Jeff Sleete | for E&P Magazine

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” the Thanksgiving travel story starring Steve Martin and John Candy and directed by John Hughes, hit theaters on November 25th, 1987. I believe I can safely say I have watched it at least once every year since that debut — the last 43 years with my wife, Denise, including the other night. We both laugh out loud every time we watch this flick, as it is hilarious!

If you have never seen it, because you have been locked in a time warp or abducted by space aliens, the movie takes us on a journey with the character, Neil Page, played by Steve Martin, whose goal is to make it home for Thanksgiving from a business trip that unravels by the minute. Throughout his journey, Page finds himself paired with a shower-curtain-ring salesman, Del Griffith, played by John Candy.

Griffith is messy, somewhat inconsiderate and lacks self-awareness. He also, however, possesses a larger-than-life personality and a touching big heart.

In the film, Griffith demonstrates admirable salesperson traits. He is warm, pleasant, cheery and encouraging, and he feels strongly about his product and, more importantly, his customers. 

Though it is not shown in the film, there is no doubt that Griffith has a ton of referrals in his hip pocket, as the movie shows a former client, Gus Mooney, performing a couple of favors when needed:

• Provides the last available hotel room for the night when they are stranded in Wichita, Kansas.
• Sends his son, Owen, to give the duo a ride in his pickup truck to a train station in the fictional town of “Stubbsville.”

Gaining loyalty, advocacy and endorsement from your clients takes some time and a bit of effort.  If your sales messaging is always clear and to the point, and you display a willingness to always have their best interests at heart, your clients will take note.

At one point, when the wayward travelers were out of cash, Griffith sold his shower-curtain-ring samples as earrings to other patrons at a St. Louis bus station. 

He persuades potential buyers with lines like:

“I’ve got the deal of a lifetime for you.”

Pitching some clear rings with, “They are filled with helium, so they’re very light.”

“This is Czechoslovakian ivory,” describing pure white ones.

“These were originally handcrafted for the Grand Wizard of China back in the fourth century. Now these, of course, aren’t the originals, but they are replicas.”

“This is your Diane Sawyer autographed earring.”

“This is an autographed Daryl Strawberry earring.”

Yes, Griffith should make a trip to a church confessional, as he is totally misrepresenting his product. However, he also makes a strong case for what selling to a client’s interests can deliver.

There is another scene in which Griffith demonstrates his ability to read an audience. A portion of the trip is taken on a Trans-Missouri bus. “You ever travel by bus before?” Griffith asks Page after a series of destination failures. Page shakes his head. Griffith informs him: “Your mood’s not going to improve much.”

To enliven the boredom of the bus trip, Griffith encourages the bus patrons to join in a sing-along. At one point, he asks if anyone else wants to lead a song. Page begins singing “Three Coins in the Fountain.” The tune was sung by multiple artists, including The Four Aces, whose 1954 version topped the charts, and Frank Sinatra, who recorded a version for the 1954 film of the same name.

The silent passengers on the bus had never heard of it and turned to Page, totally perplexed. Griffith then belts out the theme from the cartoon “The Flintstones,” and the entire bus joyously joins in.

As sellers, it’s critically important to consider who your audience is and to craft and aim your sales messaging and strategy right at them.

The real Del Griffith sales lesson from the film to me is to always be “the real thing.” Make your value visible and available to your clients who can benefit most from it. 

Do yourself a favor and watch “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” and give yourself a true laugh break. Also, there is a new documentary on the life of John Candy called “I Like Me,” on Amazon Prime, which is very touching.

Jeff Sleete is a 50+ year broadcast industry veteran — sales manager/GM/corporate sales head. He most enjoys helping sales departments position themselves as “mavens” (experts) of business to be more successful at selling advertising. Fundamentally, Jeff is a salesman. Through his media sales consultancy, Sleete Sales Script, he provides a daily road map for sellers of any media outlet type to be more consultative in their approach to their clients and set themselves apart from all their competition. Learn more about Jeff at https://www.sleetesales.com/. Or reach him at jeff@sleetesales.com.