Top 20 Sales Movies of All Time to Energize Your Sales Campaigns

Sales movies give you inspiration and insightful tips to help you succeed in sales, regardless of whether you’re a seasoned veteran or just getting started.

An audience is always captivated by the psychological chess game between buyer and seller. From overcoming objections to closing the deal, these sales movies offer a wealth of tips and tactics that will help you succeed in sales. 

There are not enough movies about sales in Hollywood, to be honest.

In most cases, they portray salespeople in a poor light. 

However, a few of them have successfully portrayed being a salesperson.

No matter how these films portray salespeople, they contain valuable lessons: everything from persuasion to listening to relationships and pep talks.

So, if you feel demotivated with your cold-calling or cold-emailing and maybe even see stumbling blocks as you go along.

Here are a few of the best movies about sales that will motivate, entertain, and give today’s salespeople new energy in their lead generation campaigns:

1) The Founder (2016)

This is one of the top sales movies till date. A 52-year-old milkshake machine salesman steals McDonald’s from two brothers and turns it into a fast-food empire of epic proportions.

How did he accomplish that? By remaining persistent. Alongside Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch, Michael Keaton portrays Ray Kroc, an increasingly unethical businessman.

Despite Michael Keaton’s Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Kroc, the movie displays the “anything I can do to succeed” attitude that has made many successful entrepreneurs. 

You’ll want a cheeseburger after watching the movie.

Notable quotes: While you two boys were content to sit back and become a couple of also-rans… I wanna take the future. I wanna win. And you don’t get there by being some “aw shucks” guy sap. 

There’s no place in business for people like that. Business is war. It’s a dog eats dog, rat eat rat. If my competitor were drowning, I’d walk over and put a hose right in his mouth. Can you say the same?

2) Boiler Room (2000)

In Boiler Room, the hard sell is the theme. Easily one of the best sales movies ever made. Ribisi plays an ex-college dropout who becomes a stockbroker. 

Over time, he learned how to use aggressive telephone tactics to compel clients to make decisions that benefited his firm. The rewards for their efforts included mansions, sports cars, and other things.

With a lucrative career under his belt, he is again in his father’s good graces. But when he realizes the firm isn’t strictly legit, he must make an important decision.

Notable quotes: “There is no such thing as a no-sale call. A sale is made on every call you make. Either you sell the client some stock or he sells you a reason he can’t—either way, a sale is made. The only question is, who is gonna close? You or him?”

3) Jerry Maguire (1996)

The role of Jerry Maguire is one of Tom Cruise’s most famous roles. In this movie, he is on screen as a sports agent who has a moral revelation — and loses his job as a result. 

He starts a brand new journey with the only athlete who stays by his side. 

Despite many challenges, most new business owners can identify with him on some level. As he attempts to restart his life and firm, his former secretary and a challenging athlete (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) encourage him.

We see the journey from ashes to glory come full circle with this film. Additionally, the movie won an Oscar.

Notable quotes: “Right now, you are a paycheck player. You play with your head, not your heart. In your personal life, heart. But when you get on the field it’s all about what you didn’t get.”

4) Wall Street (1987)

Stockbroker Bud Fox of the 1980s is ambitious and determined to make it big on Wall Street. As a person who admires Gordon Gekko’s power, Fox provides insider trading to get him to mentor him.

As Fox becomes involved in greedy and underhanded schemes, he soon threatens his father’s livelihood. Fox is forced to consider his allegiance under these circumstances.

Wall Street is inspired by the cruel treatment given to director Stone’s father after 50 years as a broker. Perhaps this is why the film highlights Bud Fox’s scenes with his airline mechanic father (portrayed by Charlie Sheen’s real-life father, Martin).

Notable quotes: Greed, for lack of a better word, is good

5) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

In this true story, Jordan Belfort explores his rise to wealth and the high life, as well as his fall into crime, corruption, and the judicial system.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort in this 2013 film, considered a new generation’s “Wall Street.”

Belfort’s meteoric rise from a Wall Street entry-level broker to owning his firm is described in the story. In the end, he falls victim to drugs and illicit financial practices – and was sentenced to prison.

Martin Scorsese traces Belfort’s rise from penny stocks to initial public offerings and corporate greed in the film.

Jordan founded Stratton Oakmont in his early 20s, achieving extreme success and wealth, which earned him the nickname “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

This movie is one among the top sales movies of all time.

Notable quotes: The only thing standing between you and your goal is the B.S. story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it. — Jordan Belfort

6) Moneyball (2011)

This sales movie is again of the best. In this Oscar-nominated classic, Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, who managed the Oakland Athletics in 2002 during a time of turmoil. 

General manager Beane of the Oakland A’s has an epiphany: Baseball’s conventional wisdom is completely wrong. As a result, Beane must find ways to outsmart richer teams with a limited budget.

Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a Yale economics graduate, joined Beane and helped pioneer baseball recruiting using sabermetrics.

The film shows Pitt’s Beane trying to explain his unconventional approach to building the team to the scouting staff, management, and players. 

