19 Sales Memes That Hit Home for All Sales Professionals

Will Schmidt

March 18, 2024

15 min

Table of Contents

Summary:

  • Sales memes can be an effective tool for managing the emotional rollercoaster associated with sales roles, using humor to defuse stress and foster a positive team environment.
  • Emphasizing the importance of building trust with prospects, sales memes suggest adopting a consultative approach, focusing on being a trusted advisor rather than just pushing for sales.
  • Highlighting the advantage of speed in response to prospect engagement, memes encourage immediate follow-up actions to increase the likelihood of closing a sale.
  • Stressing the significance of personalization, sales memes recommend tailoring communication to fit the prospect's preferred channel and making each interaction meaningful.
  • Encouraging creative strategies to anticipate and handle objections, sales memes point out the importance of preparing sales reps with tools and tactics to navigate resistance.
  • Underlining the value of persistence, memes remind sales professionals that consistent and strategic follow-up is key to converting prospects into customers, despite initial rejections or obstacles.

Sales is a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute you’re on top of the world as a prospect signs a contract, the next minute you bottom-out as your other prospects decide they don’t want to buy. 

Up and down, down and up. It goes on and on. 

Naturally, this can bring stress and anxiety to many salespeople as they deal with attaining quotas, making difficult phone calls, and being ignored or brushed off. But there’s a tool we all have at our disposal to help: sales memes. 

“The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter...Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”—Mark Twain

Side note: Mark Twain had a legendary sense of humor and I bet he would make some super funny memes if he were around today. 

Below we’ve rounded up 19 sales memes for different sales personalities, whether you’re an individual sales rep or a sales leader. Use each sales meme to get a good laugh and an equally good sales tip: each one is paired with an actionable takeaway. 

8 Funny Sales Memes from LinkedIn

We found a lot of funny sales memes from real-world sales professionals on LinkedIn. While we love all the sales memes in this post, these are our favorite because we know they’re used by people on the frontlines every day.

1. I Just Want to Help!

You want to help, you know your product can help, but the prospect doesn’t want to hear it. Their response, as Gabriela points out, is usually to ask to be unsubscribed, called, or emailed. If your reps are being too pushy, you’re going to constantly come up against strong resistance like this.  

The world of sales, especially B2B sales, has radically changed over the last few years. Prospects want to work with salespeople who are seen as trusted advisors. Think through ways you can empower your team to fulfill this role and build a lasting relationship with their prospects that goes far beyond a one-time sale.

2. I See Everything

If you know a prospect is opening your emails, which is possible with certain sales tools, you can seize the opportunity to reach out. You don’t have to send another email though. You can send an informative blog post on social media or even give them a quick call. We know you’re reaching out because they engaged with an email, but your prospect might think it’s a serendipitous, “it’s meant to be” moment. 

Fun Fact: The heading for this meme’s section is also a quote from “Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” which is the best one they made. If you knew that before getting to this paragraph, hit me up on LinkedIn because I want to be your friend.

3. Warning: Objections Incoming

Your reps are going to face objections. How are you preparing them to handle them? Do you have any creative ways to anticipate what prospects might say, and when they might say it, in order to defuse their resistance before it ever goes up?  

For example, you could re-tool the beginning of your cold call script to focus on priority drops or use social proof with other clients to keep the conversation moving. If you’re looking for more on objections and creative ways to handle them, download our free eBook, Outbound Sales: 10 Strategies to Close More Deals.

4. Trust Fall!

Trust between prospect and sales rep is important, but it’s hard. This is especially true when you give a prospect responsibilities like accepting an important meeting invite. Will they do it, or will they leave you hanging? 

In our eBook, Outbound Sales: 10 Strategies to Close More Deals, Dan Bigelow recommends a creative workaround for situations like this by incorporating an I-O-U. You can send the meeting invite, but also ask the prospect something like this:

“If you change your mind and don’t want to attend the meeting, can you send me an email back saying we don’t need to talk further? That way I’m not chasing you if you don’t want to talk.”

Get More Free Strategies Like This Now

5. We’re Basically Married

When a prospect drops this line on you, they’re either pushing you off the phone or they really want you to call them back in six months. Either way, your reps have to ensure they stay on this prospect’s radar. Send them informative blog posts, invite them to upcoming webinars, or engage with their social media posts. Stay top-of-mind so that when you call back, the prospect hasn’t forgotten who you are.

6. Sales, Uh, Finds a Way

When times are stressful in the sales world to keep focused on supporting the people around you. There’s not much to be gained when you bite someone’s head off (figuratively) like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park. The culture on your team and among your reps starts with you: make sure it’s one that you’re proud to be a part of that pushes everyone at a healthy pace. 

Shout out to Jeff Goldblum aka Dr. Ian Malcolm. We all love you.

7. OK, Gotta Go, Byeeeee

The only thing more important to salespeople than leads is time. You have to guard your time however you can, and you have to teach your team how to do the same. Don’t be afraid to politely indicate to your prospect that you need to get off the phone. Thank them for their time and move forward. After all, time spent on a call that’s going nowhere is time you could spend doing other activities that yield results.

8. DAM, I Miss the Old Kanye

Nikki Pitten shows us here the value in customizing sales memes to fit a specific industry or niche. She’s a BDR at Bynder, a Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform, and she likes to send her teammates DAM-specific sales memes. 

This one is a funny, friendly reminder about the kind of mentality they should all have regarding their product. It’s not a luxury item a prospect should add on top of what they have—Bynder is a need-to-have. Remember, mindset and intent are everything. And they’re both shaped by your day-to-day focus. 

If you want to customize this Kanye West meme for your team, you can find template images here.

