Increasing Your Creativity for Greater Out-of-the-Box Thinking
Creativity in Banking – Are You Kidding?
Usually, I use this space to share different selling techniques that you can use or pass on to your sales team to help them sell more effectively. So you may be wondering why I’m now writing about creativity, a subject that evokes images of artists, poets and musicians, not bankers. Well, creativity is a critical skill for us as salespeople. While it’s true that we should be using practiced, polished, tried and true sales presentations so that we can deliver our message effectively to our prospects, that’s not enough. Sometimes the tried and true sales pitch just doesn’t work and then we’re stuck without any options. That’s where creativity provides a competitive edge.
Creativity also plays an important role as we experiment with ways to sell the endless stream of new products and describe their value. As we search for the words, analogies and examples to convince our prospects that the new products will benefit them, our creative juices really need to be flowing, or our sales efforts will run aground.
And, while we know that we need to be prepared to counter at least seven objections before the prospect says “Yes”, there is always that prospect that raises an eighth or ninth objection. Without creativity, we’ll be caught flatfooted and the sale will sail right by us and into the competition’s arms.
Creativity is the ability to talk about the competition in terms that extol the benefits of your bank and its product and service offerings without resorting to denigration and pot shots. Creativity is the key to resolving operational issues that block a potential sale and convert the situation to a win for you, your bank and the customer.
But Creative People Are Born, Not Made --- Right?
Given the pivotal role of creativity in the sales process, it’s amazing that more salespeople do not view themselves as creative. Each step in the sales process, beginning with the critical questions, “Who should I call on today?” and “What will I say to get this person’s attention?”, requires creativity.
As a behaviorist involved in getting groups of people to perform more effectively, I am continually amazed at the effect one’s attitude has on whether desired results are achieved. I have found that whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. In essence, how one feels or views something directly affects the outcome. For example, if you call on a prospect who harbors negative feelings towards the product or service you’re selling, you will have to work especially hard to convince this person to change their predisposition and this prospect probably will not buy. Conversely, if a prospect has positive feelings concerning what you are offering, this person is motivated to buy and the sale will proceed much more smoothly and rapidly.
Recall different sales campaigns or selling situations your team and you have faced in the recent past. If you and your team thought that you could make the goal, you probably did. If you and your team thought the selling situation would be difficult, it probably was. Whether you realized it or not, your attitude was a critical factor in shaping the outcome.
Similarly, if you think you are a creative person, you will be because you will act like a creative person. If this sounds too easy, it really isn’t. You see, each of us has formed pretty solid self-perceptions that will require sustained effort to change. Some of these self-perceptions began when we were children while others developed during adulthood thanks to the experiences we have had and the feedback we’ve received from bosses, coworkers, friends and others.
For years, I never viewed myself as creative as a result of a grammar school art class I had when I was eight years old. I can recall the class very clearly. We were all given paper and a couple of crayons. Then we were instructed to draw a tree, which I did. As I was admiring my work, the art teacher walked up and asked, “What’s that? You should be drawing a tree, Ann.” In fact, until that point I thought I had drawn a pretty decent tree. The teacher’s comments immediately disabused me of that idea and put any aspirations of a career in art to a quick end. I accepted the idea that I was not creative for almost thirty years, avoiding any assignments that I felt required a creative flair. Thanks to the pointed feedback of several coworkers, friends and clients, I realized that the childhood label was wrong and that I am a creative person. Now if you don’t consider yourself to be creative, think about the number of times you’ve generated ideas, proposed alternatives, solved problems or overcome objections. You’ll find that you are more creative than you think you are. Your creativity is limited solely by your self-perception.
What Makes a Person Creative?
Creative people are comfortable with “unfinished” ideas and see the possibilities not the unresolved details. They are good listeners who can “hear” possibilities and opportunities that others don’t. They are comfortable with ambiguity and understand that gray is a primary color with many different hues. They do not immediately need every “i” dotted and every “t” crossed. They know that the easiest way to kill creativity is to focus on the details before allowing an idea to take shape.
Creative people thrive on change because they understand that change creates innovation. Frequently creative people are in the vanguard, helping to promote change within an organization. They take pleasure in finding new and better ways to perform routine assignments.
Creative people recognize that there is no progress without risk taking. They accept the fact that it is impossible to move forward and innovate without sticking their necks out. This risk tolerance enables them to make quick decisions without delays, second thoughts, recriminations and reversals. At the same time, creative people encourage others to innovate and are willing to absorb the risks taken by their subordinates and peers. They understand that creativity requires experimentation and every experiment will not be successful. While they are not thrilled to fail, they don’t dwell on mistakes. They learn from them and move on to apply their newfound knowledge to other situations.
Creative people value mental diversity. They thrive on understanding others’ viewpoints, particularly when these perspectives are different from their own. Creative people tap these differences in opinions as sources of new idea.
Ten Ways to Become More Creative
If you want to be more creative, practice the following techniques:
1. Believe that you are a creative person. By viewing yourself as a creative person, you are allowing yourself to experiment with new ideas and behaviors. Once you change your attitude towards creativity, you will find it easier to change your behavior and become more innovative.
2. Accept and embrace change. Consider the opportunities the change will create.
3. Challenge yourself to find new ways to talk about your bank’s products and services.
4. Experiment with new ways to find prospects and get referrals.
5. Take a different route to and from the office each day.
6. When you’re obsessed with a problem or situation, give it a rest. Stress is the archenemy of creativity. The more you struggle to solve a problem, the more elusive the solution will be. Instead, talk a walk, play a game, read a book or work on something completely different. The answer will literally pop into your head as soon as you’ve occupied your mind with other things.
7. Increase your risk tolerance by taking more risks. You can begin by ordering something different from the restaurant menu.
8. When confronted with a new idea or a new way of handling a situation, identify its positive points. Try to identify at least two things that are beneficial or good about the new idea. Then, let yourself do the easy part by identifying the negatives or things that need development or improvement. Finally, challenge yourself to find two things that make the idea interesting. Identify an aspect of the idea or solution that is appealing or different. Think about ways you can capitalize on the interesting aspects of the idea to come up with innovative and creative ideas.
9. Convert your negative, critical reactions into positive, productive, option-producing efforts by asking yourself: In what ways might I? And then come up with as many ideas as you can for tackling the situation.
10. To encourage creativity in others, eliminate the following comments from your speech:
- That’s a ridiculous idea.
- You’re kidding, right?
- We’ve tried it before.
- We’ve never done it that way before.
- You’re ahead of your time.
- The Board, Management, or won’t go for it.
- Where else has this worked?
- Let’s form a committee to study it.
Have fun with these techniques and come up with your own ways to stretch your creativity. Celebrate each success and remember that perfectionism is the enemy of creativity. An imperfect something is better than a perfect nothing. Wishing you lots of out-of-the-box ideas.
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