The reality of having to handle a crisis is true for every single person’s life. Crisis management in business is one of the most essential skills for a successful career, whether you’re a sales representative or in management.
Crisis management is never easy, and the potential impact of the crisis grows with the size of retailer that you’re working with. Through the years, I’ve learned quite a bit about crisis management, including its value and how to navigate the process.
Here are my 5 tips for successful crisis management
Time is critical
You can’t wait to handle a crisis. While yes, you must be prudent and not rush to a halfway solution, waiting to deal with a crisis is never a good idea. It will cost you respect, it will cost you business.
Discuss every possible solution
You and your team must discuss every possible solution to the problem, even if it seems crazy at the time.
Remove the emotion
This may sound tough because a crisis by its nature can bring emotions to the surface. But none of us make good decisions when we are being driven by our emotions. This may even mean that some of the people directly involved in the crisis need to step back because they are so close to the situation.
Sleep on it
Sleep gives a fresh perspective to any situation. Not only are you less tired and therefore able to think more clearly, you’ve had a chance to let the discussion about how to solve the crisis simmer in your mind a bit.
Solve the crisis first
If you walk into a buyer appointment and you have an unresolved issue, they won’t hear a word you say. All they will be able to think about is the unresolved crisis, costing you that deal and possibly future deals with that buyer.
Have you dealt with a crisis in your business before? How did you handle it?