Sales is a challenging job that offers unique opportunities to develop communication skills. I know this firsthand—my professional journey began as a sales agent at the Global Bilgi contact center. After transitioning to a team leader position, I gained experience managing a remote team of agents. In this article, I want to share my perspective on phone sales. Is it possible to sell when your team is scattered across different parts of the country and air raid alerts have become a way of life? What challenges does a sales department face during wartime? How do you stay connected with the team and keep agents motivated? Be sure to read to the end, I have plenty of useful insights for you.
Challenges of Organizing Remote Work for Agents During Wartime
My journey in sales started at Global Bilgi, where I immediately encountered the remote work format. Thanks to the company’s already well-established remote work processes, adaptation went smoothly. However, organizing an effective team workflow under wartime conditions proved to be a unique challenge. Key concerns included:
- Ensuring proper and safe home conditions for fulfilling job responsibilities.
- Stable internet access and electricity supply.
- Adapting workflows to frequent outages and other unpredictable circumstances to create a comfortable environment for the team.
- Managing agents’ ongoing stress levels.
Stress as a Major Factor in the Loss of Motivation
Sales work always involves a certain level of stress, but the war significantly amplified this pressure. Emotional tension rose daily, and over time it became the main issue—both for the team and for me as a manager. Heightened anxiety and uncertainty led to a drop in motivation, which directly impacted the performance of both individual employees and the team as a whole. In some cases, employees even resigned, unable to cope with the emotional burden.
Recommended reading: How to Manage Stress in a Contact Center?
New Challenges in Remote Work Conditions
One of the biggest challenges was the lack of in-person communication, which previously helped build emotional connections within the team. This especially affected new hires: integrating into a new team became more difficult, and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing nearly disappeared, as there were no experienced agents nearby to support newcomers during their first days on the job.
Changes in Customer Behavior
Against the backdrop of general instability, customer behavior also changed. Distrust toward agents increased, particularly due to fraudsters who exploited the crisis for their gain. This made communication more difficult and reduced the number of successful sales. Additionally, the country’s worsening economic situation weakened purchasing power—another demotivating factor for the team, as overcoming price-related objections became significantly harder.
Transition to Remote Work: Adapting the Contact Center to New Realities
Before the full-scale invasion, Global Bilgi’s sales team worked in-office, which provided stability, team interaction, and effective onboarding for new hires. However, with the onset of war, we were forced to rapidly transform all sales processes into a fully remote format. This transition required new approaches to management, communication, and motivation. Adapting to remote work involved:
- Flexible scheduling that accounted for air raid alerts and power outages.
- Expanding communication channels between agents.
- Increasing the role of individualized workload monitoring.
- Developing clear action scenarios for crisis situations.
To maintain productivity, we increased the number of online meetings, both work-related and informal. We also focused on one-on-one conversations with agents, as these help better understand their emotional state and sustain motivation.
Another important change was delegating some responsibilities to experienced team members to support new hires. All these actions became the foundation for stable operations under the new conditions. Timely reporting and flexible planning, implemented with the support of the PRM (Planning, Reporting & Monitoring) department, allowed us to maintain control over performance.
Maintaining Team Spirit and Coping with Stress
One of the key challenges has been emotional burnout. Stress caused by both the war and changes in the work environment had a direct impact on sales performance. To support the team, we introduced interactive online activities: games, storytelling and hobby-sharing sessions, and informal meetups. All of these helped reduce tension and improve the atmosphere within the team.
Agent Development and the Transformation of Sales Approaches
Training remains a vital part of our strategy. Webinars, internal workshops, mentoring — all of these motivate the team to grow. Equally important, however, is regular feedback and the recognition of even small achievements, as each one reflects consistent daily effort.
The war significantly shifted customer needs. We adapted our scripts, shifted the focus in our offers, and began applying an empathetic communication approach more actively. This helped us retain trust and maintain performance, even during a time when purchasing power had declined.
Today, the key factors for successful sales through a contact center are:
- The ability to quickly adjust approaches.
- A willingness to listen to customers and understand their evolving needs.