Moneyball is a riveting tale about making big bets, challenging the status quo, and turning meager resources into great results — something every salesperson has faced at least once.

Notable quotes: When your enemy’s making mistakes, don’t interrupt him.

7) The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)

This is one of the best sales movies of all time you need to watch. Chris Gardner, a bone-density scanner salesman in early-1980s San Francisco, already struggles to make ends meet despite his hard work and earnest nature. 

Since his wife abandoned the family, the financially hard-pressed father will have to deal with his five-year-old son alone. Suddenly, Gardner, one of the most prestigious brokerage firms globally, offers Christopher an unpaid internship at Dean Witter.

Unlike “Death of a Salesman,” this inspiring drama presents sales as a positive, life-changing profession. 

In the film, Will Smith stars as Chris Gardner, whose unwavering quest for a better life is challenged by many obstacles, but this does not discourage his dedication to his goal. 

For his role, Smith was nominated for an Academy Award.

Notable quotes: What would you say if a man walked in here with no shirt, and I hired him? What would you say?

Gardner: He must have had on some really nice pants.”

8) Joy (2015)

The film “Joy” tells the story of legendary entrepreneur Joy Mangano. Jennifer Lawrence plays Joy, a divorced mother of two working as an airline booking clerk. 

Mangano gets a big break in a Telethon with a spot promoting her self-wringing mops. However, a poor salesman causes the spot to fail, so she decides to star in the infomercial herself, soon success follows.

This Oscar-nominated drama stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert De Niro.

“Joy” is evidence that hard work, sacrifice, and an intimate understanding of your target audience will get you to the top.

Notable quotes: We got here from hard work, patience, and humility. Don’t think the world owes you anything because the world owes you nothing.

9) Suckers (2001)

Are you familiar with buying a used car from a dealer? Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes? This film provides some insight through the eyes of a dealer.

Louis Mandylor plays Bobby (who is seeking employment). One day, he walks into Southside Motors and takes a job selling cars. Additionally, he owes lots of money to loan sharks Chad and Everett. 

Daniel Benzali plays the dealership manager (a bald bully who does not hesitate to cheat customers). Sadly for Bobby, he isn’t good at fooling customers.

Loan sharks ultimately collect the money Bobby owes them, complicating the situation further.

This movie takes an amusing look at how used car dealerships work, earning it a classic cult status. 

Notable quotes: You’re letting too many customers walk. I want to hear some of their excuses. Try and stump me. I have an answer for everything. Come on!

10) Cadillac Man (1990)

This is one of the sales movies you just can’t miss. Salespeople will enjoy Robin Williams’ portrayal of Joey O’Brien and his plans to make sales. As a hostage-taker, Tim Robbins is hilarious. 

In both his love life and financially, Joey O’Brien is stretched thin. The local toughs he borrowed money from wanting their money back, and he is dating more women than he can remember.

In a desperate attempt to pay off his debt, Joey tries to sell a dozen cars in two days. 

The situation becomes more challenging when the husband of Joey’s secretary enters the dealership waving a semi-automatic weapon and takes everyone hostage.

Notable quotes: You know what you are – you’re an a$$-half, takes two of you to make an a$$-whole.

11) The Social Network (2010)

This sales movie is definitely inspiring. Zuckerberg, a Harvard undergrad, and computer genius begins working on his brand-new idea on an autumn night in 2003. 

With a rush of blogging and coding, it became a global social network and revolutionized communication.

Despite not being exactly a sales movie, the Social Network depicts the birth of Facebook as it happened during the college years of Mark Zuckerberg.

Having amassed 500 million friends in six years, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history. 

However, success brings both legal and personal complications to this entrepreneur since a former co-founder and two brothers are suing him in the film.

Notable quotes: If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.

12) Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Anyone who has ever had to close a deal has etched the phrase “Coffee is for closers” in their memory – if they’ve seen this film. 

A must-see for anyone who works in sales, Glengarry Glen Ross stars Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, and Kevin Spacey.

The ups and downs of older real estate salespeople are realistically shown in this masterpiece by David Mamet about a group of desperate salesmen working in a Chicago real estate office.

Kevin Spacey’s cold-blooded charm in this movie was at its best as the boss of sales prospects. 

Yet Al Pacino’s Oscar-nominated performance as smooth-talking Ricky Roma steals the show. 

Notable quotes: Coffee Is For Closers.

13) Jobs (2013)

This is yet another amongst the best sales movies to watch. The story is about one of the most successful salesmen/entrepreneurs and visionaries of our time, a college dropout. 

As we watch the film, we learn about how Steve Jobs founded and built a company (Apple) that revolutionized the way we live today.

Movies like Jobs inspire you to go after your entrepreneurial dreams, and it gives you the courage to start from scratch.

Ashton Kutcher does a good job portraying Steve Jobs. In addition to him, Josh Gad was excellent in his role as Steve Wozniak. 

