About Animal Selling
Born from decades of sales research and real-world experience, Animal Selling transforms how teams understand themselves and connect with customers.
The Origin Story
Animal Selling was developed by Chris Coltran, co-founder of C2 Unlimited, LLC., a coaching and training company, and a multi-book author and professional sales trainer with over 25 years of experience across retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and distribution. Through decades of working directly with thousands of salespeople and leaders, C2 recognized a common challenge of salespeople naturally communicating and selling based on their own preferences rather than adapting to the customer.
Building on his earlier work, including the Grandmother Philosophy, Animal Selling was created as a simple, relatable framework to help sales professionals quickly identify behavioral styles of their own and their customer's, and adjust their approach to better connect, build trust, and close more sales. These concepts have been implemented at scale, including training initiatives with The Home Depot, one of the largest retailers in the world, where the Animal Selling framework has helped associates better understand customers and improve the overall buying experience.
The Influences
Animal Selling is influenced by both DISC and The Five Love Languages, bringing together the power of understanding how people communicate and how they prefer to be treated. Most people naturally interact with others the way they want to be treated—communicating in their own style, emphasizing what matters to them, and moving at a pace that feels comfortable.
But just like The Five Love Languages teaches us to give love in the way the other person wants to receive it, Animal Selling reinforces that customers need to be communicated with in a way that fits them. While DISC helps us understand general communication tendencies, your sales animal is not the same as your DISC profile—they are different. DISC reflects broader behavioral traits, while your sales animal represents how you naturally show up in a sales conversation and how you tend to sell.
Animal Selling simplifies these concepts into an easy-to-use framework that helps salespeople slow down, get to know the customer, build genuine rapport, and adjust their approach to match how that customer thinks, feels, and makes decisions—before ever trying to make the sale.
The Science Behind It
Behavioral Psychology
Our framework is rooted in established personality research and behavioral psychology. We've distilled complex theories into practical, memorable categories.
Two Key Dimensions
Research shows communication preferences cluster around two axes: task-oriented vs. people-oriented, and fast-paced vs. methodical. Our four animals map to these quadrants.
Sales-Specific Design
Unlike generic personality tests, every aspect of Animal Selling is designed for sales contexts—from the questions we ask to the advice we give.
Adaptive Selling
Studies show that salespeople who adapt their style to match customer preferences close more deals. Animal Selling makes this adaptation intuitive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the quiz take?
The assessment takes about 5 minutes. It's 24 questions designed to identify your natural selling tendencies.
Can my type change over time?
Your core type tends to stay consistent, but you can develop skills from other types. Many successful salespeople learn to flex between styles.
Is one type better than others?
No! Each type has unique strengths. The best salespeople understand their natural style and learn when to adapt.
How does Team Safari work?
Create a team, invite members via link, and see your team's composition. Balanced teams with multiple types often perform best.