The sales industry is a tough one to crack. It’s not for the faint of heart, and it requires a certain level of dedication and commitment that many people don’t have. But if you’re willing to
Sales movies are great because they teach salespeople how to sell. They also help salespeople learn how to close deals.
Sales movies are great for learning how to sell, but most salespeople aren’t interested in watching a movie about selling. Instead, they’d rather watch a movie about something else.
That’s why I’ve created a list of 15 sales movies anyone in sales should watch. [SPOILER ALERT]. These movies will teach you how to sell while simultaneously teaching you how to make a sale. This way, you can enjoy the movie without worrying about being sold.
The Best Sales Movies of All Time
Death of a Salesman
Sales movies are a great way to learn from others who have succeeded in sales. The best ones teach us valuable lessons about selling and life in general.
One of the most famous sales movies is Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller. It follows Willy Loman, a salesman whose dreams of success are shattered after his wife leaves him for another man.
He then loses everything he owns, including his house and car.
This movie has become a classic because it shows us how we can lose our self-esteem and confidence if we aren’t successful. We can feel like failures even though we haven’t done anything wrong.
We can also learn from the character Biff Tannen, played by Lee Marvin. He’s a bully who uses intimidation tactics to get what he wants. He doesn’t care whether he hurts anyone else along the way.
However, he learns a lesson about himself and realizes that he needs to change his behavior.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Wolf of Wall Street is one of my favorite sales movies. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who makes millions of dollars through illegal means.
Belfort becomes obsessed with making more money than everyone around him. He does whatever it takes to achieve this goal, including stealing money from clients, lying to them, and using drugs.
Belfort eventually goes too far, so he ends up getting arrested. After serving time in prison, he returns to work and uses illegal methods to make money.
This movie gives us insight into the mind of someone who thinks only of themselves. They don’t care about their friends or family members. They want to make money at any cost.
The Godfather
The Godfather is one of the greatest films ever made. It was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan.
It tells the story of Vito Corleone, a mob boss who rules New York City. He has three sons: Michael, Fredo, and Sonny. He believes they should take over the family business once he dies.
However, Michael refuses to follow his father’s wishes. He instead wants to start his own business. It causes problems between him and his father.
Eventually, Michael kills his brother Fredo, but he still has to pay for his crime. The movie ends with Michael taking control of the family business.
This film is full of lessons about leadership. For example, we see that sometimes you need to stand your ground against people who try to tell you what to do. You may disagree with them, but you have to respect their opinions.
If you’re in charge, you need to set clear expectations for your employees. Make sure they know exactly how things are supposed to be done.
If you’re a leader, then you need to lead by example. Don’t let other people influence you. Be strong enough to say “no” to others if they ask you to do something unethical.
Moneyball
In Moneyball, Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, uses unconventional methods to build his team into a contender. He finds undervalued players he believes will perform better than expected.
Beane also hires scouts who aren’t afraid to question conventional wisdom. These scouts help him find talented players who would otherwise go unnoticed.
One of these scouts is Peter Brand, who helps Beane identify an unknown player named Manny Ramirez. Beane decides to sign Ramirez because he knows he’ll be able to play first base.
Ramirez turns out to be a great hitter, and the A’s win the World Series after signing him.
Even though baseball isn’t like real life, this movie shows us that some principles apply across all industries. If you’re looking for ways to improve your company, you can learn from this movie.
For example, you might think that investing in new equipment is a waste of money. But it could give your company an advantage over competitors.
You might believe that hiring expensive consultants is a good idea. However, you could save a lot of money by using free online resources.
The Social Network
In The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg creates Facebook while attending Harvard University. He meets Eduardo Saverin, whose idea for the website comes later.
Zuckerberg eventually sold his half of the company to Saverin for $1 billion. After that, he started another company called Instagram.
Saverin doesn’t get along well with Zuckerberg. He thinks he’s being mistreated. So when Zuckerberg asks for more money, Saverin agrees to sell his shares back to him for only $100 million.
Saverin regrets selling his shares so soon, and he feels cheated by Zuckerberg. Eventually, he sued Zuckerberg for fraud.
This movie shows that sometimes friends don’t always treat each other fairly. It also teaches us that if someone tries to take advantage of you, you should fight back.
The Pursuit of Happiness
In The Pursuit of Happiness, Chris Gardner wants to become a professional basketball player. His father has been telling him that he needs to work harder in school.
So when he hears that a college scout is coming to watch him play, he takes the chance to impress him. Unfortunately, he ends up getting injured during practice.
Afterward, he realizes that he won’t make much money playing basketball. So he quits school and moves to New York City to pursue his dream.
