You Are Your Own “Think Tank”? [Academy]

You Are Your Own “Think Tank”?

Where do you get new ideas that help you lead customers and stay ahead of your competitors?  It’s obvious that sales reps who have a constant flow of new ideas that not only match the rising IQ of the marketplace, but also enhance it, sell more. The smartest, most successful people have one thing in common. 

They take time every day to think creatively.  Thinking creatively means thinking about how to solve problems, enhance performance and reach goals, regardless of how big or small those goals are.  

When do YOU choose to do nothing but think? 

Do you do it in the shower, during your morning meditation like my son Tom who calls it his “power hour, or do you do it when you’re alone in the car? Maybe you use the time just prior to falling asleep at night to do your thinking?  But with me, the thinking switch can be turned any time, whenever a stimulus charges my thinking circuit. I often get a stimulus to think of new ideas when I read a paragraph, a sentence or even a single word in an article. I seldom get my new thoughts from reading an entire book. Every book has a few key words that, at least for me, can spark a whole bunch of new ideas. The stimulus for a new idea can also come from something someone said or did during a conversation, or simply from something I happened to observe. Regardless of whether you turn the thinking switch on at a certain time every day, or your mind is constantly on the lookout for new ideas, thinking time is the most valuable time you will spend every day.

There are three very important things that happen when you set aside time to think. 

One, every new idea created simultaneously gets rid of any number of old ideas and activities associated with the new idea.

That leads to benefit number two. New ideas keep you from getting into a rut, becoming bored, stale and falling behind everyone else.  Just remember, a rut is simply a coffin with the ends kicked out. If you stay in a rut, you will die there. And last but not least, setting aside time to think puts YOU in charge of your life and your future.  It tells you that YOU’RE responsible for your life, and no one else. That “thought” alone will allow you to do things that will make you over the top successful.  

You are your best source for new ideas because you know your situation best and how those new ideas can be used. That allows you to use new ideas to improve your life and become more productive. But many salespeople don’t consider themselves their best source for new ideas. They either give up their ability to think on their own, or they don’t believe they have the ability to solve their own problems. They simply rely on their superiors, or people they view as authority figures. Don’t allow that to happen. You’re as capable as anyone in this endeavor. You have a very high powered, creative brain so use it. And if you’re in sales, the ability to think on your own about how to find new customers, increase sales to current customers, and maximize customer retention is the key to your success. Solving problems yourself is the fastest and most effective way to be successful. Every day you either get smarter or you get dumber.

That’s sounds harsh but it’s true.  This marketplace waits for no one and has been “dumbed down” by people who don’t spend enough time “thinking” about how to improve themselves so they can help improve the rest of society. Decide which one of those is your goal, then set aside time to think, every single day. It will increase your self-confidence; help you become a better leader and make you more successful.

That leads me back to my favorite quote of all time by Albert Einstein. He said, “The thinking that has brought me to where I am, has caused some problems that thinking at this level can no longer solve.” Start thinking new thoughts. It will solve your problems and keep you from dying in a rut.