Wolf of Wall Street: Five Lessons in Sales

What did Jordan Belfort do that was different than most people? How did Jordan become known as the “Wolf of Wall Street?" It wasn’t JUST because of his greediness; it was a collection of qualities, both good and bad, that helped to create his massive success via the stock market in the 80’s and 90’s. I know there are a million articles already written about this movie, so I tried to write a few lessons that we haven’t seen highly published on LinkedIn. Here are five lessons in sales from Wolf of Wall Street: 

1) High Energy is CONTAGIOUS

Think about the most up-beat sales jobs you have had. Chances are, there was music, noise, celebration, movement, and talking. A lot of talking. The Wolf of Wall Street has TONS of energy and there is a science behind it. In the film, there was clapping, screaming, and tons of energy – everywhere. Guess what? Jordan Belfort understood the importance of motivation and “high energy”. Do you have a bell in your office that you or your team can ring when a sale is closed? Does your office have a vibrant and fun feel? Some of the best sales environments are the ones that have high energy. Personally, I'm a fan of celebrating everyone's success, small or big, and I'm a huge fan of fun music in the workplace. Try it sometime. 

2) Dress Well

Remember, perception is reality. If you want the part, you have to look the part. Quick exercise: Close your eyes and picture what a successful person in sales looks like. What comes to mind? Chances are, you're thinking of a well-groomed person, most likely dressed in a suit, and most likely in good physical shape with good posture. Now, certainly that isn't always true, but if you want to build a good reputation, and if you want "initial" respect, you should dress to impress. Was Jordan ever wearing ripped jeans and a sweatshirt? Did he ever roll into Stratton Oakmont without a suit on? He always was dressed well, was always clean-shaven, and he looked the part. People want to be around other successful people - and looks are a huge part of perception. First impressions are everything in sales – so why not give yourself an edge!

3) Supply and Demand

This one is a no brainer, but it's a huge lesson in sales 101. One of the salesmen on Jordan's team was asked, on the spot, to sell him a pen. What did he do? He simply takes the pen in his hand, and then asks the other guy to write his name down. After the other guy realizes he doesn't have a pen to write his name, the "aha" moment is realized. Supply and demand is crucial in sales - creating a need for the pen is the lesson. In sales, we need to create a problem AND offer a solution to our clients with our services or products. You can get very good at selling your product if you make your client feel that they need it. If you can make your prospect feel like they had a problem BEFORE seeing your product or service, you are in business. 

4) The Power of Branding

When you buy a crayon for your kid - what kind do you buy? Crayola, right? Because you know it's the best, it has been around forever, and it is high quality - you trust it. The key word here is trust. There is a power to branding in sales like no other. The problem is that not everyone has an organization with a good brand. But, guess what? You can change that. You can create a “brand” for yourself. If you stick around a while, if you keep showing up for your customers, if you continuously follow up, and if you deliver a product or service that has “value”, you will gain your clients trust. By doing these things, you will develop your own brand. One of the best branding strategies that Jordan Belfort implemented was when he changed the name of his business to “Stratton Oakmont”. He knew that branding was important, and he wanted to sell to clients with more buying capacity. He knew bigger and more successful clients would want something familiar and trust-worthy, so he chose the name to match their demographic. If you want continued growth, begin building your brand.   

5) Cold Calling STILL Has Value

Who reading this article still picks up the phone and makes cold calls to attract new business? Be honest. Okay, so there are a few of you. To the few that still do it – I commend you. To the large percentage that don’t, I beg you to close your office door, pick up the phone, and start dialing. When Jordan Belfort began his career on Wall Street, he was selling penny stocks. He didn’t sit around and wait around for people to call him. He had to pick up the phone and get what he wanted. If you sit around and wait for sales to fall on your lap, you are in the wrong industry. Think about it this way: If you get an email, and you don’t care to talk about future business, what do you do? You delete it. Maybe you don’t even read it. But, if you received a phone call, with an actual human being on the other end of the line, it becomes much more difficult to ignore it, hang up, and say no. Why? Because there is a human element involved when you are actually speaking with someone. Most people don’t want to be rude, and they don’t want to think of themselves as rude. You will get business from cold calling if you have the right strategy, product, and sales-pitch. No matter how far along you are in your sales career, I highly suggest continued cold-calling. 

As we all have learned, it didn’t work out so well for Jordan in the long-run. As much as he utilized some great sales strategies, he also applied horrible sales tactics, which included fraud, lying, cheating, and he violated virtually any kind of ethical guideline that exists in the business world. Nonetheless, I still hope you are able to pull some great lessons in sales from this movie – there are tons!

About The Author:  William is the CEO and Co-Founder of Building & Enriching Alumni Networks (BEAN), author of "Movie UP in Sales", a fundraising and sales strategist, a life-long learner, a frustrated dog owner, and a blessed husband. *If you would like to read more fun and informative content on business and sales in the future, he would love to connect!