David Ogilvy Quotes

Concentrate on the activities of prospecting, presenting and following-up; the sales will take care of themselves.

When one has the right swing and enthusiasm, selling is not unlike hunting, a veritable sport. To scare up the game by preliminary talk and to know how long to follow it, to lose your gain through poorly directed argument, to hang on to game that finally eludes, to boldly confront, to quickly circle around, to keep on the trail, tireless and keen, till you have bagged some orders, there is some satisfaction in returning at night, tired of the trail, but proud of the days work done.

If you are not moving closer to what you want in sales (or in life), you probably aren't doing enough asking.

The worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore. Foster any attempt to talk about other things; the longer you stay the better you get to know the prospect, and the more you will be trusted.

When you are truly interested in other people, you will learn what they are interested in and if they have a need for your product. If they like you, and most people like folks who take an interest in them, they'll help you find people who do need what you have to sell, even if they don't.

I've always taught that a poor economy is the best opportunity for salespeople because the naysayers and grumblers have already given up, leaving more territory, more opportunities to be successful than in a good economy when virtually all salespeople are out there, giving it their best.

Successful salesman: someone who has found a cure for the common cold shoulder.

To succeed in sales, simply talk to lots of people every day. And here's what's exciting: There are lots of people!

To sell is above all to master the art and science of listening.

I was 20 years old. I had moved to Los Angeles from Columbus, Ohio. I was working as a piano salesman - a terrible piano salesman. I couldn't sell them. I could demonstrate them, but people wouldn't buy them from me.

You can't learn anything if you are doing all the talking. Sales people should always be developing their earQ, not their IQ. The only way to create a successful sale is to understand that knowledge from listening does not become power until it is used. And ideas without action are worthless.

The top salesperson in the organization probably missed more sales than 90% of the sales people on the team, but they also made more calls than the others made.

Many salespeople are trying to make their quota rather than developing a deeper belief in their product or service - and even worse, they don't have a strong enough belief in themselves.

I had a great time being a salesman because of the pitches that I gave when I was selling shoes. However, I don't think I'm as well versed in shoes as I am in comedy. Being a salesman was all about being a people person, and I enjoy being around people. I also love talking to people - which is why I think I did so well.

You can find a mentor; you have to ask questions, you have to show interest in what the other person is doing. You have to have curiosity - I think that people appreciate that and will want to help you.

What creates success on HSN is great product, a great story and a great storyteller.

The ability to take another perspective has become one of the keys to both sales and non-sales selling. And the social science research on perspective-taking yields some important lessons for all of us.

To succeed at selling a losing product, you must develop seriously superior sales techniques. In addition, you have to be massively competitive and incredibly hungry to survive in that environment.

Ninety percent of selling is conviction, and 10 per cent is persuasion.

Our theory is, if you need the user to tell you what you're selling, then you don't know what you're selling, and it's probably not going to be a good experience.

Leave them wanting more and you know they'll call you back.

There's a right way to sell and a wrong way to sell.

Being a salesperson prepares you for just about everything in business: how to listen, empathize, and persuade; when to back off and when to step in; and, of course, how to close.

It's no fun being a salesperson when it feels like you're talking to a wall. That's what it feels like when you haven't learned your customer's points of interest.

When I started losing business to salespeople who were using used-car salesmen kind of tactics, I realized I can't ignore the EQ thing; it's going to kill sales.