He gets a job as a security guard at a hotel. Then he works odd jobs until he finds a job as a personal trainer.
Eventually, he becomes a successful businessman. And he goes on to write a book about his experiences. This movie shows us that no matter how hard we try, things may not turn out exactly how we want them to.
But if we keep working hard, we can achieve our goals.
The Big Kahuna
In The Big Kahuna, Eddie Murphy plays the title character. He’s a washed-up former pro surfer who lives in Hawaii.
When he loses everything in a surfing accident, he has to move back home to San Diego. There, he reconnects with his old friend, Jimmy Buffett.
Buffett convinces him to start a restaurant business. They opened a place called “Chez L’Ami.”
Murphy makes lots of money running the restaurant. But he still misses surfing. So he buys a boat and travels around the world searching for waves.
This movie shows us that we shouldn’t be afraid to follow our dreams. We just need to have confidence in ourselves.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
In The Secret Life of Walter Mitt Romney, Ben Stiller plays the title character. Walter is a mild-mannered guy who loves movies.
He spends most of his time watching films at his local video store. One day, he sees a movie called The Adventures of Robin Hood. It reminds him of his childhood adventures. So he decides to create a new story based on those memories.
He imagines himself as a hero named Walter Mitty. He saves people from danger and solves problems. Walter creates this fantasy life because he’s bored with his real one. He likes to pretend that he’s somebody else.
This movie shows how imagination can help us escape reality.
Jerry Maguire
In Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise plays the title character. Jerry is an advertising executive who hates his job.
He’s unhappy because he’s married to a woman named Renee Zellweger. She’s a famous actress who earns millions of dollars per picture. Jerry doesn’t understand why she keeps acting like a diva. So he starts having affairs with her co-stars.
One night, he meets a beautiful model named Elle MacPherson. He falls in love with her right away. She also happens to be dating another man. So Jerry uses his influence to get her to break up with him.
Then he tells her that he’ll do anything to win her heart. He even tries to sabotage her career. Finally, he wins her over. And they become lovers.
This movie shows that sometimes it’s better to give than receive. If you’re willing to put yourself out there, you might find someone special.
Love and Other Drugs
In Love and Other Drugs, Owen Wilson plays the title character. His name is David Bloom. He’s a college student who’s addicted to drugs.
David’s parents are divorced. His father left when he was young. And his mother is too busy raising their three kids to pay much attention to him.
David gets high all the time. Sometimes he feels depressed. Other times, he feels happy.
Sometimes he thinks that he wants to die. But other times, he feels that he wants more drugs. One day, he meets a girl named Sarah Tobias. She’s a drug addict who works at a coffee shop.
Sarah helps David kick his habit. Then she asks him if he’d ever considered quitting school to work full-time for her. David agrees. He leaves school and becomes her assistant.
Sarah teaches him about life. She encourages him to go back to school. And she helps him get his GED.
This movie shows what it means to live your dream. You don’t always have to wait until you’re older before you start living.
The Big Short
In The Big Short, Christian Bale plays the title character. He’s a stockbroker named Michael Burry.
Michael has been working long hours since graduating from university. He’s tired of being broke. So he invests his money into mortgage bonds. Banks created these bonds to make loans.
But many of them went bad. They couldn’t collect enough money to repay the investors. So Michael figures out that these bonds are worthless. He convinces his boss to let him short-sell them.
Short selling is borrowing shares from a broker. When the price drops, you repurchase them at a lower cost. Then you sell them on the open market. When the price rises again, you pocket the difference. This way, you can profit without risking any capital.
Michael buys thousands of shares. He then sells them to brokers. It causes the price to drop. When the price goes down, he repurchases the shares at a cheaper rate. He makes a lot of money this way.
This movie shows how financial markets can collapse. It also shows people who aren’t afraid to take risks.
Catch Me If You Can
In Catch Me If You Can, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale Jr. He’s an American con artist. Frank grew up in New Rochelle, New York. He lived with his family. And he attended public schools. Frank started stealing as a teenager. He would pretend to be sick to stay home from school.
Then he would use his mom’s credit card to buy things like clothes and food. Eventually, he became good at it. He would steal millions of dollars worth of merchandise. He even managed to fool airline officials. So they gave him first-class tickets.
Frank used fake identification and forged checks. He convinced people to invest in bogus companies. And he stole over $5 million.
Eventually, he got caught. He served five years in prison. After he got out, he moved to France. There, he worked as a bellboy at the Ritz Hotel. He married a French woman named Luisa Toscanini. They had two children together. Frank was eventually arrested again. He spent another three years in jail.
