The Truth About That Famous Alec Baldwin Scene From GlenGarry Glen Ross

Published: Wed, 12/08/21

December 6, 2021

Welcome back. The countdown to the end of the year is officially on (as it has been since January 1, 2021), which means it’s time to pull out all the stops. Discounting, begging, bribing, and threats should all be on the table. For now, take a break with The Quota -- a GlenGarry Glen Ross backstory, an angry, gun-toting prospect, and advice for a salesperson who has an offer they might not be able to refuse -- here we go!

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

The percentage of buyers who want to talk about pricing on the first call.

Source: HubSpot Research

SALES ROUNDUP

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

A car salesman is on the run after scamming dealers out of $1.77 million and laundering the money through a Cincinnati Casino. According to the FBI, Ismail Shalash, also known as Armand Brigante (someone watched too many mob movies) bilked car dealers out of nearly two million dollars by promising to sell them luxury cars which never actually existed. After convincing five different dealers to pay for the vehicles up front, Shalash deposited the money into an Ohio casino’s account in order to launder his ill-gotten gains. He’s currently on the run in Morocco. You can read the entire article here.
In another example of car dealerships behaving badly, the owner of an Oklahoma Kia dealership and his employees were recently convicted of auto loan fraud. The elaborate scheme involved forging documents and bribing a loan officer in order to get unqualified customers approved for financing, as well as running a shell company in the form of a phony pawn-shop in order to funnel funds to further the scheme. You can read more about the elaborate fraud here.
DocuSign, the company synonymous with salespeople clicking refresh on their email browser while waiting for a signature, recently missed their earnings in a big way, sending their stock plunging by 40%. In an earnings call, CEO Dan Springer blamed “a return to more normalized buying patterns,” after nearly two years of pandemic-fueled growth. He also said that his sales teams were so focused on meeting client’s orders that they didn’t have time to source new business. You can read more about the big miss here and here.

FEATURE

Alec Baldwin -- Glengarry Glen Ross

The Strange Backstory of That Famous Alec Baldwin Scene From GlenGarry Glen Ross

While Alec Baldwin has recently been in the news for more tragic reasons, one of his earlier roles has long been enshrined in popular sales culture. In the cult-favorite, GlenGarry Glen Ross, Baldwin plays Blake, a hard-charging sales manager brought in by Mitch and Murray, the unseen owners of Premier Properties, to light a fire under the sales team, unleashing a torrent of abuse that’s produced some of the most-quoted lines in sales movie history.

If you haven’t seen the movie or heard the monologue, you should definitely check it out (you can watch the legendary NSFW speech here). It’s one of the few movies out there that focuses exclusively on the profession of sales, though the “real estate” the fictional team is selling in the flick doesn’t exactly appear to be above-board. Putting that aside, between the cast (Al Pacino, Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, and Kevin Spacey), and the clever dialogue, it’s a must-watch for anyone in sales, not the least bit because it’s so familiar.

But the most famous scene in the movie wasn’t actually supposed to be in the script. In fact, the screenwriter, David Mamet (who also secretly wrote the screenplay for one of the best action movies of all time, Ronin), wrote the entire scene as a personal favor to Baldwin, in order to repay him for a (much less valuable) act of generosity.

Here’s what happened

At some point in the 80’s, Baldwin and Mamet were having dinner, probably at some fancy restaurant in L.A. (don’t fact-check this part). When the bill came, Mamet realized he’d forgotten his wallet at home, and asked if Baldwin could spot him, promising the Beetlejuice actor, “I’ll make it up to you sometime.”

Fast forward a few years to the early 90’s, and Mamet’s famous play GlenGarry Glen Ross, which had won the Pulitzer Prize, was finally set to be turned into a movie after nearly nine years of pre-production. Baldwin had committed to the role of Ricky Roma (which ultimately went to Pacino), but left the project because he found out that if Pacino agreed to do the flick, he would be cast as Roma over Baldwin (actors and their egos!).

