Tips for communicating with your sales team during a crisis.

Crisis thinking is often characterized by the group feeling that they have no choice but to come together and this enhances their sense of identity.

Often the crisis brings out the hidden talents of a person who is then better appreciated by the other members of the team. The discovery may be that they speak Polish better than they thought they could, that they can memorize six telephone numbers in an instant, or that if they can’t find the keys to the company car, they have no trouble jumping in and starting the engine.

A crisis is an ideal time to show the rest of the group´s hidden talents. Traditional team roles break down in situations of extreme stress and everyone’s roles become more flexible. So, if someone is determined to do a job they don´t usually do, give them a chance because it is sure to boost their morale.

The seven rules of crisis communication that you can apply as a sales manager.

1- Keep the whole team informed

Do not fail to communicate any relevant information during the crisis. Do not wait until the next day´s assessment meeting to give explanations. Ignorance and lack of information will lead the team to make mistakes during the crisis resolution.

For example, if you know that the roof of the business area department has been damaged by the previous night’s heavy storm, don’t trust that everyone will unknowingly follow your directions explain that it may fall. Otherwise, someone may decide on their own to check if you have turned off a piece of equipment or to go in and collect a valuable piece of material or a file.

2- Gather the team together when you have to give instructions or communicate an important piece of information.

We have all played at nonsense and know that what is whispered in the ear of the first person is completely distorted to the last. A crisis is not the best time for this to happen. The only way to know that everyone knows the same thing and is working along the same lines is to get the team together and give them instructions. Do this even if the telephone switchboard has broken down and you can’t answer the phone for the five minutes of the meeting. In the long run, you will save time and avoid problems.

Give instructions

If you can’t afford to stop working for a second, talk to your team while they are working, but only if they are doing a task that doesn’t require concentration, such as moving books or fetching buckets of water.

3- Encourage the team to ask questions

We know you’re keen to get the instructions out as quickly as possible and get everyone on the job. But if you don’t let anyone, ask questions, in a meeting or afterward, someone may confuse the facts, misjudge priorities or misunderstand your instructions.

Don’t forget that some team members will be panicking and that doesn’t help them to think clearly. If you do not allow them to ask questions to avoid wasting time, you are asking them to approach a crisis with the wrong information or with the wrong approach.

Maintain a calm tone in crisis communication - When speaking to your team, watch your tone of voice. Even if you are frightened or stressed, your job is to avoid panic. Make sure your voice does not cause alarm and show them that you are calm so that they are calm too. 

4- Involve the team in making important decisions.

This is the ideal approach because it gets people to buy into the decision and do everything, they can to make it work. Obviously, amid a crisis, you can’t spend time organizing polls and debates to discuss the best solution to the problem. But try to involve the team as much as possible. 

5- Always be close by

If the crisis is one of those that saddens or emotionally conditions the team, employees likely need to talk to you. They may be sad, and frustrated and feel they can’t communicate with you because you are too busy to attend to them. So, find time to listen to them.

6- Show your team that you are on their side

Make sure your employees know that their well-being is a priority for you.

7- Never lose your sense of humor

Laughter is the best way to reduce stress. If you join in or initiate jokes, the team will see you as a funny person.

Remember: Make sure you memorize the seven keys to crisis communication and put them into practice every day at work. Taking this approach will make managing your sales team easier in the event of a crisis.