leave this place
We gotta get out of here, buddy.The Wolf of Wall Street · 2013 — Chapter 6 of 30 · 4'59" · B1
Sell Me This Pen, Explained: supply and demand
Jordan's new crew can sell almost anything, but not until they pass his test: 'Sell me this pen.' One of them wins by turning it around — he asks Jordan to write his name down, and Jordan admits he has no pen. On the surface it is a parlor trick; underneath, a lesson in inventing demand.
What happens
Jordan and Donnie leave their old firm and start selling penny stocks from a rented garage, recruiting friends who have sold everything from meat to weed. Over a meal, Jordan demands that Brad sell him a pen. Brad simply asks Jordan to write his name down, and when Jordan says he has no pen, the point is made: need comes first.
Listen for
something for nothingsupply and demandcreate urgencypiece of shit
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Now
Phrase of the scene
supply and demand
the market's balance of goods and buyers
Brad asks for a signature, the client has no pen, and Brad names supply and demand as the lesson.
Prices follow supply and demand, not wishful thinking.
Also in this scene
- something for nothing
a free gain with no effort
- create urgency
make someone feel they must act now
- piece of shit
a worthless thing
- in no time
very quickly
Everything marked in this scene
28 notes across 132 lines
Gotta is got to with the t's swallowed into one.
We gotta get out of here, buddy.manner clause: The like-clause works as as if, describing how they should run.
Let's run like we're fucking lions and tigers and bears!let out for rent
My partner and I are very interested in renting out your garage.a sales background
Guys with sales experience.obtain something
And Robbie, who sold anything he could get his hands on.simpler than expected
You listening? It's easier than you think.relative clause: The clause with whom dropped modifies every person: the one you are calling.
Every person you're on the phone with, they want to get rich and they want to get rich quickly.a free gain with no effort
Teaching his friends sales, Jordan says every caller wants to get rich for nothing.
They all want something for nothing.attribute words someone never said
I'm not putting words in your mouth or nothing, but you just said that everybody wants to get rich.the working class
I'm talking about normal people, working-class, everyday people.earn money
Do you guys not want to make money?Quaaludes — Old street slang for Quaaludes; rarely used now.
Shit, I can sell ludes to a convent full of nuns,Can I links into canai, almost one word.
Can I finish eating first? I haven't eaten today.demonstrate the right way
Brad, show them how it's done. Boom.do something for me
Why don't you do me a favor.the market's balance of goods and buyers
Brad asks for a signature, the client has no pen, and Brad names supply and demand as the lesson.
Exactly. Supply and demand, my friend.And weakens to n, linking Supply and demand smoothly.
Exactly. Supply and demand, my friend.make someone feel they must act now
Brad makes the client need the pen at once, and Jordan names it: he is creating urgency.
See what I'm saying? He's creating urgency.a slur for a Chinese person — A racial slur; never use it, in any setting.
Chester Ming, the depraved Chinaman, thought jujitsu was in Israel.law school
He actually went to law school.worthless junk — Crude for things or people; avoid in formal talk.
I called him Rugrat because of his piece of shit hairpiece.very quickly
Jordan says if they are young, hungry and stupid, he will make them rich in no time.
and in no time, I'll make them rich.very cheap shares
But rich people don't buy penny stocks.a bunch of losers
I mean, what person with a college education would trust this bunch of jerk-offs?losers — Insulting slang; say amateurs in polite talk.
I mean, what person with a college education would trust this bunch of jerk-offs?end a call
Hang up the phone. Tell him you'll call him back.hypothetical what if: What if with the past tense imagines a state that is not true now.
But what if they didn't sound like a bunch of jerk-offs?Sell Me This Pen, explained
What's really going on
The pen test looks like a stunt, but it is the film's thesis in miniature. Jordan does not ask whether the pen is good; he asks whether it can be moved. Brad's answer — make the buyer need it — is not about the product at all, and that is exactly the lesson Jordan wants his crew to absorb. It reappears minutes later when Jordan says the way to sell junk stocks is to 'Convince them it's something they need.' The same logic then drives the whole firm: create demand for things nobody requires, and the money follows. What makes the scene funny is also what makes it sinister, because the skill being taught is real, and so is the harm it can do.
