Annals of Sales: to the Mattresses
February 18, 2011 at 5:28 AM | Posted in Annals of Sales, Movies | 5 CommentsTags: Mike Grant, Rowland Archer, Santino Corleone, Sollozzo
Towards the end of Mike Grant’s farewell party we began recounting the greatest sales movies. Immediately, of course, Glengarry Glen Ross and Death of a Salesman came up and then the Godfather movies. Mike noted that we were now going in-direct and he was right. Nobody has a memory for scenes as he does and I knew he’d enjoy the following story.
I was running an off-site sales meeting at HAHT Commerce in 2000 or so. At the end of the meeting, to rally our troops, I played the famous mattress scene from the Godfather:
“No; no; no! No more! Not this time, Consigliere. No more meetings, no more discussions, no more Sollozzo tricks. You give’em one message: I want Sollozzo — if not, its all-out war — we go to the mattresses…” So said the soon to be dead Santino.
It was a Friday afternoon and the team dispersed — but not back to the office. Our CEO Rowland Archer, a very funny guy for a graduate of MIT said, “I guess we’re going to the mattresses on Monday.”
I’m still laughing.
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For your enjoyment, the origin of this famous phrase!
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/159900.html
Comment by Michael Grant— February 18, 2011 #
And to celebrate the life of Ken Olsen: ‘I always made money for my partners’.
Comment by Graham Page— February 18, 2011 #
Ah, memories of Hyman Roth! “I’d give a million dollars to take a piss.”
Comment by tommackey— February 18, 2011 #
I am looking at my framed godfather movie poster…. “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
Comment by Ed Boclair— February 19, 2011 #
That can replace a month of sales training.
Comment by tommackey— February 21, 2011 #