What do you do if your sales team is struggling to meet targets and needs a boost of creativity?

1 Assess your current situation

The first step to improving your sales team's creativity is to understand where they are now and what challenges they are facing. You can do this by conducting a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This will help you identify the areas where your team is performing well, where they need improvement, where they can leverage new opportunities, and where they are vulnerable to external factors. You can also ask your team members for feedback on what they think is working and what is not, and what they need to be more creative.

2 Provide training and coaching

The next step is to provide your sales team with the training and coaching they need to develop their creative skills and mindset. You can do this by offering them courses, workshops, webinars, or books on topics such as creative thinking, brainstorming, innovation, storytelling, or design thinking. You can also coach them individually or in groups on how to apply these techniques to their specific sales situations and goals. For example, you can help them generate more leads by using different sources, methods, or angles. You can also help them improve their sales pitches by using stories, metaphors, or visuals.

3 Encourage collaboration and diversity

Another way to boost your sales team's creativity is to encourage them to collaborate and learn from each other and from other sources of inspiration. You can do this by creating a culture of openness, trust, and feedback, where your team members can share their ideas, opinions, and experiences without fear of judgment or criticism. You can also facilitate cross-functional or cross-cultural interactions, where your team members can exchange insights and perspectives with people from different backgrounds, roles, or industries. This will help them broaden their horizons, challenge their assumptions, and discover new possibilities.

4 Reward and recognize creativity

Finally, you can motivate your sales team to be more creative by rewarding and recognizing their efforts and achievements. You can do this by setting clear and realistic goals, measuring and tracking their progress, and celebrating their successes. You can also provide them with incentives, such as bonuses, prizes, or recognition, for coming up with innovative solutions, exceeding expectations, or overcoming difficulties. You can also create a positive and fun work environment, where your team members can enjoy their work, express their personalities, and have fun.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?