Ever feel stuck for an idea? Sometimes we get in a situation that is stalled and we just don’t know what to do. We think we have tried everything and we remain stuck where we are.
2009 has been a bit challenging for some people to say the least. And we need to be more creative than ever to:
- Get in front of decision makers
- Find some sense of balance in our work/life
- Close sales
- Meet and beat our goals
- Move a stalled or stuck situation
We can throw a lot of ideas down on paper and that helps. But to really tap into our creativity to get unstuck and unstalled, we might need to tap into both sides of our brains – logical and creative!
Martha Beck outlines the Kitchen Sink approach in her article, Half a Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste. When you are stuck and need to open your mind to find new ideas: 
- Sign your name in differnet ways. Sign normally. Sign with your opposite hand. Sign it upside down. Now backward.
- Write the question you want answered with your dominant hand. “How can I connect with ___ prospect?” Then switch the pen to your opposite hand and write whatever pops into your mind.
- Move! Get out of your chair and walk a few steps. Notice how your arms swing opposite your legs? Now walk with your right arm going forward with your right leg. Same with your left leg/foot.
- The kitchen sink – think about your opportunity or problem. Now stop thinking about that subject and read about totally unrelated subjects (a sports article, a recipe idea, a biography, a blog
) think of the situation again – read – think of the situation. This might trigger totally different ideas or actions!
This works. Sunday evening I was stuck as I was brainstorming an opening for a sales training workshop on Tuesday. I went through this process and within 15 minutes I had it! It was simple, something I had used in an unrelated workshop years ago – and when I delivered it, the sales reps LOVED it!
To get ready to relax this weekend – get creative in answering a problem, challenge or opportunity that is stuck and weighing on your mind. Use the kitchen sink approach to identify real alternatives and actions – which will take that TO DO off your mind and allow you to enjoy a more restful weekend.
What other ways do you get un-stuck?
Filed Under: Creataivity, sales
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You can read the announcement here. 
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Visit www.sharpenz.comfor more information – and you can watch a short (less than 2.5 minutes) video where I explain Sharpenz in a nutshell!
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Speaking of honors - Top 10 Sales Articles has selected Sales Meetings that Engage: Please Include Me as a nominee for the November article of the month.
Click here to see all 10 nominees. If you would, I’d appreciate it if you would vote for my article!
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Another FREE ebook filled with TONS of useful sales tips and tools from Top Sales Experts.
It’s the Fall Edition and it is ready for you. Click on the graphic to get your copy.
Filed Under: maximize sales productivity, sales, sales productivity, sales tips
I just read a blog post that is very timely at this time of year. Patrick Diessen’s blog covered procrastination today. At this point in the sales year our procrastination from the past six months – or the lazy days of summer – can start catching up with us. This advice is very relevant today.
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“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task!” – William James
A Cure for Procrastinating
Here’s a cure for those who are sick and tired of being told; “If only you applied yourself, you could accomplish so much!”:
- Make top-of-mind that you really are squandering your life. Your life’s meaning is significantly determined by how much you’ve given to the world. And as everyone’s been telling you ad nauseum, you have so much potential to do that. Decide, finally, that every time you opt to forgo productivity in favor of a brain teaser or party, you’re probably wasting life’s most precious resource: TIME!
- Set a big goal. Goethe said, “Dream no small dreams because they have no power to move people’s hearts.” So, what’s the biggest, most exciting goal you could potentially achieve if you put your mind to it? Even if you’re not sure you could achieve it, might getting partway there is good enough? Can’t think of a big, exciting goal? Here are common fantasy careers: owning a cool business, being a celebrity, being in the fashion, sports, computer games, or film industry, directing or starting a non-profit, holding political office, holding a status job like architect, lawyer, or executive. Already in a career? What’s the biggest contribution you could make to your field? Most people don’t have the intellectual firepower to make a big contribution, but you’re a Mensan. You do.
- Picture the benefits of achieving your goal. Money? Fame? Self-esteem? A more meaningful life? Get your spouse off your back? Increased happiness? More meaningful relationships?
- Is fear making you procrastinate? If so, what would your wiser twin say in response to your fear? For example, if you’re afraid of failing, your wiser twin might say, “If the goal is really too difficult, change it or get the skills you need so it’s not too difficult.” Or, “Is it wiser to not attempt your goal at all, which guarantees failure? Would the price of failure be so great as to justify your not trying it?”
- Consider getting a collaborator. Procrastinators often feel guilty about slacking if they have a partner to be accountable to.
- Be aware of the moment of truth: that moment, when you, usually unconsciously decide whether you should take that next baby step toward your goal or see what event you should next attend? By making the choice consciously, you’ll more often choose the productive activity.
- Break the project into baby steps. Don’t know how? Get help from a close friend, family member, coach or mentor.
- When you’re stuck, struggle for no more than one minute. Generally, if you haven’t made progress in a minute, chances are that additional struggling won’t help. It will merely make you want to procrastinate more!