11 Funny Sales Memes from Instagram

Instagram is a goldmine of super funny memes. For this blog, we scrolled through the accounts of @TrueSalesMemes and @TheAngrySalesperson in order to mine the highest quality sales memes for you. Check it out.

1. From Zero to 100 Anxiety, Real Quick

Despite what you might think, your sales manager or team leader is there to help you be the best salesperson you can be. It’s understandable to feel anxious when your numbers are low, especially if you’ve been in a rut lately. Try reaching out to your manager before it becomes a problem and ask for some additional training or help. And, managers, commit to engaging with your reps in healthy ways that help foster a positive team culture.

2. Remember Me?

Persistence is an important quality for successful salespeople. Now, if someone hangs up on you while you’re on the phone, it might not be worth your time to follow up with them over email. Still, there will be plenty of times when a follow up email works as an effective way to keep in touch with prospects and sustain sales momentum with them. Make sure you have a few templates that can be sent off quickly so you don’t get bogged down writing. 

Learn how you can send follow up email templates with one click on PhoneBurner.

3. Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen

When deals cancel, it can throw your entire pipeline forecast off balance. It’s easy to feel like you’ll never bounce back from something like that, so the best thing you can do is anticipate this potential reality. Try to always have a few deals in your back pocket that can fill the void left by unexpected cancellations. If all your deals cancel, stay calm: stick to your sales strategy, reach out to your peers for support, or ask managers for help.  

Also, if it helps put you at ease, Joe Exotic did in fact recover financially. He also went to prison. Don’t be like Joe Exotic.

4. I Thought We Were Friends?

Don’t take it personally, this sort of thing happens. If prospects are asking you to be put on a do-not-call list all the time though, you need to analyze your processes. Are you too pushy? Are you not pushy enough? Do you say the wrong things at the wrong stages of the conversation? Download our free eBook, Outbound Sales: 10 Strategies to Close More Deals, to get new strategies that keep prospects talking. 

Quick poll: Is Baby Yoda cuter than your dog or cat? Send us your answer on LinkedIn with a photo!

5. Did a 6-Year-Old Make This?

Anyone can come to the table and say they have a plan that’s going to help. But is it really well-thought out? As a sales leader, it’s imperative that you take your time and create a sales strategy that drives you and your team to success.  

Read Next: Sales Strategy Explained—Everything You Need to Know

6. Well, There Goes My Year

No deal is ever complete until that signature is on the contract. If you have a deal that’s close to signing, but they want to push, don’t be dismayed. First, reach out to your manager and think through some ways you can incentivize them to sign today. If the deal is truly set on signing at a later date, stay on top of them and use the momentum to kick off your next year, month, or week with a bang.  

Just in case you were wondering, Ben and Jen are definitely back together and engaged for a second time. I know you all really wanted to hear that super important bit of headline news. You’re welcome.

7. We All Make Mistakes

When you make a mistake, own it. In our eBook, Outbound Sales: 10 Strategies to Close More Deals, Jason Bay talks about the power of having real conversations over forcing sales pitches, and owning mistakes is one way to accomplish this: 

“In any conversation your reps have, they should never be afraid to show vulnerability. That’s what makes them feel human and authentic.  If they screw something up, they can say, “I really messed this up. Let me try again.”

It’s also OK to say “I don’t know” when your reps truly don’t know something about the product or service they’re selling.”

Your end goal is to forge trust with your prospects through authentic conversations, and showing vulnerability shows that you’re authentic. That’s what prospects want.

8. I’m Winded Already

About 63% of sales reps say cold calling is the worst part of their job. That’s not surprising since it’s difficult for anyone to get hung up on, barked at, or repeatedly told “No.” But companies that don’t use cold calling see 42% less growth than those that do. The key is to coach your reps to have no fear of the phone.  

Download our eBook, Outbound Sales: 10 Strategies to Close More Deals, and learn tactics and strategies that help ensure cold calling remains a cornerstone of your sales team’s success.

9. Never Underestimate a Receptionist

You’re going to come up against gatekeepers, like receptionists, often. It’s tempting to be crafty and change your voice, background, or reason for calling in order to get past them and to your prospect. However, sometimes it’s best to have a real conversation with the gatekeeper and be your authentic, sales self. As Dan Bigelow says in our eBook Outbound Sales: 10 Strategies to Close More Deals:

“Your goal is to set an appointment, not sell a deal. You want conversations. If people are hanging up on you and being jerks, it’s probably you—you might be needy, aggressive, or a jerk. Just be a good person, especially with gatekeepers, and it’ll make a big difference in your journey.”—Dan Bigelow

10. Ibuprofen Isn’t Helping

There’s nothing worse than getting all the way through a deal only to find the person you’re talking to isn’t a decision maker. Plus, it can be equally difficult to properly identify a decision maker prior to ever reaching out. If you can’t find a decision maker, aim lower and politely ask your target to loop in the person at their organization who is.

11. Stress Can’t Slow Me Down

Sales is stressful, nobody is arguing that fact. As you progress in your career, remember to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Be forgiving with your mistakes and graceful with your wins. Lean on each other for support, check in every now and again, and consider hosting team events where everyone can vent a little bit of steam. Stay calm, cool, collected, and controlled.

Send Us Your Best Sales Memes

For those of us who shared your funny sales memes with us, thank you for your contribution. If anyone else out there has a great sales meme they want to share, don’t hesitate to send it to us directly on LinkedIn. We’ll add it to this post and share it with the world.

Last, these sales memes are great fodder for conversations with your cold calls and prospects. Share the blog post with them directly! And if you're looking for more ways to spark interesting conversation with your prospects, check out our blog How to Make a Conversation Interesting.

The Ultimate Guide to Cold Calls and Outbound

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