Sales Lessons from Tommy Boy Part 1
One of my all time favorite comedies is Tommy Boy, starring Chris Farley and David Spade, where Farley is the screw-up son of a successful auto-parts factory owner. When Farley’s dad dies of a heart attack, Farley finds himself in charge of the company and volunteers to go on his dad’s sales trip around the country. 
At first, he is a horrible salesman. He continuously takes no for an answer, he rips his own hair out, and he uses prospects’ desk toys to do demonstrations where he smashes collector model cars together and lights them on fire. Needless to say, no one will buy from him. It is only when Farley and Spade have almost given up and are eating lunch at a diner when things finally turn around. Farley convinces their waitress to serve him chicken wings even though the restaurant’s oven is off. It is only then that Farley realizes that all he needs to do to make sales is be himself and have fun.
A very smart man I know named Rick Roberge has been telling me since day one that the number one lesson in sales is to have fun. He said, “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong”. Probably every sales person out there has put a ton of pressure on making a big sale, and when you put that kind of pressure on yourself you stop having fun. I’ve been guilty of it dozens of times, and as a result I usually lose the sale, or there is some delay on the close and I get disappointed. You get to have fun in sales when you stop putting pressure on yourself. I’ve found the best way to do this is to fill my pipeline with a lot more qualified leads so that no single sale is more important than the others.
Being able to relax and be yourself is also very important. Prospects can tell if you are nervous, even on the phone. For me, nervousness typically presents itself in the form of unfortunately-timed voice squeaks (Could be worse though, I have a friend who starts violently hiccupping when he gets butterflies). Being comfortable when talking to a prospect allows you to have a conversation and develop a friendship. This is what Tommy learns on his sales trip. And that relationship is pretty crucial when it comes to sales.
When you think about it, sales can be a pretty fun job. You get to talk to a variety of different people on a daily basis. And each different person presents a different challenge for you to overcome. I have grown more doing sales for three months than in any one-year period of my life.
So…any other Tommy Boy fans out there?