I was reminded to put fingers to keyboard (sounded better when it was “pen to paper”) when I read the other day that a marketing expert was paid squillions of dollars for a simple idea.

Asked how to increase the sales of shampoo, he perused the sales stuff, looked at the bottle, read the instructions on it and then gave the problem some deep thought. No market research, no expensive surveys, no expert analyses, no nothing.

And, after a few minutes, he came up with a brilliant solution (although in truth he probably delayed coming up with his answer for a few weeks to make it look like a tough mind bending task worthy of his squillion dollar fee).

Anyhow, the answer?

Invest $40 to turn your business into a money machine! Discover the three black boxes to get your business really firing! Get it now

Add to the instructions on the bottle “For a brighter shine, repeat!”

Most people followed the instructions… sales almost doubled.

Thinking outside the box. Sometimes difficult to do, but worth it!

A couple of hints:

  1. The enemy of a better idea is a good idea.
  2. Ideas are like Melbourne trams, they come in bunches. Everyone tries to jump on the first crowded one missing the empty ones trundling on behind.
  3. So always ask, “Is there a better idea?”
  4. If it takes longer than two minutes to explain it’s not a bad idea, it’s just too complicated. Simplify it!
  5. If you’ve got a problem, sleep on it!

Outside the box thinking. Give it a shot!