MoneyWatch

How to Sell Like a Porn Star

By Geoffrey James

Updated on: September 25, 2009 / 9:54 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

I recently had a long conversation with Ron Jeremy, who is both the world's most recognizable male porn performer and a celebrity/actor in the mainstream media. Much to my surprise, he had some excellent advice for sales pros, especially when it comes to having the right attitude. But before I explain, here's a top-line summary of Jeremy's career:

Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for "Most Appearances in Adult Films".
Ranked by AVN Magazine at #1 in their "100 Top Porn Stars of All Time"
Appeared, often in speaking rolls, in numerous mainstream movies.
Starred in the second and ninth season of the reality series The Surreal Life.
Published a well-received memoir "Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz"

Now, that's an impressive list of credits for anybody working in the seamier side of show biz, but it's even more amazing when you consider that Ron Jeremy is (let's face it) ugly, overweight, and possessed of about a thimble-full of real talent. I asked him how he's managed to become so ubiquitous. Here's what he told me:

Work Ethic. "I was raised right and am willing to spend as much time as it takes to get where I want to go. I don't believe that you should undertake anything without deciding that you can and should be the absolute best at what you're doing."
Hustle. "I've got a really strong hustle. I didn't wait for the mainstream to come to me, I went out for auditions and pounded the pavements. Business is all about being in the right place in the right time, so you need to be as many places as possible as often as possible if you want to succeed."
Sacrifice. "You can't become successful if you're not willing to give something else up. I have friends who quit the porn business and now have families and are really happy with their lives. I made the decision that I couldn't pursue my career and still be a good parent.
Patience. "The mainstream business is far more cutthroat than the porn business. In porn, almost every thing is done with verbal contracts and word-of-honor. In the mainstream, you can sign a contract an inch thick and still get screwed over."
Friendship. "I'm always ready to do what I can to help my friends. If I can help somebody connect up with somebody else, or give somebody I trust a reference, I'll do it in a heartbeat. I have a rolodex that's longer than...my arm."

In my view, that list is an excellent definition of the attitude that makes a sales pro successful, especially when the product being sold isn't the most attractive package in the world. Once again, Jeremy's life isn't one that I would particularly want to emulate (particularly not when it came to explaining my career to my mother-in-law), but there's no question that this guy knows how to sell.