If you are reading this saying to yourself “But I’m not the creative type, this does not apply to me” allow me to challenge that notion for the moment and coax you to read on.

People tend to like “familiarity” because, in most cases, it makes our life that much easier.

Think about this. When you walk into your favorite grocery store on an average day, you know your way around, you know where everything is. You could run in, get what you are looking for and be out of there.

But what if they were to remodel and move things around a bit? You would likely have a tough time figuring out where anything is, it would be quite frustrating, and it would take you much longer to shop.

But, would anything good happen in the process? Your first incline might be to say no. But think about it a bit more. You couldn’t just shop on autopilot; you would have to actively engage your brain and employ all of your senses. You would have to take the time to search for items that you used to absentmindedly just throw in your cart.

Would you see anything different? Most likely, lots of stuff you had not seen or noticed before. But is it really new stuff? Was it not always there before? The stuff had not changed, just your ability to see them.

So, what does this have to do with sales? Think about your workday for a moment. It is likely that you travel the same route to work everyday, drive to the same building, park at the same spot, sit at the same desk, call on the same clients, the same list of prospects, send the same email messages, check through all your social media channels possibly in the same order, offer the same promotions, answer the same objections, deliver the same presentations, etc. etc. Get the point?

It is human nature. It’s easy to get used to the routine and be comfortable with the familiar.

But what are you missing? As in the grocery store analogy, what would you see if you changed your routine?  If you shook things up a bit, what would you have? What could you have?

Would a new approach make a difference? Would a new strategy have an impact? Would a fresh perspective set you in a new direction? Start by driving a different route to the office, call on the “other” list of prospects, use a different approach on your next call, and be uncomfortable by choice. It’s a simple exercise but the reward can be enormous.

And it’s just the beginning, you are on your way to becoming more creative. Creativity after all, is not the ability to paint a masterpiece or compose a symphony, but the ability to see the things you look at everyday with new eyes. To notice things that might have gone unnoticed.

Are you up to the challenge? What will you do different starting now? Give it a try – I look forward to your comments. Let the ideas flow!

Find “Creativity Sells – Part II” here.

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John Kypriotakis is the President of Lysis International,
a Tampa based Sales and Management consulting firm,
specializing in B2B Sales, Management and Leadership.

www.SalesAndManagement.com
813-792-8500

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