Best Sales Movies…Ever.
If you spend much time with sales people there is always the scene-referencing-line-quoting-bad-impersonating portion of the conversation. Every conversation. Certain company cultures are rampant with it. So, let’s embrace that part of our shared consciousness.
Your challenge: what are the best sales movies ever? Defining the rules: I am looking for those movies that demonstrate great skills, strategies, ideas and personalities around sales. Major movies, minor movies, foreign films and YouTube entrants welcome (for YouTube, you must include the link). I am going to take a few obvious ones off of the table:
- Glengary, Glen Ross – greatest sales manager speech ever
- Tin Men – techniques and delivery
- Cadillac Man – negotiation skills…under pressure
- Planes, Trains and Automobiles – airport scene selling shower rings
- Boiler Room – prospecting, the shared human experience and struggle
We are looking for the less obvious, the unique and, yes, the bizarre choices that you think illustrate key elements of sales and the sales professional experience. Share your ideas here and we will post the 10 best up in a future newsletter.
Let’s see what you got…
“Who’s comin’ with me?”
Tom Cruise’s infamous line in Jerry Maguire, the film that immediately comes to mind for me when asked for a my favorite sales-movie suggestion. Jerry Maguire was the ultimate MAVERICK in his company, lashing out against stifling management, and going on to create a business that was determined through his own vision. Too bad Tom Cruise’s current headlines have taken on a slightly different tone…
1I’m going to have to stick with the golden standard:
The Music Man
Now there’s a man who knew how to sell anything….even himself.
2Hmm…the photo of you on the right kinda looks like Alec at the top….is coffee just for closers?
3Although it may sound silly, I think the movie Tommy Boy should be on the list. Tommy goes through all of the ups and downs that a person new to sales has gone through at one time or another. Then all of the sudden, while trying to order chicken wings, it hits him what he has been doing wrong. He corrects his actions and goes on to become an effective, albeit not too politically correct, salesperson. The best example of his sales skills and overcoming objections is during a dialogue with his customer Ted Nelson concerning the “Guarantee” that a competitor puts on the box. If you haven’t seen it, rent it or Google the exchange for a good laugh.
4Not the most uplifting movie in the world but Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman.
5I have always thought of The Godfather as a sales movie.
“My father always taught me to understand how the people around me think.” The key to understanding buyers. Of course- there are plenty of great quotable lines that just work in sales meetings…
- Sonny’s talking about going to the mattresses
- They’re taking hostages
- Leave the gun, take the cannolis
- I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse
- If I had a Sicilian consigliere, a wartime consigliere, I wouldn’t be in this situation…
I could go on.
6Tom, you really have me thinking “outside of the box” now. This will be my last post, I promise. You threw me a curve ball with The Godfather. I’m going to throw a curve as well. This is precisely why I will not post another movie reference. The movie I am going to suggest is “Tequila Sunrise”. This is a movie about a drug dealer who is “trying” to go on the straight and narrow. However, when you are good at something no one wants you to stop. Here is the best quote in the movie by Dale McKussic; “Nobody wants me to quit. You know, don’t quit. Don’t get caught. Stay on top long enough for us to knock you off. I mean, that’s the motto around here. Nobody wants me to quit. The cops want to bust me. The Colombians want my connections. My wife, she wants my money. Her lawyer agrees and mine likes getting paid to argue with him. Nobody wants me to quit. I haven’t even mentioned my customers here. You know they don’t want me to quit.” If that doesn’t sum up what a sales person on top of his / her game feels like, I’m not sure what does. Sometimes when you get so good at selling, you entertain the idea of moving into management, engineering, so on and so forth, but the reality is “No one wants you to quit”…………….
7Great quote! Don’t make it your last post!
8Since we are outside of the box- let’s stay there for a minute. I submit “An Inconvenient Truth”- this entry comes under the category of Most Effective Use of PowerPoint in a sales presentation.
Wow – some great movies here (and a few I’ll have to check out). I’ll add the movie Hitch as one of my choices.
Not really sure if it makes the “out of the box” group but I’m guessing most people wouldn’t include a romantic comedy in their Best sales movies list. Which is funny considering throughout the movie Will Smith’s character shares several “nuggets of wisdom” that easily translate from the personal to the professional:
60% of all human communication is nonverbal, body language; 30% is your tone, so that means 90% of what you’re saying ain’t coming out of your mouth
And when you really think about it, what is sales other than the art of building (and maintaining) relationships?
9Such excellent films listed! While it illustrated the horrors of global weapons trade, LORD OF WAR starring Nicholas Cage should be submitted. Cage, as Yuri Orlov, is a (bit psychotic) sales man in the art of international arms. Such ruthless quotes as “I sell to leftists, and rightists. I sell to pacifists, but they’re not the most regular customers.” and “Back then, I didn’t sell to Osama Bin Laden. Not because of moral reasons, but because he was always bouncing checks.” truly brought the ills of the character to light. Despite the violence and tragedy caused by his trades, it is the conversation Yuri has with his wife when she demands he stop, as they have enough money, that summed up the glory of ultimate Salesmenship. “It’s not about the money”, he says. “What is it about?” “I am good at it”, he replies.
Comic relief: It’s not a film but I have to jokingly toss in Donald Trump’s House of Chicken (Saturday Night Live 04/08).
10The Donald: “Am I saying I’m a chicken wing expert? No. But I can tell you this – the wing is hands down the best part of the chicken. Better than the head. Better than the torso. Better than the back! And at Donald Trump’s House of Wings, you can get them with five different levels of hotness – Regular, Hot, Three Alarm, Suicidal – and Hell Spawn!” Only The Donald!
These are all great, but they made me think about Ocean’s 11 when Clooney is trying to get Pitt’s character to get into the con . . .
Rusty: Why do this?
Danny: Why not do it?
[Rusty shakes his head]
Danny: Cause yesterday I walked out of the joint after losing four years of my life and you’re cold-decking “Teen Beat” cover boys.
[pause]
Danny: Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet and you bet big, then you take the house.
[another pause]
Rusty: Been practicing this speech, haven’t you?
Danny: Little bit. Did I rush it? Felt I rushed it.
Rusty: No, it was good, I liked it. The “Teen Beat” thing was harsh.
Sometimes, the lines we use come across as just good lines, and sometimes in sales that is okay, and sometimes a good line lacks authenticity. Even if it is rehearsed, it better not sound rehearsed.
11This is a great topic. I believe I now have a few new films to watch.
Here are a few of my top picks:
1. The Big Kahuna
2. Swimming with Sharks
3. The Hudsucker Proxy “You know… For Kids…”
My last submission is way outside of the box, for those of you that have seen you’ll probably agree.
124. Escanaba in da Moonlight (Any links between Whale Hunting and bagging a big buck?)
Great post! Just wanted to let you know you have a new subscriber- me!
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