The Need for Creativity

This past week I had opportunity to work with a great client at a worldwide sales conference in Miami. During the two days, I spent several hours with the client's sales management team and four hours with the salespeople. They have a great sales culture and you could feel the attitude in the room.  In the post meeting evaluations several reactions to the programs came out:  1) The importance of understanding the various personality styles, 2) The need to be "greedy with your time/Time Management" and 3) the fact that an individual's creativity can be learned or enhanced.  Past blogs and our monthly newsletters have covered personality styles and time management so this week I thought I would address creativity.

There is no question about it, top performers are more creative that your average salespeople. They seem to come up with unique ideas to prospect, find ways to enhance client relationships and they close more effectively. Sales leadership requires creativity as well, sales managers that are exceeding sales quotas, hiring and developing their teams and building a sales culture require huge levels of a creativity quotient.

The good news? You can enhance your creativity by "working on it." In my Keynote, No Regret's, the Do Over Factor, I share three tenets for personal and professional success -- creativity is one of those three foundations.  I have listed nine actions you can work on to develop mind patterns that will enhance your creativity power:

• Track your ideas:  keep a notebook and write down all your ideas-about anything. It is amazing what happens when you build an active list.
• Inquiring minds want to know: be inquisitive, ask questions, increase your levels of interest.
• Learn about different things: study a language, read a book, take a course, get active.
• Avoid set patterns:  break your habits, floss your teeth differently, brush your teeth in different sequences, drive to work on a new route.
• Be open: listen to others, try to accept new ideas.
• Be patient in observations: take the time to watch a bird fly, look at the woods more closely,  look for new patterns, watch the river flow.
• Engage in hobbies: your mind must disengage from normal business stress.
• Improve sense of humor: learn to laugh, even at yourself.
• Be a risk taker: try something different, the adrenalin will cause a positive impact on your brain.

I would like your comments and thoughts about how you enhance your creativity. What was the most creative sales tactic you have used? What were the results?

THANK YOU   to everyone that has already purchased our new book, we announced it last week; Your Sales Management Guru's Guide to: Hiring High Performance Sales Teams.

I would like your comments and thoughts about how you enhance your creativity. What was the most creative sales tactic you have used? What were the results?

THANK YOU   to everyone that has already purchased our new book, we announced it last week; Your Sales Management Guru's Guide to: Hiring High Performance Sales Teams.

Posted by Ken Thoreson on January 18, 2011