LeadershipHQ Magazine June 2015 2nd Edition | Page 15

Example 2: Eliminate your new business! Sales is often going through strategic brainstorming, which usually centres on: “How can we grow our sales this year?” Answers might include: •G  enerate more leads •M  ake more calls •G  et in front of more clients • I ncrease our marketing spend All these answers involve more work and are likely limited by a cognitive bias arising from a fear of inadequacy. The brainstormed results assume that everything the sales team is currently doing is ‘adequate’ so the best way to grow is to duplicate this ‘adequate’ activity. The ironic thing is that this activity duplication can often lead to the opposite result with prospects getting sick of being called too much, time being wasted on poorly qualified leads and marketing flooding the media with an ineffective message! If we reverse brainstorm with “How can we eliminate all of our new business?” Answers might include: • Call our prospects every day until they are sick of us • Broadcast on our LinkedIn profile how incompetent we are • Change our LinkedIn profile picture to that photo from after drinks on Friday • Don’t make any outbound calls and don’t return incoming calls • Answer incoming calls by yelling “What do you want?” • Send every email without a signature • Leave the CAPS lock on while writing all emails • Tell everyone that our product is overpriced and won’t deliver These answers provide more practical ways that salespeople can assess their everyday activity and improve their quality rather than simply duplicate. I have been in sales teams which, after doing this, have expressed feeling liberated as they have been able to express true thoughts uninhibited by the limitations of their cognitive bias. A sales team operating on quality instead of quantity is the best way to grow sales and maximise revenue. Free thinking allows for effective strategy The strength of reverse brainstorming lies in the freedom of thinking that comes when cognitive biases are removed. This allows leaders to create an effective strategy not hindered by their own psychology. By using this tool, business leaders can develop an engaging culture through everyday activity, not just one off events that boost morale. They can develop effective sales techniques in their staff without demanding more and more activity. With a greater client understanding, businesses can design a sales and marketing strategy that shows client empathy rather than barrage clients again and again with meaningless rhetoric. Reverse brainstorming frees up your thinking to help you identify the hundred small steps that will contribute to your business success. So I guess now is the time to take a step back and ask yourself: “How can I destroy my business?” Anthony Kikkert ADP District Manager Mob: [phone] Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/anthonykikkert 15 | © LeadershipHQ 2015