Can Writers Learn From The Always Be Closing Line From the Movie, Glengarry Glen Ross,

Always Be Closing

I woke up at 4 a.m. to write, and like many, there are times when I write whatever comes to mind, at times, I deliberately look for a topic to write about that can get readers which for someone who writes for a living means getting the money in the bank.

This leads me to ask;

Am I a writer, a salesman or both?

I remember recently watching the movie Glengarry Glen Ross on Amazon. In the scene when Blake, played by Alec Baldwin, was threatening a bunch of real estate salesman to sell or get fired, he spoke about — ABC;

A-B-C "Always Be Closing."

Most salespeople are familiar with the phrase, what Always be closing means is everything should lead to a sale. And in today's world, everyone is a salesman. We are constantly selling ourselves, a product, or an idea.

What is the Origin of ‘Always Be Closing’?

The three key elements to closing are "knowing your customer, being prepared to present your product, and understanding the art of persuasion."

The movie Glengarry Glen Ross is a masterclass in acting, has the powerhouse cast of Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, and Jonathan Pryce. It is based on the 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Mamet.

Only the tough survive. Often, you hear this in the real world, which is usually a double-edged sword and can often lead to some people doing everything as the end justifies the means.

The salesmen, Shelley Levene, Ricky Roma, Dave Moss, and George Aaronow, are given a strong incentive by Blake to succeed in a sales contest. The prizes? “We’re adding a little something to this month’s sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired.” There is no room for losers in this dramatically masculine world. Only “closers” will get the good sales leads, and Blake instructs the team on their ABCs- Always Be Closing.

Always be closing is a mantra that every salesperson lives by.

And does the same rule apply in writing?

Every piece of content we write is an opportunity to find a reader. And in the world we live in, we do compete for attention. So our readers like us spend time reading blog posts, news, and opinions, watching videos, and listening to music and podcasts.

And even when we find our readers, most of the time, they would skim over our blog posts, our articles, and only when they capture their attention that they will finish our story until the end.

In the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, Blake said;

It takes brass balls to sell real estate.

And it could be the same for us writers. So often, frustration and rejection come into our writing journey daily, and we have to fight our inner critic, the saboteur, or refuse to believe that we have the impostor's syndrome. We have a lot on our plate, just like everyone else.

Why does always be closing work?

The world of retail has been in flux for the past two decades. The rise of online shopping, technological advances, and a volatile economy has contributed to rapid consumer habits. In response, many brick-and-mortar stores have been driven out of business, and industries like department stores and bookstores have become nearly obsolete.

Our world has changed. For most of us, our time our tied up on our laptops and computers. People can go online at any time to buy a book, music, or anything they fancy, 24/7, and that is why everyone is never done selling themselves.

And while as writers, what we sell never goes out of style, our words stay forever, it is very easy for our stories to get lost in the sea of words written every day.

So the question remains, what can set up apart?

What can writers do to sell more products?

Again, success is measured in so many ways, but if money is your goal, those who are winning it as writers are not necessarily the best ones, or that they make more money because they are better than you.

But one of the reasons they are winning is that it doesn't stop with writing. They sell.

This is why writers now have to be on social media, do interviews, or even create videos.

Generating paragraphs will not make writers earn more, we have to what are we selling, and we only have three choices:

1. We sell ourselves — Do we want fame so that later on we can become book authors?

2. We sell products — Do our blog posts sell products such as courses?

3. We sell ideas — Do we write to change people's opinions, pass on our knowledge, or create conversations?

Final thoughts

Writing, for the most part, is a solitary exercise. But the most successful writers did more than writing. They became a salesman.

A- Always

B- Be

C- Closing

And every time you end your story, you have to remember that your last word is your last chance to sell to your reader? Would they come back for more, or would this be the last time?

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