What do you do if your technical sales job requires creative thinking abilities?

> Develop the mindset to learn. > Pay to learn the new knowledge and skill > Learn by DIY > Dedicate time for learning > Observe senior colleagues, Industry veterans as to what do they do. Slowly incorporate some of their best practices in your way of doing things - Model them.

Good salespeople know that success comes from within, not external factors. Sales is a performance-based job and can face the performance paradox if salespeople do not train and add new knowledge; their performance will decline. Salespeople need to be trained and continuously learning, and then apply what they learn in real cases. The sales performance paradox can occur when sales teams solely focus on closing deals without investing in training, skill development, or expanding their knowledge base.

Stay curious and open-minded, seeking opportunities to expand your knowledge and skills. Take advantage of training programs, workshops, and online resources to enhance your creative thinking abilities.

I am dedicated to acquiring new knowledge and skills that are essential to achieving my career objectives. By adopting a proactive approach towards lifelong learning, I aim to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in my field and remain competitive in the job market. I recognize that the pursuit of knowledge is a continuous process, and I am willing to invest the time and effort required to enhance my professional capabilities.

Curiosity is the engine of creativity, and when you are curious, you ask questions. But you must know how to ask questions.asking questions is important in communication. Selling is not simply about asking questions; just like conducting a survey, not selling. Some salespeople think that having a conversation and asking questions means they already have good communication. However, communication is a broad term that encompasses the exchange of information, ideas, thoughts, or feelings between individuals or groups, while conversation specifically refers to an interactive and two-way form of communication between two or more people.

Challenge assumptions and explore different perspectives by asking thought-provoking questions. Engage in active listening during customer interactions to uncover underlying needs and opportunities for creative solutions.

Foster a collaborative environment where ideas can flow freely among team members. Seek input and feedback from colleagues with diverse backgrounds and expertise to inspire innovative approaches.

Technical sales can involve very complex product solutions. By solely focusing on your product, you risk falling into the commodity trap, where your product is perceived as just another alternative in the market. Through wide collaboration, you can explore possibilities to view your product differently, considering it as a solution. This approach allows you to learn how to integrate your product with other solutions or how to use it differently.

Past experience is indeed a gold mine. By learning from your past experiences, you understand the obstacles and challenges you've faced and how to handle them. If you've already faced similar challenges or obstacles in the past, you can anticipate if they might occur again and prevent them from happening. Without knowing what might happen until it occurs, you wouldn't know how to react because judgment and decision-making rely on using data, skills, and experience.

Draw upon past experiences and insights to inform your creative problem-solving process. Reflect on successful strategies and lessons learned from previous projects to generate new ideas and approaches.

Visualize the desired outcomes and benefits of creative solutions to stay motivated and focused. Use visualization techniques such as mind mapping or storyboarding to brainstorm ideas and map out implementation plans.

Visualization of success is a good way to boost your spirit and confidence, but this doesn't mean you think everything will go as you expect. This can lead to a confidence paradox where you believe you already know and control the situation until challenges and obstacles arise, causing you to start doubting your self-visualization and stay aware of your surroundings.