Get Creative

Come Up with Creative Solutions

You must creatively solve every problem that comes your way in a recession.

When times get tough many people stay at home, turn the television on, and tune out. Business leaders may continue on with their same old methods, hoping they will produce as well as they had in a strong economy. Job seekers just repeat the same old tired techniques over an over again with little result. These people are doing the wrong thing—they are not exercising their minds and keeping fresh. Are you doing the same old thing?

Successfully navigating through a recession requires creative thinking and creative solutions - and lots of them - to succeed.

How to Get Creative

Here are some examples of creative problem-solving:

Fill your brain with "out of the box" creative job ideas. Instead of turning the television on, go to the library and read 20 different magazines about different industries, review 50 different job titles on a website, or join an employment networking group. Come up with 20 different services you could offer people as a consultant or mini-entrepreneur. You are bound to discover opportunities and come up with creative career ideas you never thought of!

Instead of trying to make new sales the old way, focus on not losing your existing customers with creative marketing ideas. A 2-for-1 deal is a good start. Do some "marketing out of the box." Have a "lottery" for a trip to the Bahamas for 2. Include a free flat screen TV for orders over $10,000. Give a 100% money-back guarantee if the customer is not completely satisfied. Give away your product for free as long as the customer signs up for installation services. Offer to run the customer's business (or some part of it) for them at a cheaper cost, greater speed, etc. Help your customer collect his receivables or lend your employees for free for a period of time.

Instead of running the company as a comfortable, safe environment, change the company compensation plan to focus on “lean and mean” financial results. Give each employee a quota for new sales (even the non-sales personnel). Put up a "fill the cookie jar" chart on the wall and start counting contributions. Have mini-contests to see who can generate the most sales, with the top seller winning a significant prize and the bottom seller getting a pay cut or worse. Cut the supplies, energy, and travel budgets (but never the coffee budget!). Give your employees incentives such as $100 checks, for useful ideas that cut costs or increase revenues. Reduce your days sales outstanding (DSO) by having your employees politely but firmly call customers who have not paid in a timely manner.

Instead of relying solely on yourself and your own creative selling ideas, seek out consultants and gurus that can help you find new creative sales ideas and opportunities that you couldn’t see before. Join one of the guru's working groups with other like-minded people to help give you motivation and a team to support your new ideas. Beware, however, that money spent should be money earned back using the guru's methods. Demand a money-back guarantee The first sign a guru's advice is likely to be worthwhile is if they stand by their product or service so much they give a no-questions-asked "creative selling" guarantee.

Seek new opportunities related to but outside your normal comfort zone. If you are in the auto painting business, try developing a medical products painting business. If you are in the portrait photography business, branch out into advertising photography. If you own a gym for young body-builders, try to attract a group of over-60 clients interested in getting their youthful bodies back. If you are a real estate attorney, try moving into divorce law -- divorce is big business during recessions!

Networking in a recession will help you find many opportunities you never thought of. The earlier you start coming up with creative solutions, the better off you will be in a recession.