#neverstopselling even in the middle of a crisis

When Deloitte asked 300 executives what their company would do when faced with a crisis, around three-quarters of the board-level respondents said that their company would have an effective response. This sounds incredibly confident, especially as we look around the world and see how many businesses have been effectively grounded by the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In fact there were already clues about the reality in the Deloitte data. Only 49% of those same board members said that they actively engage in any form of monitoring for potential future problems and only 49% said that they have proactive plans in place to handle various anticipated crises.

Tough times are always around the corner. Perhaps nobody expected a crisis like this, but some form of crisis always develops in every business at some time. When it happens, your team is either going to thrive or they will crumble and the difference is usually leadership.

A sales team crisis will usually follow a familiar pattern, such as:

1. A huge deal you thought was in the bag goes to a rival

2. You lose a huge ongoing client

3. A key team member quits

4. You miss some important targets

5. A global crisis hits everyone

Clearly we are currently facing the fifth type of crisis at present. It may feel like events are out of your control and there is nothing that can be done, but there are steps you can take that will either help immediately or will help once you emerge from the crisis. A very good recent article on the Pipedrive blog recommends these important tips:

1. Transparency: when a crisis hits, you need to be open with your team. If you create a communication vacuum by not updating them then they will make assumptions about what is going to happen and probably they will assume the worst-case scenario is about to play out. Be open.

2. Gather ideas: include your entire team in planning a way forward. Involve everyone, not just the management team. If you are going to get through this crisis then it might be a bright idea from one of your most junior team members that ends up working.

3. Empathise: it’s going to get tough. People are worried about the company and their job. Take time out to care for the team and hold off from criticism - it will sting far more during a crisis situation if a team member is scolded for a mistake.

I don’t know when this present crisis will be over, but I do know that it will eventually be in the past. The important thing is to survive first, then you can make plans to thrive. Once the immediate danger is past then you need to collectively address what happened and refocus on the future - get back to a normal rhythm again. How leaders handle this crisis will shape our companies for many years to come.