Notable quotes: Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently, they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

14) Door to Door (2002)

Based on another true story, the movie centers around a legendary door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy who seeks to become a salesman.

Through his sense of humor, determination, and winning spirit, he is able to convince Watkins, a supplier of household items and baking products, to hire him as a door-to-door salesman.

Despite trials and tribulations, this classic illustrates salespeople can succeed by persevering and refusing to give up.

Bill Porter ultimately wins over his customers’ hearts despite his disability by walking several miles a day on his sales route.

Notable quotes: I’ve never done well on the phone. Women find my voice sexy, and I think it distracts them.

15) Salesman (1969)

Believe me, you need to watch this sales movie. The bitter rivalry among four door-to-door salespeople at a Mid-American Bible Company is the subject of Albert and David Maysles’ sales documentary.

Hard times are upon this hard-working quartet, who spend their days traveling the country’s small towns. Despite an unenthusiastic crowd of middle-class housewives and elderly couples, they do their best to sell gold-leaf Bibles.

The salesmen try to develop new ideas to make the sale, but almost everything they think of falls short—an insight into an industry that barely exists today due to telemarketing and internet sales.

Despite appearing dated, the film makes you feel what these unsuccessful salesmen are experiencing. 

Noteworthy Quote: If a man’s not a success, he’s got no one to blame but himself.

16) The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009)

A struggling auto dealership hires Don Ready to turn its Fourth of July sale into a significant profit event.

In this movie, salesmen are brought in to help with a car dealership’s holiday sales. Jeremy Piven (Don Ready) plays the lead role who has to save a dealership from bankruptcy over the Fourth of July weekend.

In an eventful weekend that goes awry, Ready realizes he’ll have to get crafty to make it a success.

The film shows how the team tries to accomplish their business’s goal while making the audience have fun.

Notable quotes:  Don Ready: Are you in a boy band?

– Paxton Harding: No. I’m in a man band. We’re all over 30. We call it a man band.

– Don Ready: You’re men in a boy band.

17) Death of a Salesman (1985)

This is one of the sales movies which leaves a lasting impression. Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, and John Malkovich’s performances leave a lasting impression with this Emmy-winning adaptation of Arthur Miller’s iconic 1985 adaptation.

Three separate films have been made based on the story of washed-up salesman Willy Loman written by Arthur Miller.

Loman, a tragic hero in almost every sense, reminds us that sales is a relentless, high-pressure game that not everyone can play. 

Through a door-to-door salesman’s tragic journey, “Death of a Salesman” depicts the flipside of the American Dream.

Notable quotes: Tell you a secret, boys. Don’t breathe it to a soul. Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home anymore.

18) The Big Kahuna (1999 movie)

This is different from the other sales movies. There is nothing more thrilling than chasing that big, game-changing deal in B2B sales strategies. Those are the ones that make your year. 

In this story, the “Big Kahuna” is a CEO at a large company that is targeted by a trio of industrial lubricant representatives at a trade show.

The interplay between the trio is fascinating, and the film offers many reflections and plenty of laughs.

Notable quotes: It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or ‘How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.’ 

That doesn’t make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are — just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it’s not a conversation anymore; it’s a pitch. And you’re not a human being; you’re a marketing rep.

19) Rogue Trader (1999)

An investment bank called Barings employs a young British man based on this true story. 

He is later assigned to Singapore, where he holds a position of authority. Taking advantage of the booming Asian market, he makes risky trades.

Ewan McGregor impersonates an ideal British child prodigy, even to the point of being addicted to fruit candies. 

Before long, he is over his head and is trying to cover up the losses. Take a look at this movie if you have ever wondered how some people deal with high stakes with such confidence.

Notable quotes: Despite rumors of secret bank accounts and hidden millions, I did not profit personally from my unlawful trading. To be absolutely honest, sometimes I wish I had.

20) Seize the Day (1986)

This is amongst the sales movies which inspire and motivate you. Robin Williams delivers a powerful performance titled “Seize the Day” – ironically, three years before he introduced students to the phrase “Carpe diem” in another of his hits, “Dead Poets Society.”

As the star of Saul Bellow’s classic novel turned into a motion picture, Williams portrays a middle-aged Jewish salesman struggling to balance his problems and moving to New York in the 1950s.

After losing his job, Tommy Wilhelm (Williams) undoubtedly suffers even more from a nervous breakdown. 

It tells a story of a salesman whose natural ability fails him at the worst possible time, making for compelling viewing.

Notable quotes: The truth is one parent can support ten children, but ten children can’t support one parent.

The Power of Sales Movies

The films we mentioned today are all top sales films. However, almost every movie can inspire you to succeed in life and work. They also help with time management for sales reps.

You might find it helpful to watch one of these inspirational films the next time you have a hard time developing a LinkedIn lead generation technique or feel lost about how to begin your follow-up email templates. The sales motivational quotes from the movies will help you generate more leads, but you may also learn a few new techniques along the way. 

Is there any movie you enjoy watching about selling? Please share your thoughts with us.

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