- Each agent’s ability to adapt to change.
- Technological support for remote teamwork.
We have seen firsthand that even in the most challenging conditions, a team can perform effectively — provided there is transparent communication, consistent support, flexible planning, and a focus on the customer’s real needs.
Technological Solutions for a Remote Sales Team
Modern technologies have become our indispensable allies in building a remote team capable of delivering high results under tough circumstances. At Global Bilgi, we actively implement solutions that enhance each sales agent’s performance:
- A Power Dialer autodialing software that optimizes dialing time, enables quicker processing of more contacts, and works efficiently with warm leads.
- The AQoS contact center quality control system, which allows for call recording and playback, evaluation of agent performance, identification of weaknesses, and delivery of personalized feedback.
- Video communication and regular video conferences, which strengthen team cohesion, simplify feedback, and help maintain personal connection despite the distance.
Thanks to these tools, we not only sustain but continuously enhance the team’s effectiveness regardless of external challenges.
Modern Approaches to Managing Remote Sales Teams
In wartime conditions, traditional telemarketing methods lose their effectiveness. Customer needs are changing, sensitivity to conversation tone is increasing, and trust is declining. That’s why our team at Global Bilgi works according to new principles: flexibly, empathetically, and with a focus on real value for the customer.
Empathy is the Key to Trust
Telemarketing isn’t just about effective sales scripts — it’s about humanity. An agent must be able to listen, sense the customer, and help solve their problem. Active listening helps better understand needs through:
- Verbal affirmations: “Yes,” “I’ve got your point” “Of course”.
- Paraphrasing and summarizing: to ensure the customer has been understood correctly.
- Pauses: don’t interrupt — important details often hide “between the lines”.
Empathy increases both loyalty and conversion, especially in times of crisis.
Ask Questions, Lead the Conversation, Boost Sales
Questions are a sales agent’s main tool. They help uncover the customer’s pain points and tailor a personalized offer. Use:
- Open-ended questions like “Tell me about…”, “What matters to you…?”
- Closed questions like “Are you currently using…?”
- Alternative questions like “Which option is more convenient: A or B?”
The main goal is not to sell, but to help the customer make a beneficial decision.
Creating Value: Not Features, but Benefits
Customers don’t care what a product has. They care how it solves their problem. So:
- explain the specific benefit, not technical specs
- show examples of real success stories from other customers
- emphasize unique advantages and competitive differentiators
- Speak confidently, use the customer’s name, and highlight key points with your voice.
Don’t limit yourself to general phrases; clearly explain how your product’s unique characteristics and undeniable benefits make it stand out from alternatives. Highlight the features that truly matter to the customer — turning technical details into tangible value.
You Must Know Everything About the Product or Service
You must know your product inside out. And not just your product — understanding the market and competitors helps you come across as a true expert. Make fair and bold comparisons — customers value transparency and knowledge.
For example, our team sells products and services of one of Ukraine’s largest mobile network providers. To convincingly present an offer, an agent must deeply understand not only the general benefits, but also the details of each plan, mobile internet features, roaming conditions, subscriptions, and service bundles.
In telecommunications, nuances matter: traffic volume, bonuses for timely payment, roaming service availability — all influence the customer’s decision.
Our agents sell tariff plans every day, tailored to different needs. That’s why we regularly update our knowledge base, conduct training sessions, and use interactive tools (such as dynamic CRM scripts for contact centers) to ensure that during each call, the agent can quickly find the best solution for the customer.
Bonus: product knowledge makes it easy to handle objections, justify the price, and guide the customer through a complex pricing structure.
Conclusion
Managing a remote team during wartime is about more than just KPIs. It’s about empathy, support, trust, and giving every agent the chance to shine. At Global Bilgi, we believe these values build a strong team — one that can sell even in the most challenging times.
Looking to build an effective telesales team or seeking a partner to outsource your sales? Trust the professionals. We have the team, technology, and experience to turn your goals into results. Fill out the Contact Us form on our website, and we’ll get in touch at a time that works for you.
