A great many people today call themselves motivational speakers or career coaches, especially in the world of social media. Only a handful of them stand out, though, after the test of time as true masters of their profession.
One such individual is Zig Ziglar, the great American salesman, author and motivational speaker, a talented sales expert known for his speeches and the numerous books he offered.
Who is Zig Ziglar?
Born Hilary Hinton Ziglar in Alabama, Zig entered the world of sales before his 21st birthday as a salesman for a cookware company. He was quickly promoted to field sales manager and then divisional supervisor.
While honing his sales skills Ziglar was also developing a passion for something else: self-help and motivational speaking. He went on to give speeches across America that would coach others not only in their sales careers but also in life.
Ziglar meanwhile wrote over 30 books giving advice on marriage, family, positivity, spirituality, and, of course, guidelines for success in the sales industry.
Some of the best-known books by Zig Ziglar are:
- Selling 101: What Every Successful Sales professional Needs to Know
- Over the Top: Moving from Survival to Stability, from Stability to Success, from Success to Significance
- Top Performance: How to Develop Excellence in Yourself and Others
- Success for Dummies
- Network Marketing For Dummies
- So, You’re New to Sales
- Goals: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life
- Create a Life You Can’t Wait to Live: Ignite Your Passion and Purpose
- Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World
Quotes about sales by Zig ZIglar
If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading one of his books, you’ve surely come across one of the famed quotes of Ziglar. With how many influential books the man penned, it’s little wonder that his inspiration words have stuck with us even today – particularly in sales! Motivate a sales team (or yourself!) with some of these choice tips.
“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.”
Every sale also begins with lead qualification! Establishing where a prospect is on their purchasing journey, plus how you might carry them through it, is one of the first critical steps to a successful sale. Through this process, trust is also built.
“If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”
A beautiful piece of counsel that applies not only to careers, but to life fulfillment in general.
According to McKinsey, goal setting – when done effectively! – can improve employee engagement and elevate performance. They stress, though, that close attention should be paid to creating the right goals, adapting them as needed, and providing support for sales teams to meet said objectives.
“Stop selling. Start helping.”
One of a sales rep’s jobs is to uncover and solve customer pain points. Particularly, in today’s world where customers have ample – in fact, too much – information, a good seller is also a source of knowledge. Knowing your product or service from A to Z is key; answer questions and educate them about their options so they don’t have to go elsewhere to do so. This builds trust too.
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have 24-hour days.”
One of our favorite Zig Ziglar sales tips, this line establishes the path to efficiency in sales. Spend time selling and less time wondering. Implement best-practices and guidelines for team members. Enlist CRM software that offers a pipeline dashboard with the state of each sale and automated email integration. Platforms such as Revenue Grid offer not only that but REvenue Signals that nudge sellers toward the next best step to move a sale forward in the pipeline. Removing the guesswork leaves more time to nurture client relationships.
The Be-Do-Have Principle
For Zig Ziglar, positive thinking is summed up in his famous “BE, DO, HAVE” philosophy. He regularly taught people that “You’ve got to BE before you can DO, and DO before you can HAVE.”
In sales, you have to first BE the solution sales rep that solves clients’ business needs. This takes effort, consideration, and attention. Only then you can DO what you want to – close the sale. When you can repeat these wins continuously, you HAVE a successful career.
With Be-Do-Have, Zig Ziglar found a way to express the importance of two things: how to stay positive in sales and how to keep it simple.
The impact of Zig Ziglar
While he is no longer with us, even today words of wisdom by Zig Ziglar motivate and inspire salespeople and management alike throughout all stages of their careers.
For more sales guidance, you can turn to Zig’s numerous publications or to Revenue Grid’s deal guidance for proactive reps.
