

Sales teams need direction. The hierarchy of “do it now” and “wait till later” often becomes jumbled into a hot mess. But there are a couple of ways to keep it all in line:

  • Find a CRM that makes it easy to prioritize and automate tasks
  • Train people on useful tools they can use to work more productively
  • Set standards for how much time each person should use doing certain tasks (as a guideline, not a rule)
  • Set long-term goals that are made up of short-term goals and daily tasks

lead-managerlead-managerGive your salespeople the right tool for customer follow up. Blitz automates processes and closes deal faster. Schedule a free demo today, and see how it works!


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