I am a firm believer that hard work and dedication can take you a long way, yet creativity will take you further! In a report on the future of jobs The World Economic Forum determined by 2020, creativity will be in the top 3 skills needed in the workplace. As Einstein himself said, Imagination is more important than knowledge. This is an exciting opportunity, and a skill that we must invest in.
We are most creative when we are relaxed, creative ideas will not flow whilst you are sat at your desk surrounded by technology. I highly recommend taking Creativity time away from the office and technology. Alternatively, you can create analogue areas within the office, a quiet technology free space you can go to generate and hone creative ideas.
Google allows employees to spend 20% of their time on projects other than their job! This is great for company culture, but also creates relaxed employees and creative mindsets. Whilst this is a great goal to aim for, Creativity can be started very simply e.g. monthly brain storming sessions. You can also generate a Creativity Seed Bank (CSB)
It is important to remember there are no bad ideas. The more seeds you sew, the more likely you are to find the golden idea that must be given further review for implementation. Your CSB can be completely open ended or you can encourage creative ideas under the following headings or similar;
- Prospecting ideas
- Routes to market
- Differentiating your marketing
- Conference and meeting ideas
- Sales Strategy
- SMART Data ideas for your pipeline
- Sales Process – Sales Toolkit
- Creative closing
- Product references- Referral Selling
- Time management ideas – ensure more of your time is focused on Selling
- Product development ideas – to feedback into your company
It’s important to ensure your ideas are captured, always keep a small note pad with you. Creative ideas can come at any time, most likely when you are away from the office. The CSB can be as simple as a box on a desk, where notes can be posted. You or a team member can be responsible for monitoring and sorting the CSB, recording electronically for future meetings.
It is easy to get creative! Small investments can include analogue working areas or relaxed time away from the office, so that you can hear your ideas. You will start to see a ROI as creative ideas are implemented, differentiating your product and Sales and marketing process.
As Robert Louis Stevenson said Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
If you would like to learn more about implementing a CSB and Creativity in Sales, please contact SalesAde
