The numbers are clear, there is an interesting imbalance set to dominate the B2B selling environment – the relationship between buyers and sellers is shifting but not for the reasons you think. Driving the imbalance are factors like:
- Aging workforce
- Number of new workers into the workforce
- Trends towards early retirement
According to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of B2B sales people is expected to grow 9%-25% through 2016. On the other side of the desk, the buyers, purchasing agents and purchasing managers is expected to grow at a much slower rate with some sectors shrinking by 9%. The current demographic makeup of buyers, purchasing agents and purchasing managers shows that 16.2% are older than 56 and almost 70% are between 35-55 (Institute of Supply Management 2006). It is easy to see that we are moving towards a younger workforce of sellers who must sell to an older workforce of buyers. In fact with a population of 1.9 million B2B sales professionals and growing, this trend will significantly impact the professional sales ranks – and the Millennial Generation (born between 1981 and 2002) look to be the generation contributing the largest number of younger workers to this trend.
Companies are facing the prospect of seeing a large percentage of their sales force retire or be eligible for retirement. Some companies see younger sales people as more updated, preferable and cost effective while others are concerned that the loss of experienced sales veterans will have a negative impact on their bottom line.
In Economy 2.0 sales execution has changed from a sales activities, process driven methodology to one that focuses on outcomes (not steps) and requires that the sales person exercise good judgment and insight with their customers. In addition to their inexperience, younger sales people entering the market are faced with the challenge of establishing relationships with older buyers and executive decision makers
In their study, “How salespeople deal with intergenerational relationship selling”, authors Ellen Pullins, Michael Mallin, Richard Buehrer and Deirdre Jones of the University of Toledo, ask the question, “is it possible (for Millennial sales people to relate to older buyers)?” and “how should it best be accomplished”?
They discovered through interviews with Millennials, that they face significant “judgment and skepticism” hurdles from their older customers. They frequently are subjected to a level of scrutiny and discrimination from buyers that “creates an added layer of frustrating obstacles to an already challenging trade”. Primarily due to inexperience, their competence, creditability, dependability and overall ability to support the customer needs are questioned by their older counterparts. Add to this the generational differences in values, beliefs and places in history; it is easy to see how the Gen-X and Baby Boomers might not relate to their younger Millennial counterparts.
The emergence of this trend has caught management off-guard – they pay little to no attention to the subject. Pullins, Mallin, Buehrer and Jones point out that “management does a poor job tailoring training and work preparation to the unique needs of each generation” and offer no formal training to address the generational challenges that exist between buyer and seller.
In interviews with Millennials, the authors discovered that younger sales people were “frustrated and dissatisfied with their inability to relate to older generations” but they felt “confident that they can sell across the generations”.
To help Millennials and their managers’ deal with the challenges of intergenerational selling relationships, the authors isolated 5 strategies that can be used to bridge the age gap. They include:
- Establish Similarities: Linked to the Principle of Liking, young sales people should include in their sales call planning, research on their buyers. Understanding who the buyers are, as people, represents a viable and trainable strategy that can be shown to positively impact interpersonal attraction, trust and communication
- Establish Creditability: This will signal to the buyer that the young sales person is competent and it provides a level of self assurance to the young sales person.
- Establish Dependability: Trust is essential in the selling relationship; find ways to communicate to your buyer that you (young sales person) are working to provide the best outcome for the buyer and that you will follow through to completion.
- Demonstrate Professionalism: Show buyers that the young sales person respects the buyer’s time, position of power and need to accomplish goals. Always work to exceed expectations.
- Use Youth as an Advantage: The young sales person should use their energy, personality and character to create a positive selling advantage.
We are just waking up to this trend. If you are a sales coach/manager, be certain to integrate intergenerational selling relationship skills training into your program. If you are a Millennial, know that you will face challenges with older buyers but know that there are proven strategies to help you overcome the challenges and build a strong relationship with your customers.
All the best
