The Innovative Sale

The “Sales Innovation Dilemma”

Creativity promotes sales success. Sales professionals who learn to harness creative, right-brained thinking can develop brilliant strategies, effective processes and outstanding solutions for their customers. This level of creativity transforms standard sales managers and salespeople into innovators, while salespeople who lack creativity risk becoming undifferentiated order takers.

Many sales managers understand the importance of creativity to their salespeople, but haven’t succeeded in teaching or promoting it. This is the Sales Innovation Dilemma: Managers want their salespeople to be more creative, but lack realistic ideas about how to make that happen.

Some managers schedule so-called creativity sessions with games, activities and other tactics usually associated with children, such as puzzles, board games and picture books. These sessions take place in rooms furnished with beanbag chairs and soft sofas, based on the idea that comfy furniture promotes relaxed, creative conversations.

Alas, none of that works. Salespeople are adults and professionals who expect a certain level of business decorum. And, as Harvard Business...