If sales were movies, they wouldn’t be the ones that probably come to mind. I am sick and tired of all the Glenn Glary and Glenn Ross and Boiler Room comparisons of sales. So I decided to rewrite the narrative. Here are a few movie references you’ve probably never thought about in relation to sales. Get out the popcorn, because you don’t have to stick to the same old sales movies to learn a lesson or two.
If Sales Was based on The Wizard of Oz
- Dorothy – Represents you, the salesperson.
- Auntie Em – Represents your earliest champion, who has left the company.
- Toto – WBFF (Work Best Friend Forever).
- Glinda, The Good Witch of the North – Your ultimate sales leader who will coach you through things, even when they are not around.
- Munchkins – Represent all the end users of your product/service who see the value.
- The Yellow Brick Road – Represents your career.
- Scarecrow – The Sales Manager who wants your tool/service for their team but cannot make it happen.
- The Lion – Represents your impostor syndrome.
- The Tin Man – This represents the first real conversation you’ve had in a few weeks. You’re a little rusty.
- The Winged Monkeys – Represent the Build vs. Buy objection.
- Wicked Witch of the West – Represents the CFO or Procurement Department.
- The Wizard – Represents the CEO, who says yes to everything, but defers all decisions to the group.
- The Ruby Slippers – Your signed contract.
If Sales Was Based On Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
- Charlie – The salesperson.
- Grandpa Joe – A sales leader who coaches regularly.
- Candy Man – The marketing eepartment.
- Augustus Gloop – Your CEO who pulls your sales goals out of thin air.
- Veruca Salt – The cancerous sales rep on your team.
- Violet Beauregarde – The one who you think is your champion, but keeps asking for the trial to be extended.
- Mike Teavee – Your champion, but won’t intro you to the buying committee.
- Arthur Slugsworth – IT/ Security Review.
- Willy Wonka – Your customer, especially when selling to IT/HR Department.
- The Glass Elevator Red Button – When you get verbal “send the contract” and keep refreshing your inbox to see if the signed contract came through.
If Sales Was Based on Top Gun
- Maverick – The greatest sales leader is alive who is tough, but fair.
- Goose – Salesperson.
- Iceman – Customers’ CFO or Procurement Department.
- Viper – Customers’ IT Department.
- Rooster – Customer Success, but not sure they want to upsell/cross-sell.
- Hangman – The SDR who wants to be promoted in 6 weeks.
- The Aircraft Carrier When the Pattern is Full – Being ghosted by your prospect.
- The Flyby – When that contract you thought wasn’t going to be signed, actually comes in at 11:30pm on the last day of the quarter.
If Sales Was Based on Star Wars (Episode IV)
- Luke – An SDR who is committed to the craft and becomes an amazing sales person and sales leader.
- Obi-Wan Kenobi – Your first sales leader you really liked and 3 months after hiring you, they left the company.
- R2D2 – WBFF (Work Best Friend Forever).
- C3PO – Sales Engineering.
- Leia – Your prospect.
- Han Solo – The grumpy Gus, 20-year veteran on your sales team that thinks sales training is a waste of time.
- Chewy – The other veteran salesperson on your team who coaches you.
- Darth Vader – CFO.
Can you think of any other movies to add? Next time you are watching a non-sales related movie, think of comparisons and you just might find some correlation to your own career.