- DON’T put it on your To-Do List. Conventional wisdom says to put all your tasks on a to-do list and then prioritize the list. I’ve found that for many tasks, you’re wiser to just do the task: you save the time it takes to put the task on your list; you avoid adding to the many tasks hanging over your head like Poe’s pendulum in the pit; doing it now tends to make you not be overly perfectionist about it; most important, you avoid procrastination: you’ve gotten it done! So instead of the guilt, you’ll start hearing, “Wow. Thanks for the fast response!” That feels so good!
- A one-paragraph procrastination treatment. When you’re tempted to procrastinate, there’s a moment of truth when you’re still able to resist, like when you’re just starting to lose your temper. At that moment, you can still restrain yourself.
How to restrain yourself from procrastinating? At the moment of truth, ask yourself, “What’s my next one-minute task?” If you can’t figure out what it is or how to do it, ponder for just one minute. If you’re still clueless, get help or decide that the problem isn’t important enough to worry about.
- Procrastination Excuses. Do you use any of these bogus excuses to justify procrastinating?
- I’ll feel more like doing it tomorrow. –> Think back to previous times you’ve used that excuse. Did you feel more like doing it the next day?
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After I do X (for example, clean my desk), I’ll do the task. –> Again, think back. Did delaying the task make things easier?
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I’m afraid of failing. –> Not trying ensures failure! Winners increase their chances of success by dividing tasks into bite-sized pieces and getting help where needed.
What can you do today?
When tempted to procrastinate, first congratulate yourself on catching yourself making an excuse. Then do your next few-second task. Expect it to feel uncomfortable. Do it anyway. It will get better! It will help you to succeed faster and better!
“The two rules of procrastination: 1) Do it today. 2) Tomorrow will be today tomorrow!” - Author Unknown
Make this a Positive & Successful day…. unless you have other plans! Written by Marty Nemko for Patrick Diessen. Dutch born and now Sydney based Patrick Driessen is a visionary, entrepreneurial and intuitive executive leader, strategist, exec coach, author and agent of change with a passion to help other people succeed!
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With short Midwestern summers, it is easy to get into the habit (yes it is a habit) of procrastination. I’m using this information to jump start my activity again! Best to you Nancy.
What tips for removing procrastination do you have for others?
Filed Under: sales, sales productivity, sales tips
Are you a sales artist? When you hear the word artist, what comes to mind? Someone a little “off”, quirky, passionate, focused on their art form? As much as we try to make a science of sales, so much of sales success is an art that needs to be nurtured, developed and appreciated.
Jill Konrath tweeted this video for inspiration this week. These dancers obviously have a passion for their art. What about you? Do you have passion for the art of sales?
Watch the video and then consider:
- If you were to lose some of your resources (and most have to do with less this year) would you find a way to continue with your art or make excuses and give up?
- Who do you spend time with that shares the love of your art?
- What have you done recently to strengthen your sales artistry?
- What “crutch” might provide support as you strive to achieve this year’s goals?
There are all kinds of arts – dance, painting, sports, sculpturing – like there are all kinds of sales – direct, B2B, B2C, telesales. What matters is whether you are connected to “your” sales art-form.
In the arts, success comes from practice, passion and persistence. Isn’t this the same in sales?
p.s. Jill now posted the “back story” to these dancers on her blog. Read it here.
Filed Under: sales, sales tips
Prior proper planning prevents poor performance! Our productivity is greatly increased when we make the time to prepare. Notice I didn’t say ‘find” time. Preparation is a discipline and successful professionals make the time.
Preparation is even more important in a changing economy. And we need to change our strategy during this time. What worked yesterday may not work today.
For each contact do your homework and prepare for:
1. Who you are meeting with. In the overall sale, is this person the only person you should be meeting with? Are there others within this organization that should be included in the discussion? For this person, what is happening with them today? How is the economy affecting them personally? As you consider how to approach them identify a question or two that is just about them!
2. The industry they are in. Conduct research on the Internet to find out what is happening specifically in this industry today. Are lines of credit to this industry lessened? Does the global implication matter to them? These are all starting places.
3. The company. Have they had layoffs? Are they hiring? What is happening with their stock (if applicable)? What is their competition doing? There are many companies have found a way to capitalize on the financial situation in the US.
4. Review notes from past contacts. What level of discussion have you had? Has it been strategic – tied into increasing results, decreasing costs or lessening risks? Or tactical – focused on one specific piece of information that is tied directly to what you offer? Prepare to broaden your discussion to strategy and help them solve business problems or create opportunities.
To make your preparation efficient, are few tools:
1. Google alerts. Use these to receive an email when a specific industry, company, or person is in the news. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts to set your alerts.
2. Use your in-house CRM system – Garbage in, garbage out. If you have input good information, now is the time to use it! If you haven’t, set aside 30 minutes a day to populate your system.
3. Put pen to paper! Writing your call objective, questions you will ask, benefit you can crate and problems you can solve will help you retain focus during the discussion.
The biggest obstacle to preparation I hear is the “not enough” excuse. Not enough time, not enough information, not enough value in doing it. In our control studies, the sales professionals that prepared were 17-25% more effective than those that didn’t. How would those productivity increases impact you?
Filed Under: recession proof sales, sales, sales success, strategic preparation
