Below is my list of the top 10 sales movies of all time!
Yes, it was hard narrowing the list to 10 and you’ll see I have 5 “honorable mentions.”
Holding the #1 position without a doubt is “Tommy Boy.” From the first time I saw it, this movie resonated with me as an epic sales movie.
Countless times I’ve mentioned “Tommy Boy” to a group of salespeople, and at least one person will rattle off the great lines from the movie. If you haven’t watched it, you need to. If you have watched it you need to watch it again.
Top 10 Sales Movies of all Time …. Or at least my time…
1. “Tommy Boy” starring Chris Farley, David Spade, Rob Lowe, Bo Derek and Dan Akroyd
2. “Stripes” starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy
3. “Animal House” starring John Belushi
4. “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith
5. “Napolean Dynamite” starring Jon Heder
6. “Caddyshack” starring Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, Rodney Dangerfield
7. “Ghostbusters” starring Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver
8. “Black Sheep” starring Chris Farley, David Spade, Gary Busey
9. “The Blues Brothers” starring John Belushi, Dan Akroyd
10. “Glengarry Glen Ross” starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey
Honorable Mention:
- “Tin Men” starring Richard Dreyfus, Danny DeVito, Barbara Hershey
- “Jerry Maguire” starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renee Zellweger
- “Barbarians at the Gate” starring James Garner
- “Wall Street” starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen
- “Cadillac Man” starring Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, Pamela Reed, Fran Dreschler
- “Boiler Room” starring Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck
Are these movies all on the “must watch” for any salesperson? Yes!!!
You’ll notice the movies on my list are not going to be found on anyone else’s list of greatest sales movies and that’s just fine with me.
Several of the movies have zero to do with sales directly, yet in their own way, each one has huge insights from which anyone can learn.
For you traditionalists out there, the traditional sales movies are on my honorable mention list. Yes, they’re all good, but chances are you know they’re good. My objective is to give you additional movies you can learn from.
Watch “Stripes” and don’t tell me you don’t see at least a dozen situations where Bill Murray and Harold Ramis aren’t selling something. The level of engagement, communication skills and negotiation tactics they use are priceless.
“Animal House” starring John Belushi is full of incredible sales tactics, including stalling, reframing, using silence, and exhibiting confidence. All of these are full of valuable insights.
You will notice absent from the list is “The Wolf of Wall Street.” It might be a good movie and it might be a good movie about sales, but I have not seen it nor do I intend to see it for one simple reason — the vulgar language. Fortunately, there are plenty of other movies with great sales messages.
If you have not seen some of the movies on my list, I encourage you see them! I bet you will find fresh insights on sales motivation that you had never considered.
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
