Marketing Your Consulting Services.pdf - epiheirimatikotita.gr

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beverage) enhance your ability to think creatively? Then surround yourself with as
many of these as possible before you settle into a creative idea–generating session.
Are you in touch with the times when you are the most creative? When did your
last creative ideas occur? While you were running? Driving? In the shower? Mowing
the lawn? All of these are times that we move into our right brain and the intuitive
thought process takes over. At times like these be sure to capture your idea
on paper so you don’t forget it!
Knowing when you are the most creative helps. The office setting to which you
aspire, the senses you require, and the opportunities you desire all help. However,
you can still go someplace else. That may mean to physically move yourself to another
location or to go someplace else in your mind.
What creative physical locations do people select? Walks on the beach or in the
woods or even their neighborhoods; shopping in bookstores, toy stores, card
shops, antique malls, or hardware stores; visiting museums, art galleries, libraries,
a farm, or the zoo; enjoying nature such as a starry night, a rainy day, a park, or
the sunrise; or something more personal such as lunch with a friend or taking a
mini vacation.
Does this pay off in the business world? Hallmark Cards, Inc., must think so.
They send their people on what may appear to be vacations, for example, two
weeks in Mexico to “soak up inspiration.” Hallmark must believe it is worth the
investment.
How can you go to a creative place without leaving home? Try some of these
ideas. Watch your favorite movie. Sit down with a stack of catalogs. Take a long
soaking bubble bath and let the ideas flow. Page through a magazine like Fast Company,
Town & Country, Rolling Stone, Condé Nast Traveler, or Mechanix Illustrated.
Read a creative book. Start a journal. Join a creativity chat room. Listen to a day’s
worth of music you love.
Your Challenge Identify six places you could go (physical or not) this weekend for
creative thinking time. Then select your top three and go to at least one of those.
Save the other two for the next two weeks and use the rest as backups. When you
get there, browse, walk, write, or do whatever is appropriate to generate at least two
dozen marketing ideas. Think that’s pushing too hard? It’s not. Try it. The key is
to write them all down without judgment.
Marketing Your Consulting Services