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We have a very popular proverb which says:

A good product is not the sales person who recommends that you to buy it and compliments a lot about it. A good product has a high quality and the buyer would not need any compliments to buy it. They would choose these products themselves without any suggestions or specific advertisements.

We even use this proverb when we are talking about a person's qualities. For example, imagine two colleagues talking about a company's new member who they have heard lots of good things about him/her. One of them says:

  • Tom (his/her direct manager who has hired the new member) said that he/she is a real talent.

The other one says:

  • [the proverb in question]

Question: I was wondering if someone could let me know what do the AmE speakers say in such a situation and is there any equivalent saying or particular proverb for that concept in AE at all?

Apparently, there are some translations which can convey the message, but I have no idea if they work in AmE or not. I have no idea if they are contemporary, or how well known they are or if they are considered old-fashioned.

  • A good car doesn’t need a salesman, it sells itself.

  • A good wine needs no buss.

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    How many questions have you got in all? Three? Then you should make a thread for each question.
    – Michael Rybkin
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 13:26
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    I think the question is pretty clear. What is a phrase along the lines of "it sells itself" that can possibly apply to people as well as objects?
    – user42526
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 16:21
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    I fail to see how this question is "too broad"? OP is asking if there is an English equivalent for a particular proverb, with quite a bit of supporting detail about how and where it's used in his own native language. It can be answered with one proverb that spans these two use cases, or two separate proverbs to cover these two use cases. Either way it's a clear, simple, and targeted question that can be easily answered.
    – Andrew
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 0:03
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    If I've misinterpreted the meaning in the title, it was a little too wordy, just edit the title. Hope the edit helps, the question shows thought, research and care. I like it!
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 8:51
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    "Time will tell." "His performance will speak for itself." "The results will speak for themselves." Do any of these help?
    – Teacher KSHuang
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 9:19

2 Answers 2

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You can use "(Has to) speak for itself":

If something speaks for itself, it is clear and needs no further explanation

For example:

Don't tell me which one is good, I can see it and it has to speak for itself.

Here is another example from TheFreeDictionary:

I think my work these past few months speaks for itself and makes me more than qualified for this position.

You can also use "the proof of the pudding is in the eating":

said to mean that you can only judge the quality of something after you have tried, used, or experienced it

And here is another one: "A good wine needs no bush" (I think it's less common):

An item of good quality needs no advertisement.

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Tom (his/her direct manager who has hired the new member) said that he/she is a real talent.

The other one should say:

He's a natural. / She's a natural.

For the other questions, please create separate threads.

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    I humbly disagree. I'm quite sure one can say it in a much better way @cookie monster in AmE. Meanwhile how it can encompass the product example?
    – A-friend
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 21:13
  • There are no other questions, please see the edit history. The post needed a little pruning and reorganisation.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 8:49
  • Suggestions for improving the question, like breaking it into multiple questions, should be made in comments Cookie Monster. That way when the author updates their question, your answer won't have obsolete content in it.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 12:40

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