You're in charge of media sales. How can you leverage your creativity to develop innovative solutions?

1 Identify the core challenge

Before you can come up with creative solutions, you need to understand the core challenge that your client or prospect is facing. What are their goals, pain points, and preferences? What are the gaps or opportunities in their current media strategy? How can you help them achieve better results with your media products or services? Asking open-ended questions, listening actively, and conducting research can help you identify the core challenge and empathize with your client's perspective.

2 Brainstorm multiple options

Once you have a clear idea of the core challenge, you can start brainstorming multiple options for solving it. Don't limit yourself to the obvious or conventional solutions. Try to generate as many ideas as possible, without judging or filtering them. You can use techniques such as mind mapping, SCAMPER, or reverse brainstorming to stimulate your creativity and explore different angles. You can also involve other people, such as your colleagues, managers, or experts, to get more input and feedback.

3 Evaluate and refine your ideas

After you have a list of potential solutions, you need to evaluate and refine them based on your client's needs, budget, and expectations. You can use criteria such as feasibility, impact, originality, and relevance to rank your ideas and select the most promising ones. You can also test your ideas with your client or prospect, either by presenting them as prototypes, mockups, or simulations, or by asking for their feedback and suggestions. This can help you validate your assumptions, identify potential risks or flaws, and improve your solutions.

4 Communicate your value proposition

The final step is to communicate your value proposition to your client or prospect, and persuade them to buy your solution. You need to craft a compelling story that showcases how your solution can solve their core challenge, and what benefits they can expect from it. You also need to differentiate your solution from your competitors, and address any objections or concerns that your client or prospect may have. You can use techniques such as storytelling, testimonials, or demonstrations to convey your value proposition and build trust and rapport.

5 Keep learning and improving

Creativity is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires you to keep learning and improving. You need to monitor the results of your solutions, and collect feedback from your clients and prospects. You also need to stay updated on the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in media sales. You can also seek inspiration from other sources, such as books, podcasts, or mentors, to expand your knowledge and skills. By keeping an open and curious mind, you can enhance your creativity and develop more innovative solutions in media sales.

6 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?