5 Tips on Sales You Can Learn From Movies and Television

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December 23, 2014 | By RGR Marketing Blog

Taking Sales Ques from the Big Screen: Lessons on Film

Real-world salespeople know that not everything happens quite like it does in the movies or on television shows. In fact, sometimes truth is far stranger than fiction. Still, there are plenty of lessons that sales thoughtful and interested personnel can glean from the many silver screen closers we’ve seen over the past several years. Let’s take a look at some of the more memorable scenes from film and television that feature tried and true lessons to help your sales team close more deals.

The Office – Kickstart My Heart

When going into a sales meeting, it’s important to feel your best, even if it takes listening to Motley Crüe and playing air guitar to get you there. When you’re confident and feeling ready to kick butt and take names, your prospects are all the more likely to sign on that dotted line.

The Music Man – Ya Got Trouble

In the 1962 musical The Music Man, con man Harold Hill descends on River City, Iowa, with the intention of swindling the local populace by selling them on creating a marching band for young men, and then pulling a vanishing act with the money he’s collected.

The film does nothing for the reputation of salespeople, but the musical number “Ya Got Trouble” is an excellent example of creating need for a product. In it, Robert Preston’s character positions the local pool halls as a virulent breeding ground for sloth and antisocial behavior. The antidote? A marching band, of course.

Now we’re not advocating that you sell anything you don’t intend to deliver, nor are we recommending that you perform musical numbers for your sales prospects, unless you can pull it off. But the way this fictional grifter drums up demand by positioning his offering as a solution for a looming threat is certainly effective.

Fight Club – Every Scene With Tyler Durden

It’s hard to picture anyone but Brad Pitt in the role of Tyler Durden, and even if you read Fight Club before seeing the movie, his performance is likely still inextricably linked to that character in your memory. This is due in no small part to the fact that great actors imbue their characters with depth and intensity.

The lesson for salespeople is to be memorable in a positive way. We all deal with hundreds of salespeople every year, but only a few stick in our memories. Some are memorable for sending thoughtful holiday cards, and others for making genuine human connections. Think about those sales professionals whose names you still remember, and figure out ways to bottle a little of their magic, so you can use it to make your own relationship-building efforts a bit more successful.

Apocalypse Now – Opening Sequence

The Doors’ “The End” plays in the background, winding serpentine and ominous as the jungle heat bends the trees in the distance. Then, just as legendary front man Jim Morrison shatters the hush, the greenery is set ablaze by napalm. It’s an opening scene that few moviegoers could shake from their minds, no matter how many years have gone by.

The actual content of Apocalypse Now’s opening scene is a bit gloomy for a sales pitch, but the principle is sound: open strong. Don’t waste time on background information. Get right to the sizzle by identifying your client’s pain points and formulating solutions that go straight to the heart of the matter – what you have to offer them is exactly what they need.

Glengarry Glen Ross – Coffee’s for Closers

In Alec Baldwin’s scenery-chewing monologue, he berates his sales staff for complaining about the quality of their leads. Effective sales professionals know that even “dead” leads can be worked into sales, and that downtime should be used for creating opportunities – not for sitting around, drinking coffee, and commiserating about missed opportunities.

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Taking Sales Ques from the Big Screen: Lessons on Film

The Office – Kickstart My Heart

The Music Man – Ya Got Trouble

Fight Club – Every Scene With Tyler Durden

Apocalypse Now – Opening Sequence

Glengarry Glen Ross – Coffee’s for Closers

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money today!

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Taking Sales Ques from the Big Screen: Lessons on Film

The Office – Kickstart My Heart

The Music Man – Ya Got Trouble

Fight Club – Every Scene With Tyler Durden

Apocalypse Now – Opening Sequence

Glengarry Glen Ross – Coffee’s for Closers

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