The business landscape will dramatically change over the next 5 years with how customers and companies buy and sell. Creating the optimal sales team and culture that evolves into 2020 is quickly becoming priority for industry leaders and companies. The challenge that most companies are facing is the new complex social and organizational dynamic of the mix with four separate generations in the workplace.
Currently, the workplace demographics are divided as follows;
Traditionalists only hold 5% of the workplace and are known as the veterans of the workforce. They are known for their patriotism, “doing more with less” and are very task-orientated. They are your organization’s historians.
Baby Boomers make up 40% of today’s workplace demographics. They hold many upper management and executive positions and have had a strong influence over the cultural characteristics of the workplace. This generation places high value on long work hours, education and lots of face to face meetings.
Generation X holds 25% of the workplace demographics. This generation is not a fan of status or title and seeks a work-life balance in an informal fun work environment.
Generation Y or Millennials represent 30% of the workforce and are the newest generation to enter into the workplace market with pre-set expectations of what they want from their jobs. Millennials are innovative, self-sufficient, tech savvy, entrepreneurial and collaborators who need a high purpose in life.
Love them or hate them Millennials are here to stay and come 2020 they will represent 50% of the workforce. Baby Boomers will be looking to retire, semi-retire or will not want to retire at all!
How will this shift in demographics impact your sales teams? How will this affect your customers preferred buying preferences? And finally how will you attract and engage Millennials to your sales team?
Here are 5 key action plan strategies that will help you and your team evolve into 2020:
- Create a Succession Plan for Retiring Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers have a wealth of product and market knowledge and know how to build great customer relationship. Few companies have a plan for capturing employee knowledge and storing it in a way that is easily accessible. In order to be ready for 2020, companies need to consider a process for capturing, storing and communicating the vital knowledge Baby Boomers have accumulated through Mentorship initiatives.
- Attract, Hire & On-Board Millennials into Sales Positions
Sales is depicted as vicious and ruthless and this doesn’t align with the values of Millennials. Address any stereotypes and apprehensions that a sales career professional persona may have and demonstrate how the modern sales professional has evolved. Remember Millennials need a higher purpose and demonstrating this to them promotes just how rewarding a sales environment can be.
- Adapt to sell to Millennial Buyers
Millennials want authenticity and an emotional story, so don’t lie and make them laugh. They will do their research online and fact-check everything using multiple sources. They are busy by nature so don’t waste their time, be quick, brief and use descriptive pieces that can be absorbed in seconds. Create a consultative selling approach over an “order taker” approach with Millennials to make them feel valued.
- Create a COLLABORATIVE vs. COMPETITIVE Growth Culture with your team
A collaborative sales team works together toward a common goal and focuses on:
- High quality business connections
- Product and company evangelism
- Relationship building vs selling
- Knowledge sharing
- Data-driven selling and team self-awareness
- Create Awareness
This is the perfect opportunity for Sales Leaders to STEP UP, share these stats with your sales teams & senior management teams to create awareness and begin the planning NOW!
To learn more about how to prepare for 2020, listen to our webinar , “Your Buyers and Sales Team are Changing – How will you be ready by 2020?” Simply register to access the download instantly!
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.