Have you seen the new Star Trek movie?

Not to spill too much “geek juice” on you, but it’s a GREAT flick.

And you know what?

You can learn a TON about sales and marketing just by observing James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock. Kirk being the main honcho on the spaceship in the TV show, and Spock being his pointy-eared first officer.

How so?

Well, when you watch the movie you’ll notice…

1. Kirk’s an impulsive, “leap-before-looking” kinda dude.

2. Spock is the opposite — analytical, logical, and thorough.

And you want to know what?

In some ways, they represent EVERY prospect you’ll ever sell to.

And if you want to give yourself a nice “leg up” in business, all you have to do is recognize whether the person/people you sell to are Kirks or Spocks.

For example:

Let’s put on our dorky pointy Vulcan ears and robes for a second, and pretend it’s the year 2,300 (or whenever Star Trek takes place) and you sell cool phaser ray guns and want a big old fatty Star Feet weapons contract.

And you know you’re going to deal with either Kirk or Spock.

Well, I don’t know about you…

But I’d sell to Kirk WAY differently than to Spock.

For one thing, I’d much rather sell to Kirk.

After all, Kirk’s impulsive, energetic and, if you can make a decent case, will buy without hardly any resistance. In fact, as long as you appeal to his ego, you can slather your sales pitch with all the hype and excitement you want — the more the merrier.

Not so with Spock.

If you get stuck selling to Spock it’s a whole new game.

Spock isn’t going to respond well to a high energy, hypey pitch. He’s going to require a LOT more proof and “reason why”. And you also better have a super logical presentation that flows without a bump or a bobble.

Plus, Spock is going to ask many more questions.

He’s not going to tolerate any “winging it”, either. You either have your stuff wrapped tight or he’ll give you a nerve pinch and eject you off the ship!

Anyway, here’s the point:

It ain’t easy selling to Spock. But selling to Kirk is like taking candy from a baby.

Chances are, you’ll often have to deal with both.

If you “custom fit” your sales and marketing to appeal to one or the other (depending on the situation), you’ll make more sales.

And live long and prosper (big time).

Ben Settle

P.S. Spock knows all kinds of cool sales tips. For more Mr. Spock sales wisdom, check out chapter 72 of Crackerjack Selling Secrets