Jan 18 2008
Brainstorm Your Way To Success
The human mind is a computer. You programme your computer by the input you feed into it; learning, knowledge, experience and so on. If you programme your mind with images of failure, you will fail. If you build a bank of success images, your computer will direct you to success.
How do you build and input images of success into your computer?
By creativity…by thinking.
The fruit of thinking is knowledge; and knowledge is the medium from which skills are built.
Purposeful self-awareness, plus a knowing application of skill, generates maximum personal horsepower.
The handmaiden of creativity is Imagination. Imagination is the well that brings forth the new ideas that are essential to your growing success.
Brainstorming is the way to keep imagination active, fresh, and alive.
These are the rules of brainstorming new ideas:
• Quantity: Numbers; the more ideas, the greater percentage of success
• No criticism: Don’t pre-judge any idea until you have a basketful to pick from. This is the key - judgment tends to inhibit imagination
• Free-wheeling: Don’t reject an idea because it is unusual or “off the wall”
• Combinations: Combine ideas and see what kind of offspring they produce.
Only after you’ve exhausted all possible ideas do you start the process of selecting and evaluating.
The aim of creativity is problem solving. That’s the essence of successful selling.
The foremost function of the mind is problem solving, we solve problems with our imagination and imagination is a function of our creative ability. A creative salesperson is a problem-solver.
The basics of the selling process:
• Determine desire
• Present the product to satisfy desire
• Help the prospect find the right reasons for a favourable decision
Selling is nothing more than an exercise in problem solving. By constantly keeping your imagination and creativity at work, you will develop the best attitude for problem solving. You will build an unending source of ideas. You will become an idea producer and this will be your source of “value add” that will differentiate you from your competitor.
Differentiate Between Activity and Accomplishment
Activity relates to being busy but accomplishment equates to getting meaningful things done. It takes energy to fail. The successful salesperson channels their energy into creative, productive channels leading to pre-defined goals.
Accomplishment is measured by the amount of creativity involved.
And Finally: Value Added Asks:
“What service or benefit can I add to what I give my customer, other than my product?”
Not just service in the sense of speedy delivery, prompt follow-up and personal attention, which are normal adjuncts of any real sale…but a real plus idea, something extra of value to him beyond the immediate transaction…that goes beyond the nine dots of your job…
Value Add, through idea giving, is the ingredient that earns you the right to ask for the order, and to expect it!
Today’s News: Time is always at a premium for me, but I do take time out every week to “learn and improve” That involves reading - I typically have about twelve books craving my attention in my study - visiting expert sites in my field, catching up with friend’s blogs and thinking: Thinking is one of the few luxuries in my life that I simply could not live without and it is just so important to me.
However, I digress-I want to introduce you to a site which I learn so much from - allbusiness.com - it really is excellent; well laid out, easy to navigate around and has superb contributors, including fellow TSE members Lori Richardson and Keith Rosen - do check it out.
Tomorrow:Work continues on the JF Consultancy site and all the elves are working overtime to launch at the end of the month 
Next Week: My guests are the incredibly energetic Colleen Francis and Mr Salesopedia, Clayton Shold, who many people fail to realise, is also an excellent author and not simply the CEO of one of the most successful sales communities on the web (Also winner of The 2007 JF Article Community Award)
Finally, a good friend sent me one of the funniest jokes I have ever read - it has now been sent to half of my address book; the other half are either too young or of a nervous disposition. If you would like me to e-mail it to you, just leave me a comment and I will respond by return - humour (humor) really does make the world go round 
As ever, have a great w/e and just make sure you come back and join me next week - JF