Theme
MoneyThe whole scene treats money as a skill to be trained, not a reward for honest work.
AmbitionJordan builds a crew and a method, and the pen trick becomes the seed of a sales empire.
What you'll learn
- A pen becomes a test of who can actually sell.
- Jordan's crew has no pedigree, only hunger.
- Creating urgency is the trick behind Brad's win.
- The scene turns sales into a kind of religion.
Listen for
- gotta get — Gotta is got to with the t's swallowed into one.
- Can I — Can I links into canai, almost one word.
- Supply and demand — And weakens to n, linking Supply and demand smoothly.
Sell me this fucking pen right here.Jordan's test for his new hires: prove you can move anything, not just talk about it.
They all want something for nothing.His read on customers: everyone is chasing easy money, which makes them easy to sell to.
What if I could teach them how to sell to people with money?The idea that turns the garage crew into a business: aim the same pitch at wealthier marks.
Everyone wants to get rich. Am I crazy?Jordan's flat assertion of universal greed, offered as common sense rather than a warning.
Questions about this scene
How does Brad manage to sell Jordan the pen?
He creates a need instead of describing the product. He asks Jordan to write his name on a napkin, and when Jordan says he has no pen, the pen has just become necessary.
What lesson is Jordan teaching with the pen test?
That sales is about making people want something, not about the thing itself. If you can create demand, you can move almost any product.
Why does Jordan say everyone wants something for nothing?
It is his belief about what drives customers. If people want easy money, a broker who promises fast gains does not need a good product to make a sale.
Who are the friends Jordan hires for his new firm?
They are hometown guys with sales backgrounds but little schooling — Sea Otter, Chester, Robbie, and Nicky. Jordan sees their hunger and inexperience as an advantage.
What idea changes Jordan's business plan?
That he could train his rough crew to sound professional and sell to rich clients instead of poor ones. That insight leads directly to the firm he later builds.
The Wolf of Wall Street · 30 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7cold-call someoneJordan Teaches the Stratton Script
Chapter 1drink like a fishJordan Belfort Introduces Himself
Chapter 2put meat on the tableJordan's First Lunch with Mark Hanna
Chapter 3the ins and outsBlack Monday Crushes Jordan's Career
Chapter 4get rich quickJordan Pitches a Penny Stock
Chapter 5an in with someoneDonnie Quits His Job for Jordan
Watching · Chapter 6supply and demandSell Me This Pen
Chapter 7cold-call someoneJordan Teaches the Stratton Script
Chapter 8hatchet jobForbes Profiles Jordan Belfort
Chapter 9loopholeMax Confronts Jordan Over the Bill
Chapter 10muttJordan Meets Naomi at a Party
Chapter 11lying through his teethJordan Interrogates the Butler
Chapter 12heaven on earthJordan Surprises Naomi with a Yacht
Chapter 13fired upNew Issue Day at Stratton Oakmont
Chapter 14put me on the mapJordan Hypes Steve Madden
Chapter 15no nobility in povertyJordan's No Nobility in Poverty Speech
Chapter 16for the life of meFBI Subpoenas Jordan's Wedding Video
Chapter 17take a stab atJordan Pitches the FBI Agent
Chapter 18to the manor bornJordan Tries to Bribe Agent Denham
Chapter 19beat yourself upJordan Probes Swiss Bank Secrecy
Chapter 20get the best ofJordan Visits Aunt Emma in London
Chapter 21give me a passFight Over a Briefcase of Cash
Chapter 22phones tappedBo Warns Jordan: Phones Tapped
Chapter 23let aloneJordan's Father Tells Him to Quit
Chapter 24take no for an answerJordan Refuses to Leave
Chapter 25ring a bellJordan's Deposition: I Do Not Recall
Chapter 26batten down the hatchesJordan Sails Into a Storm
Chapter 27clean up my actJordan Arrested on Camera
Chapter 28off the hookThe FBI Offers Jordan a Deal
Chapter 29silver liningNaomi Says It's the Last Time
Chapter 30hates my gutsJordan Takes His Daughter and FleesChapter 6 of 30 · about 109 min to go