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10 Creativity Lightning Rods For Your Solutions
Published over 1 year ago • 6 min read
Issue #64
It's easy to impress clients with your creativity when you use the 10 lightning rods
No One is Buying without Buy-in
The most powerful way you can sell is not to turn up with a turnkey solution and talk about it. It is to turn up with a way of helping a customer to see their business, their problems, their opportunities in a new way and develop their own solutions.
A prospect will have a million times more confidence and ownership of a solution they had a hand in creating than something off the shelf.
In psychology it is known as the “IKEA” effect - we value the self assembly crap we buy there more because we invest so much pain and swearing in them.
This is a cognitive bias that causes people to place a much higher value on products they create themselves, (regardless of the quality of the end result). This is due to the effort and time they invested in it.
Leaving a man alone with a flatpack and sharp instruments is actually murder
Here’s One I Prepared Earlier
For enterprise sales, where you don’t have a product you can just get out of your bag and show people, it is pretty much the only way to sell.
Case studies of similar companies are great for creating confidence from a social proof point of view.
They don’t, however, actually mean that you solution will work for your prospect.
The counter force to social proof is “Not Invented Here” (NIH) syndrome. This is where solutions are rejected simply because they are from outside the organisation. In companies that pride themselves on innovation, high tech or uniqueness (or all three) you get a strong NIH bias.
Mr "Not Invented Here" is easy to spot...
We Can Work It Out
What is the answer to this?
Don’t turn up with a solution, turn up with a toolkit for creating a solution.
Having a methodology to take a client from a problem they need to solve or an opportunity they need to exploit through to their, “Aha!” moment is very powerful.
Here is a method I have used to great success. It is a general creative framework, make it as specific to your needs as possible.
The combination of familiar industry vocabulary and context plus the innovation framework will immediately impress a client.
The Power of Nature
I call these ten concepts “lightning rods” because they represent a way you can get all the creative power in a room focused on one spot. The release of energy is almost miraculous when it happens - things start to move forward.
Creative power at your fingertips...you're welcome
The first step is to get a really concise but exhaustive statement of the problem(s) you are trying to solve.
this is not a trivial task but it is worth the time to do it properly. The danger is that you will get excited and go charging off after early ideas - don't, stick with the game plan.
Once everyone agrees what they are trying to achieve, it is much easier to get them being creative.
It is one of the paradoxes of creativity that is easier to generate ideas when the problem is hyper specific than when it is generalised.
Think of when you were a school kid and the teacher said, “Write me an essay about anything you like!” You would spend hours doing nothing.
But if she said, “Write an essay about your favourite football team!” You would immediately have a hundred ideas.
When he was younger, Simon always had his head in a book
Ten Lightning Rods
I have collected and refined these themes over my 35 year career. I have used these for generating supply chain solutions, IT solutions,, organisational designs, marketing strategies, sales plans, operational redesigns and even new product generation.
If you think some of them are obvious then good, it shows you have a creative mind. The point is to use them rigorously rather than re-invent the creativity wheel.
Also, do not think of these concepts as just applying to the technical aspect of your offer. You can also use them to create new business models, commercial offers, legal and regulatory workarounds, packaging and logistical changes, even geographical insights.
Think about all aspects of the sale for marketing through to implementation and contract management.
1. Simplification - "How can we break this solution down into simpler, more manageable components?"
Break solutions, or even the problem statement, down into smaller parts, removing unnecessary elements, and focusing improvements on specific areas.
Example: A software company might modularise its product, allowing clients to choose only the features they need, reducing complexity and cost.
2. Integration - “How can we combine different elements or systems to create a more efficient and unified solution?"
Combine multiple components or systems into a single, more efficient solution that can serve multiple purposes.
Example: A cloud services provider offering an integrated suite that combines storage, computing, and networking, offering a one-stop solution for businesses.
3. Adaptiveness - "What adjustments can we make to ensure this solution remains effective across varying conditions or requirements?"
Create solutions that are adjustable, flexible, and adaptable to different situations or requirements.
Example: An office furniture company designed ergonomic chairs that can be adjusted in multiple ways to fit a wide range of body types and working positions.
4. Efficiency - “In what ways can we alter the design, shape, or material to maximise the efficiency of this solution?"
Use shapes, materials, and designs that optimise the efficiency and effectiveness of a solution.
Example: A logistics company using vacuum packing on soft goods to maximise space utilisation and minimise damage during transport.
5. Proactivity - ‘What preemptive actions can we take now to streamline or enhance the implementation of this solution?"
Anticipate and solve potential challenges, including the use of feedback mechanisms to refine the solution continuously.
Example: A cybersecurity firm implements predictive analytics to identify potential threats before they occur, using feedback to improve defences.
6. Reversal - "Can we approach this problem from a completely different angle or use this element in an unconventional way to find a novel solution?"
Look at challenges from many perspectives such as different departments, stakeholders or process steps and use components in unconventional ways to generate new ideas.
Example: A beverage company uses its empty shipping containers as pop-up promotional venues, turning a logistical storage problem into a marketing asset.
7. Resourcefulness - "How can we leverage existing resources, partnerships, or low-cost alternatives to achieve our goal more effectively?"
Utilise available resources in novel ways, including using intermediaries, third parties, or existing materials to achieve goals. Example: A startup partners with larger, established companies to use their sales channels, rapidly scaling its market presence without significant investment.
8. Resilience - “How can we design this solution to adapt and evolve over time in response to feedback and changing circumstances?"
Build solutions that can adapt over time, respond to feedback, and evolve based on future
predictions or simulations.
Example: An e-commerce platform uses machine learning to adapt its user interface and recommendations based on customer behaviour and feedback.
9. Sustainability - "What strategies can we employ to make this solution more self-sufficient, eco-friendly, and sustainable in the long term?"
Emphasise solutions that are self-sufficient, minimise waste, and use environmentally friendly materials or processes.
Example: A packaging company develops biodegradable materials that serve the same function as plastics but reduce environmental impact.
10. Innovation - "What cutting-edge materials, technologies, or processes can we incorporate to enhance the performance and value of this solution?"
Employ cutting-edge materials, technologies, or processes to enhance the performance or capabilities of a solution.
Example: A car manufacturer incorporates composite materials to reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency without compromising safety and protect its spares business.
The Way You Make Me Feel
The fourth or fifth time I used this approach, when I was a bit nervous with it, the company CEO approached me afterwards.
I was expecting something along the lines of, “Well, that’s all very well but what about our warehouse in Wigan…”
But he said, “Send me your slide deck. I am going to give it to our sales team. If we can make our customers feel like my team is feeling right now, we’ll smash target in six months.”
This is how happy the senior team were, I ran away very quickly...
I did over fifty workshops on this for some of the biggest companies in the world. I know it works and can be transformational in a customer relationship and their business.
And we sorted out the Wigan warehouse, by the way, and the slide deck was an attachment to my invoice...
Use this framework and I guarantee you will look smarter than a well dressed fox with a Nobel prize in physics. Let me know how it goes, and I will feature you in the newsletter.
Join 1,850+ professionals and transform your B2B sales results. Learn to sell the way big companies buy. Get insights delivered every Sunday - read in minutes, use forever.
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