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Motivating Sales Teams Article

The Brain Factor



Just about the most important factor in brainstorming is, of course, brains. Picking the right people is a crucial bit of plan­ning that should be done with care.

We have also translated parts of this composition into French and Spanish to facilitate easier understanding of motivation. In this way, more people will get to understand the composition.

Generally, all of those involved should have some famili­arity with the problem, although not all of them should be experts. Sometimes the man directly responsible for its solu­tion sits in, but some companies find that this inhibits other panel members who think they may seem to be criticizing Joe for not having their ideas. This is a real hazard, for often the best ideas are the obvious ones the person closest to the prob­lem has not seen. And even if Joe doesn't yelp when someone mentions ideas he doesn't like, there are grunts, table tap­pings and glares that get the idea across.

To combat this, the man most responsible for the problem may be brought in to give a five-minute—no more—briefing or indoctrination on the problem. Then he leaves and the brainstorm begins.

What is desired is a potent mixture of specialties, attitudes, and backgrounds, which will ignite when in contact with one another. Salesmen, shippers, distributors can help on a tech­nical problem. Scientists, engineers, statisticians can help solve a sales problem. Unfortunately, some of my best friends are in the financial and accounting departments, but they rarely turn out to be good brainstormers, except when among their peers, and their professional scowls at the mention of an idea that might cost money can have a very red-light ef­fect on other brainstormers. When these moneymen see the savings, which can be made through brainstorming, they very often come around and develop into fine brainstormers. Sometimes association with other workers on a brainstorm panel eliminates the Scrooge stereotype of accountant, and thus the brainstorm can do a double service.

In general, an action group will do better than a broad policy committee in brainstorming, but this again tends more to be due to the questions asked than the basic make-up of the individuals. Actually, important policy questions, if they are really important, can be broken down into specifics. When a problem is vaguely defined, it's a pretty good rule that the real problem hasn't been found. Usually it is true, however, that the Board of Directors is a judicial group, pass­ing on ideas, rather than thinking up ideas. It profits very greatly from brainstorms at a lower level, but does not itself brainstorm, or originate ideas very often. Perhaps it should, and this may be a new horizon for brainstorms to cross. Some board of directors' meetings now end with a ten or fifteen-minute brainstorm session after all the practical decisions have been made.

Some concerns have at least two to four women in every brainstorm, not only for the benefit of female brains—a very powerful ingredient indeed—but also for their stimulating ef­fect on male panel members, who are needled on to better ideas by the Battle of the Sexes. Other companies like to in­vite outsiders who know nothing of company policy, econom­ics, or history—and care less. These may be rather carefully chosen consultants, suppliers, customers, professors in the general field where the problem lies, or they may just be men off the street, friends who would be likely to provide a new look at an old problem. BBDO will invite traveling BBDO salesmen to brainstorm on a Sheraton Hotel problem, and some agency housewives when they are thinking up Camp­bell Soup ideas.

It's often a good idea to have groups of office boys, secre­taries, file clerks; workers of all levels brainstorm a company problem. There are a number of good reasons for this. One is that they often have very good ideas. They see your prob­lems differently because of their perspective. Another reason is that this can increase communication between all levels of management. Still another is that they can take part in man­agement and enjoy a sense of participation.

To have absolute freedom during any brainstorm, how­ever, it's best to pick individuals who are on the same approxi­mate management level, so that there are no superiors and inferiors. Brass polishing is not a function of a brainstorm. No member of a panel should be able to place his job even slightly in danger by an unpopular idea or advance his stock by a bit of "Say, that's a fine idea", after a superior has spoken.

It is also a good rule not to have the same group meet to­gether all the time. There are several strong reasons for this. Groups who meet regularly usually evolve a pecking order. Joe can jump on Pete's ideas, but Pete can't strike back. Pete, however, can take a swing at Bob, and Bob can't swing at either Joe or Pete, and so on. Another reason is that there are hidden alliances; people who know where the bodies are buried and will use any momentary unwariness on the part of the opposition to advance their cause in the political hurly-burly of the office. Also, a group who has worked together on the same problems is too well aware of what has been tried and even what has been considered. It is generally unable to see that an old idea may be a new solution, especially if con­ditions have changed. Finally, the group tends to have an automatic reaction to ideas, which slam the door in the face of opportunity.

There are strong exceptions to this; in fact, a company may almost by accident develop teams that seem to spark ideas again and again.

BBDO has a basic core of idea men who seem to spark panels, and they sit in on many sessions with changing groups of brainstormers. Too often, however, such groups fall into a pattern in the same way that regular con­ferences often freeze into a sort of stereotyped mating dance with each person taking a predictable approach to the prob­lem, and with the results being just as predictable. To com­bat this, when it is necessary to have the same group, some companies make the members of the panel sit in different chairs, and they have found that a varying geographical combination of people on one's right and left and across the table can make a difference in the level of creativity.

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