But the producer, Jerry Tokofsky -- who had bought the movie rights from Mamet for $1 million in 1986 -- desperately wanted Baldwin in the movie, and Baldwin wanted to be in the movie too, so he did the same thing Don Corleone did in The Godfather: he called on Mamet to repay the favor.

Mamet agreed, and wrote the Blake scene for Baldwin, and the rest is history. Little did they know it would end up being the most famous scene in the entire movie, and possibly the most famous scene in sales movie history. So let that be a lesson: if someone forgets their wallet at dinner, make sure to spot them -- it could pay off big in the long run, if you’re both famous Hollywood people, that is.

MEME OF THE WEEK

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 had just finished training for a giant telecom company (one you definitely know) and was finally on the phones answering inbound calls from people looking for business phone and internet services. During one of our first team meetings, the sales manager had made it clear that we were not to sell the entry level, basic internet-only package under any circumstances. He literally said, ‘Pretend it doesn’t exist.’

A week later, I was working the late shift when I got a call from a gun shop owner (seriously) who was interested in a basic internet-only entry-level package so that he could set up a new alarm system in his store. As instructed by my manager, I told him that we didn’t have the basic plan he was interested in, but that there were plenty of other options available. The guy got absolutely enraged, and launched into a tirade about how I was preventing him from being able to protect his family, and that I was “Personally putting them in danger.” I tried to diffuse the situation but it was too late to try to explain that we actually did have the package available, so finally, I just hung up on him mid-yell.

Unfortunately, since it was the late shift and we handled the northeast region, when he called back (twice) he got wired directly to my line. Upon hearing his voice, I instantly transferred him to customer service. Finally, my shift ended and I actually never heard another word about it again.”

Anonymous, 37 Manchester, NH

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram Poll -- November 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,

I’ve been in sales for over ten years, and with my current company for just under three. I have to say that it’s not only the best sales job I’ve ever had, it’s the best job, period. My managers and I get along great, they put a lot of trust in me, and I have a ton of flexibility when it comes to working from home and taking time off as needed.

You’re probably wondering what I could possibly be complaining about, right? Well here’s the deal. A friend who I worked with at a previous company is now a VP of Sales for a really successful, fast-growth business which is in a similar space to the one I work in, but not exactly the same type of sale. He and his sales director are trying to recruit me to leave my company and join them, and, get this, offering to DOUBLE my base, with a comp plan that would basically also double my income.

All my friends are saying I’d be crazy not to take it, but my husband, who knows me better than anyone in the world, thinks I should weigh the pros and cons thoroughly before making a decision. This new role would definitely be more demanding, higher-stress, and a different company culture, with a lot of younger people (my current company is mostly people my age or older). What should I do?! I don’t want to make a decision that I’ll regret. Help!

Conflicted in Massachusetts

Dear Conflicted,

Your husband sounds like a smart man, because he understands something that only comes with a bit of wisdom: the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Your first paragraph says a lot about why this is a difficult decision for you to make -- how many people can say they have the best job they’ve ever had in their life? For most of us, it’s something we don’t realize until it’s long gone.

Here is the big question that you need to ask yourself: what do you value? You probably value money to some degree, otherwise it’s unlikely that you’d be working in sales. But is that what you value most? Because if it’s not, and you derive happiness and meaning from working at a place where you’re appreciated, trusted, and given flexibility, then the money won’t make you feel any better, it’ll just allow you to, well… have more money!

For some, it might be an easy decision to make. But for those who have jumped ship for an opportunity that seemed too good to be true only to find out that it was, it’s not as cut and dry. You can always approach your current employer and let them know you’re being recruited and see if they can bump up your base or OTE. If they’re as generous and open as they sound, it shouldn’t be a difficult thing to bring up. But whatever you decide to do, make sure you give the decision the seriousness it deserves.

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Today's email was written by Ken K., Steve R., and Emily H.

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