Literal translation
Who paints sells
Meaning
a good pitch makes the sale
Explanation
This saying claims that a good seller is not necessarily the one with the best merchandise, but the one who knows how to present and describe it with the most skill, much as a painter turns an ordinary subject into an appealing picture. The verb pinta (to paint) is used here figuratively for the art of describing, of embellishing with words, of painting a picture of the goods so convincing that the buyer is won over by the story as much as by the object itself. The short, symmetrical construction, who paints sells, gives the proverb the feel of a universal piece of business wisdom, fitting the marketplace as much as any negotiation where talk matters more than the product. It is used to stress the importance of sales talk, of a good pitch or of storytelling skill in making a sale, with a touch of amused complicity toward clever sellers, without necessarily implying dishonesty.