The dangers of going to a prospect's house.

Published: Wed, 12/29/21

December 29, 2021

Good morning. Well here we are… the last few days of the year. We know you’ve got your hands full, so today, we’re gonna keep it light. In this issue, we’ll tell you about some (pretty decent) sales movies you’ve probably never heard of before, double up on the memes, and give some advice to a recruiter whose new job isn’t working out as planned. Happy New Year!

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

Percentage of sales reps who would be motivated to leave their current position for one with higher pay.

Source: Dooly – 2021 Happiness Index

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

In a bit of positive holiday news, a car salesman from Burlington, Wisconsin surprised a woman with a free Chevrolet for the holidays. Daniel Dace, who has been selling cars for five years, gave the 76-year-old Milwaukee woman a 2009 Chevrolet Impala that he bought from the dealership where he works. The woman was chosen out of 125 entrants into a contest Dace ran on Facebook, as part of his effort to give back to the community. You can read the touching story here.
A recent study commissioned by a mental-health wellness app found that nearly a quarter of salespeople were diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder or depression in the past 12 months, a number that’s three times higher than the national average. The study found that the majority of those surveyed stated that a lack of compassion from management has negatively impacted their mental health. You can read the press release here.

MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

FEATURE

The Founder – Source: IMDB

6 Pretty Good Sales Movies That You've Probably Never Heard Of Before

Everyone knows the famous sales movies -- Glengarry Glen Ross, Boiler Room, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Tommy Boy usually round up the top of people’s lists. Though few and far between, especially considering that sales is a massive profession, these movies have become cult classics, and have impacted sales culture tremendously, offering representation to a profession that tends to have very little, despite its size and ubiquity.

But there are other sales movies out there that most sales reps have probably never heard of before. Ranging from drama to comedy, these flicks never broke through to the sales world at large, despite having respectable actors, a good premise, and true-to-life scenarios that all salespeople can relate to.

We wanted to track down some of these hidden classics to help you out the next time you’re scrolling through Netflix or Amazon Prime and looking for something to watch. Though some of these are a bit different from the better-known sales movies, they’re definitely worth checking out.

1. Seize the Day

This movie, based on Saul Bellow’s book of the same name, stars the beloved Robin Williams, who plays Tommy Wilhelm, a down-on-his luck traveling salesman of children’s furniture who loses his job and leaves Massachusetts for New York City. With alimony and child support looming, Wilhelm moves into the same hotel where his father, Dr. Adler lives, despite the strained relationship between the pair. Wilhelm soon becomes involved with Dr. Tamkin, his father’s friend, who convinces Wilhelm to put up the money for a risky investment scheme. From there, things get more complicated, as Wilhlem looks back on his life, wondering where it all went wrong. It’s not the happiest of movies, but with sales plus Robin Williams, you can’t really go wrong.

2. Suckers

Only available on DVD, this movie is an underground cult favorite among car salespeople. Filmed in 2001, the only well-known actor in the entire flick is (ahem) Lori Loughlin of all people! The story centers around a guy named Bobby, who finds himself in debt to a handful of bookies. In an effort to repay what he owes, he takes a job as a car salesman, and is quickly thrown into a world of tricks, gimmicks, and deceit. While the plot (and acting) isn’t anything to write home about, some of the comedy is absurd enough to earn a smile. It’s certainly no Wolf of Wall Street, but it’s like if Wolf of Wall Street had 175,000 miles on it, a new paint job, and came with a salvage title.

3. A Hologram for the King

America’s favorite generic-role actor, Tom Hanks, stars in this comedy-drama based on a book of the same name by David Eggers. Hanks plays Alan Clay, a tech salesman for an American company who is sent to Saudi Arabia to sell a holographic teleconferencing system to the Saudi Government. Clay is depressed, mourning his divorce, his financial status, and his role in outsourcing hundreds of American jobs to China at his previous employer, Schwinn. The movie mostly takes place in Saudi Arabia, where Clay gets himself into awkward situations, but ultimately finds redemption in both his professional and personal life. It’s a low-risk, feel-good movie, and one that provides a glimpse into higher-end international corporate sales. If Tom Hanks can’t pull it off, then no one can.

4. The Founder

This movie is our personal favorite, and a must-watch for anyone who wants to see just how far one man’s grit and ambition can take him, no matter what (or who) stands in his way. Michael Keaton (arguably the best Batman) plays Ray Kroc, a struggling milkshake machine salesman who discovers a tiny, stand-alone restaurant called McDonald’s, owned by two brothers, in San Bernardino, California. Kroc convinces the McDonald brothers to let him expand their business, and before long, McDonald’s is a fast-food powerhouse, but not without serious personal cost to the brothers and to Kroc’s own family. This movie shows the dark side of ambition, and paints Kroc as both the visionary, and ruthless businessman he was known to be. It’s one heck of an entertaining flick.

5. Diamond Men

Diamond Men stars legendary actor Robert Forster and the less-legendary Wahlberg brother, Donnie. Forster plays a traveling jewelry salesman who sells his wares to Mom & Pop stores in Pennsylvania. After thirty years in business, Forster is planning his retirement, recovering from a heart attack, the death of his wife, and a corporate take-over that he believes will soon terminate his employment. His last assignment is to train his younger, big-mouthed replacement, and they set off across the state, learning what they can from each other. While Wahlberg leaves a lot to be desired, Forster’s performance makes this movie worth a watch.

