These are the top 15 movies about sales. Not just any movies simply the best sales movies on the planet.
As sales hustlers who go and give value to our customers every single day (even then they’re the ones being rude, brash and even mean) these movies don’t always represent who we truly are.
They do however provide some interesting insights into the mind of the salesman.
Used Cars
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejbC9G_Tpmo?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Kurt Russell plays a smooth talking hustler who dreams of becoming a state senator. Throwing out his catch phrase “Trust me!” regularly he puts on a great showing of charm and charisma.
Jerry Maguire
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTFJocQBLyE?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Tom Cruise kills it! All you need to take away from this film is the line “SHOW MEEE THE MONEYYY”.
The Wolf of Wall Street
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
This is one of my favourite films of all time (alongside The Departed from the same director and similar cast) so it jumps straight in near the top of this list.
The takeaway for salesman from the Wolf is to know the power of the telephone to close deals. His empire was built on top of it.
Death of a Salesman (1985)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsJhonpcetk?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
This charming (and Emmy award winning) adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play is a made for TV movie but it tells Millers story perfectly.
It’s a grim parable of a tragic life but there is food for thought in there for all salespeople.
Moneyball
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiAHlZVgXjk?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Not necessarily about ‘selling’ but it’s a great look at what can be done when the numbers are right. Remember, sales is all about the numbers.
Seize the Day
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjF9jnu9LI?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
It’s difficult to find a copy of but it’s an interesting look at a middle aged mans (Robin Williams) struggle with poverty and divorce while working in sales.
It shows the moment a man’s natural sales skills fail him and the consequences of this moment.
In Pursuit of Happyness
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emzARZsJntw?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Chris Gardner (Will Smith) will not only give you some cold call tips but show you that you’re not just your job, you are what your job allows you to do.
To succeed in sales you must have your priorities right. The film asks you to define what your sales motivation is.
Tin Men
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajetxCpdwbY?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Danny DeVito kills it as he and a rival aluminum-siding salesmen battle it out on the same territory.
For us millennials it gives an interesting insight as to what sales in the 1960s must have been like (before email existed, never mind smartphones).
Glengarry Glen Ross
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVQPY4LlbJ4?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
You’ve all seen the famous ABC seen (which has some truth) but there are plenty more wins for salesmen in this film.
It shows the importance of the quality of your sales leads and why being tough talking can be a powerful sales tool on occasion.
Tommy Boy
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y_IHhshQcg?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
This is perhaps a tale of what not to do in sales but it makes it to this list for comedy value alone.
It’s an interest look at the declining role of the outbound salesman.
Diamond Men
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BVn1_sg5p8?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Robert Forster plays Eddie Miller, a veteran traveling jewelry salesman who has recently faced a heart attack and so needs to retire.
Charged with training up a young, green salesman an unlikely friendship develops between them and they start on a journey they didn’t expect to end up on.
Lord of War
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke79K4bO4P8?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Ever wanted to take a look into the world of arms dealing? The main character would have you believe that selling AK-47s to African warlords is not really much different than selling orthopedic shoes to senior citizens.
Ultimately, it’s all a matter of treating your customer with respect.
Love & Other Drugs
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6w7Dh-QxzY?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
This is an interesting look into the changing world of Pharma reps and the potential for some rather slippery methods of closing deals.
Though marketed as a love story, it’s the film’s unique look at the competitive world of medical sales that makes it worth watching.
The Big Kahuna
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSbimlrX-dE?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Kevin Spacey kills it as an industrial lubricant salesman. The plot thickens as the 3 man sales team waits for the arrival of a prospective customer they’ve privately dubbed “The Big Kahuna,” whose potential sales would turn the struggling company around…
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0i0Cpcz_do?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0]
Who is Don Ready? Salesman? Lover? Song Stylist? Semi-professional dolphin trainer? Ready is all of the above – except for a dolphin trainer. When he’s asked to help save an ailing local car dealership from bankruptcy, Ready and his ragtag crew descend on the town of Temecula like a pack of coyotes on a basket full of burgers.