After he got out, Frank made some changes. He stopped using aliases. He changed his appearance. And he began studying law.
While watching all these movies, remember that salespeople aren’t always perfect. Sometimes they fail, and sometimes they succeed. But if you learn from their mistakes, you can avoid making similar mistakes yourself.
For example, if you watch the movie Catch Me If You Can, you’ll notice that Frank Abagnale was caught after trying to pass off fake checks. However, he learned from his mistake and became a successful businessman. So, if you ever find yourself tempted to try to scam someone, just remember that Frank Abagnale did it, and you can too!
Door to Door
Tom Hanks stars as Phil Simms, a salesman for United Van Lines in Door to Door. His job is to convince homeowners to move. He has to do this every day.
Phil works hard. He stays late. And he often travels long distances. Sometimes he drives more than 1,000 miles in one day.
Phil loves what he does. He likes talking to people. And he enjoys helping others. He’s been doing this since he was 16 years old.
One day, Phil gets into an accident. The car he’s driving flips over. Fortunately, no one gets hurt. But the company won’t let him work until he recovers.
Phil isn’t happy about this. He wants to get back to selling. So he starts working door to door. It means that he visits homes and tries to sell them moving services.
It’s not easy. People are busy. And they don’t want to hear about moving. But Phil keeps trying. He goes door to door several times a week. He uses different techniques. And he never gives up.
He also learns how to deal with customers who are rude or uncooperative. These are problems that most salespeople face. So when you’re dealing with demanding customers, keep in mind that Phil Simms faced the same challenges.
Glengarry Glen Ross
In Glengarry Glen Ross, Al Pacino plays Michael Lomax, a real estate agent. He makes money by finding buyers for houses. He lives in Los Angeles.
Michael doesn’t have much luck. He spends so much time searching for properties that he barely has time to meet clients.
Michael is frustrated. He feels like he’s wasting his life. So he decides to quit. Then he meets Jack Lime (played by Alec Baldwin). Jack tells Michael that he should stay in business. He says that there are plenty of opportunities. All Michael needs to do is look harder.
Jack convinces Michael to change his attitude. He helps him see things differently. And he teaches him how to be more positive.
When Michael finally finds a property, he sells it quickly. It turns out that he wasn’t wasting his time at all. Instead, he was learning valuable lessons.
So whenever you feel like giving up, think about Jack Lime. Remember that he encouraged Michael to stick with the business. Now he’s living proof that it pays off.
Cadillac Man
Sales movies are a great way to learn from other companies’ successes and mistakes. These films give you insight into how others have achieved success, and they can help you avoid making similar mistakes yourself.
One of the best sales movies of all time is Cadillac Man. Another one of Robin Williams’s masterclasses. It follows the story of a salesman who gets fired after he sells his boss a car that doesn’t work.
He then goes on to sell cars for a living. The movie shows him going through various challenges along the way, including dealing with a demanding customer and finding love.
It’s easy to watch this film and feel inspired to follow in his footsteps. However, if you want to learn from his experience, you should try to emulate his actions rather than just watch the movie.
For example, instead of trying to sell a car to someone who has no interest in buying it, you could ask questions to determine whether they’d be interested in buying.
This approach would allow you to build rapport with potential customers, crucial to selling anything. It’s also a much better strategy than forcing a sale on someone who doesn’t want it.
Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy is an excellent sales movie because it takes place in a very realistic setting. It’s based on a true story.
The main character is Tommy Walker. He works as a salesman for a company called “Walker Electric.” His job is to find new customers.
Unfortunately, he’s not very good at his job. He constantly misses appointments. And he rarely closes deals.
He thinks that his bad performance is due to being lazy. But actually, he’s struggling because he lacks self-confidence. He believes that people will only buy from him if he’s perfect.
He wants to improve himself. Fortunately, he eventually learns how to overcome these problems.
By the end of the film, he’s become a successful salesman. And he’s even met his future wife! If you have trouble closing sales, you may need to look at your personality. You might realize that you lack confidence or don’t believe in yourself.
In either case, you’ll probably benefit from watching Tommy Boy. By seeing how he overcame his obstacles, you’ll get inspiration to do the same.
The Bottom Line:
In conclusion, salespeople have a lot of tools at their disposal, but most of us aren’t using them effectively. We tend to rely too much on our instincts, which means we do things like trying to close deals when we should be focusing on building relationships.
But if you want to become a better salesperson, you need to understand the psychology behind why people buy and sell. And that’s where movies come in.
They show us exactly what we need to see to improve our skills. So go watch a movie and take notes. Then apply what you learned from watching the movie to your own sales process.
