1. If you’re allergic to salt, sugar, baking soda, baby powder, flour, snow, or any other white powdery substance (cocaine); this movie may not be for you.
2. If you’re opposed to midgets being used as darts, butt-cracks being used as candle holders or Chiclets filling in for Jonah Hill’s teeth; this movie may not be for you.
3. Otherwise, I would highly recommend this movie.
4. It’s a stretched-out, cracked-out, more hilarious version of Boiler Room. My only complaint is that it’s long. Like, Titanic long.
5. The movie follows the real-life story of Jordan Belfort (played by Leo), who is famous for defrauding investors and manipulating stocks through his brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont.
6. Fun fact: the story of Jordan Belfort actually inspired Boiler Room.
7. Fun opinion: Penny stocks are the best way for poor people to remain poor.
8. Fun sales tip:
Throughout the entire movie, Jordan Belfort is portrayed as an incredible salesman.
- In the beginning, he is persuading people to invest.
- In the middle, he is persuading his employees to pick up the phone and call potential clients.
- In the end, he is trying to persuade the FBI to stop their investigations.
He is always selling. And he is very good at it.
But, MOST PEOPLE SUCK AT SELLING.
This truth is highlighted very well in 2 scenes. In each scene, Jordan Belfort hands an ordinary pen to another character and simply says,
“sell me this pen.”
The usual response is: “Uhh, it’s shiny and, uhh“
FAIL.
That’s how people used to sell. But, that sh*t doesn’t cut it anymore.
In the “old days,” salesmen were smooth-talking extroverts that could talk endlessly about their product and how it solves a problem. Since information was asymmetrical (sellers had more information than buyers), this approach worked. But, nowadays, buyers often have more information than sellers. Consumers will go into a store already knowing what an item costs at 10 competitors. Because of this, a good salesman must now be a problem finder, not a problem solver. And the only way to find problems is by asking questions – not by spewing information.
By applying NEW sales techniques to the aforementioned “pen scenario,” an appropriate response would look something like this:
“Jordan, How would you handle this situation? Picture yourself at a bar. Imagine that a gorgeous girl approaches you and gently whispers in your ear. “Call me,” she says. As she tries to write her number on a napkin, she realizes that she doesn’t have a pen. How would you feel?”
9. The moral of my above rant is: WE ARE ALL IN SALES. We are all trying to sell something: a product, a service, ourselves, etc. Rather than shy away from the idea of selling, embrace it. A helpful book to read is: “To Sell Is Human” by Daniel Pink.
10. Read this too: An Open Letter To The Makers of The Wolf of Wall Street and The Wolf Himself. This is a letter written by Christina McDowell, whose father was involved in Jordan Belfort’s shenanigans, so she doesn’t exactly love the movie.
Happy New Year-
