The Innovative Sales Organization!

On the road to greater business success, leading sales organizations know the value of innovation. Business is ever-changing. Pushed by global forces, technical advancements and evolving customer needs, what your sales organization did yesterday to be successful may no longer be effective. To remain competitive, sales leaders must be able to drive and manage change in innovative ways.

Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It comes from collaboration within your organization, with your clients (current and potential), and with outside experts.  In a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article (November 2010), the president of the Center for Creative Leadership, John Ryan describes some key elements required by organizations that want to be more innovative:

1. Commit time & resources to innovative idea generation in the face of changing market conditions.  If you pull back too far and only focus on short-term objectives, you run the risk of eroding your future. Continuing to invest wisely in your offering, processes and people can benefit your organization greatly over the long-term.
2. Take intelligent risks and accept failure as feedback for “enhanced innovation”.  Recognize that any new initiative may not experience immediate success. Progressive organizations encourage experimentation and accept failure while learning from their results.
3. Use both business thinking and creative thinking.  In today’s complex business environment, one way of thinking is not going to lead to success. Synergy is the key. Organizations need to combine different methods and ideas in order to generate “out-of-the-box” offerings and approaches that create greater customer value.
4. Establish a corporate culture that supports creativity and innovation. Open-minded leaders and sanctioned “continuous improvement” processes are vital to support the flow of new ideas from all levels of the organization. Leadership must provide the vision, feedback as well as reward innovation.

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