Unleash Your Selling Creativity

Where does creativity fit in to the sales process? First of all, understand that the sales process will continue in the traditional sense without any new creative efforts or designs. Creativity however, enables a salesperson to stretch a bit, enlightening us with new possibilities.

Creativity sparks ingenuity, perhaps opening our eyes to new customers previously invisible to us. You do not have to be a creative, right-brained genius to benefit from this approach. Everybody has creative ideas; simply let yours flow.

Years ago I had a bright idea. I wrote a compelling sales letter and decided to mail it to a hundred prospects which I had identified through an industrial directory. First, I called each company to identify the proper contacts and then proceeded to launch my strategic initiative. As with all marketing efforts, I had already learned that the more focused the approach, the better my results would be.

I decided that my letter would focus upon the core question "Do you suffer from industrial indigestion?" I cleverly glued a Tums® tablet to the page, knowing that I had a marketing winner in my hands! I could hardly wait to print the letters and mail them off.

The letters were mailed on a Monday morning and I began the follow-up calls the following Thursday. My plan was to call each contact while their memory of my marvelous marketing letter was fresh in their mind. This way they would have a great impression of me and my company, and be rather anxious to set an appointment for me to personally visit their company the following week.

My bubble was soon burst by the news that I was hearing from many of the prospects. When they opened my letter, a small pile of mint-scented powder dumped on their desk. Oh yeah, they remembered me alright! It seems that the antacid tablets were crushed by mail-handling machinery; something I had not considered.

While some of the prospects were obviously bothered, most that I spoke with were not and the mailing ended up being quite successful. One way or another, I created an interesting, unforgettable first impression. The effort led to many new customers.

Unleashing creativity in your sales efforts will indeed serve to further differentiate you in the marketplace. Your creative sales effort will offer your customers one more reason to think of you instead of a competitor, endearing you to your customers, causing them to remember you for a long time.

Take a look at the innovative video below to see how the creative people at Commoncraft have designed a sales presentation for one of their customers.

...........................
Daniel Sitter
Author

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Comments

[annarita]

Hi! Great blog! I subscribing your feed:)

bye
Annarita

[Rocco De Leo]

Wow! I am new to the "sales" blogging world, but am finding it both valuable and exciting. I love the You Tube video about "solar toasters"-- catchy "WebAmercial". Please check out my site www.salesbeegreat.blogspot.com. It is my creative outlet (the book is forthcomming)from the Pharma industry. I am a bit of a fish out of water, wanting to be more of a salesman than a professional visitor---but the culture sees it different. Good luck and good selling--rocco

[Collin]

Hey nice post hope you have a great weekend.

[Tiffany]

That's a great story, both as encouragement to get creative and be brave and as encouragement to do your homework! Of course, today an unidentified powdered substance in an unexpected mailing would probably command the attention of the FBI...