6. Cedar Rapids

Another fun sales comedy, Cedar Rapids stars comedy actor Ed Helms, who plays a naive insurance agent from a small town in Wisconsin. After having his marriage proposal (to his former elementary school teacher) rejected, Helm’s character Tim is sent to a regional insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he finds out that not all is as it seems in the buttoned-up world of insurance sales. A fun, slightly-raunchy comedy, this is a good flick for anyone who appreciates the nonsense that is the modern-day sales convention, and the strange, random personalities we all come in contact with while working in sales.

MEME OF THE YEAR

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

“I’m not sure if this is an actual Sales Fail, because it wasn’t my customer, but back in 2006, I was working in the mortgage industry, and a woman I worked with was doing a refinance for this guy. Everything was over the phone, so she’d never met him in person.

Anyway, one day, she needed him to sign some documents, and it was very time-sensitive, so we didn’t have time to FedEx them to him and wait for him to send them back (back then, we were using fax more often than electronic signatures etc.). The guy lived about twenty-five minutes from our office, but she didn’t feel comfortable going there, because he would make inappropriate comments to her over the phone and ask her about her personal life and whether she was single. Anyway, the manager decided it would be safer to send one of the guys over there, and I was still relatively new and didn’t mind getting out of the office for a bit, so I volunteered to go, and the woman actually let me take her brand new BMW to make the drive.

So I pull up to the house, and it’s a pretty run down ranch on a side road, but nothing too horrendous. When I get to the door, I hear classic rock blasting at basically full volume. Eventually, the guy comes to the door, his eyes are totally glassy and bloodshot red, and he invites me in and offers me a beer (which I declined). So we go to the couch and I give him the documents to sign and he lays them out on the table. The music is blasting, there are empty beer bottles everywhere, and I see what looks like white powder residue on the coffee table.

This guy can barely pay attention as I show him where to sign, and keeps trying to get me to talk about my female coworker instead. I look over, and see a black handgun on the side table next to him and start looking for the back door, in case I need to make an escape. I was truly getting myself mentally ready to have to fight for my life, when the guy looked at me, dead serious, and said, “Why are your pupils so big dude?” Then there was just this tension-filled silence for what felt like an eternity before he burst out laughing, which quickly devolved into a coughing fit. Then he sees me looking at the gun and offers to let me hold it, but thankfully doesn’t pick it up. Finally, I convince him that I’m in a hurry and get him to sign the paperwork.

After that, I got out of there as quickly as possible, and, from what I understand, he ended up completing his refinance without any further issues. I got out of the industry less than six months later, but I’ll never forget going to that house.”

Anonymous, 38

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram Poll -- December 2021

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

A month ago I accepted a new role with a small-ish recruiting firm in my home state. Their pay package was competitive and I was sick of the bureaucracy at the huge company I was working for prior to this one, so I made the switch.

A week into the job, I was in my training session with my new manager, along with two of my coworkers, and she was talking about some of the bigger placements they’d just made, and explaining the commission on each deal. After she described one of the deals, I said, “Easy money,” not thinking much of it. That same afternoon, she asked me to hop on a video call and told me that what I’d said was inappropriate, and that the people who work for the company “Work really hard, and it minimizes their efforts to say that it’s easy money.” I was kind of shocked but apologized and played it professionally.

Fast forward to last week, and me and three of my new teammates had lunch together (over video call) in order to get to know each other. We were talking about long-term career goals, and I casually mentioned that eventually I wanted to start my own recruiting business. Again, these are conversations I’ve had casually dozens of times and it has never been a problem.

That same day, my manager (who wasn’t at lunch) asks me to get on a call and explains that it’s not appropriate to talk about starting a “competing company” (her words) and that I need to be more careful about my use of language. Once again, I was blown away and it took every ounce of my energy not to quit on the spot.

Now I am dreading going into work and regretting my decision to join this firm. But what’s the best course of action here? Should I stay and just be really careful about what I say, or risk the resume blemish and resign? I just feel like I’m being targeted rather than welcomed. What should I do?

Frustrated in Massachusetts

Dear Frustrated,

It sounds like your manager is extremely particular about what can and can’t be said by the people who work for her. Nothing you said was offensive, harassing, or inappropriate, so her response is really strange. Maybe she’s using this as an opportunity to show you she’s in charge, given that you’re a new hire. Some people have issues with power, and this might be her way of expressing those issues, which is not a great start to your tenure.

The thing that’s even more concerning, however, is the fact that your coworkers took a casual conversation and went back and tattled to your manager. Given this behavior, we wouldn’t be surprised if they intentionally set you up. People who derive pleasure from throwing others under the bus do this to make themselves feel superior, usually because of their personal shortcomings (and if we had to guess, whoever snitched on you is as unimpressive as they come).

So, to answer your question, you don’t really have any other choice here: you have to leave. There is no way you should stay and work for a manager who wants to police your speech, and with a bunch of petty, gossipy coworkers who try to hide their own insecurities by tattling on others. Life is too short, and there are way too many open roles out there. Find a company that’s staffed by adults, not by fully-grown children.

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Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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