Welcome. If you like what you see, you can automatically receive these free semi-weekly posts by email or RSS feed. See the right side of the screen for instructions; it only takes 10 seconds. You will receive a verification email if you choose to receive by email. If you don't immediately receive this email, please check your spam folder. We will never sell or misuse your email address.

There’s a reason virtually all blockbuster movies have an R rating. They have sizzle. People are drawn to intensity and edginess.

In case we’ve forgotten, our customers and prospects are people too. Being human, most of them are naturally drawn to sales professionals that have energy and those that aren’t afraid to push the limits a bit. This is something written about in many selling articles.

“We might…find sales articles that tell us exactly what we need to do to be successful in sales…”

Scott’s Sales Tips Professional Rating System
G: An order processor. No skills needed. Boring. Easily replaced by the customer.
PG: An order taker after a Starbucks tall - no sugar and plenty of room for cream. Might ask if the customer needs some additional items other than what was ordered. Limited cross-selling skills. Just above a yawn in energy level. Replaceable by the customer.
PG-13: Starting to get beyond just taking an order. Pushes the envelope a little by asking about budgets, product needs and decision makers. Customers respond. Salesperson has perceived value in the customer’s eyes.
R: Now we’re talking. This sales professional is a PG-13 but with some extra juice. He or she does everything that the PG-13 does, but does it in a way that doesn’t sound like every other salesperson on the planet. Has enhanced open-ended information gathering skills. Their customers consider them valuable assets.
NC-17: An R on steroids. Has all the attributes of an R but emphasizes the relationships he or she has with the customer. Customers consider them an irreplaceable part of the team.

How Would We be Rated by the Motion Picture Association of America?
Just like movie ratings, the ratings above are not concrete. While most sales tips found in this sales blog are specific, these are not. We might read a sales newsletter or find sales articles that tell us exactly what we need to do to be successful in sales, but we must never forget that our inherent vibrancy and innovative thinking will attract and help us retain customers.

Just ask yourself, when was the last time you and your significant other got a babysitter and went to a G movie?

Further reading: Your Personality is What the Customer Wants to See

To receive this sales ezine by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

Tags: personality

We'd like to hear your feedback on this post - feel free to comment below!