The Generational Shift-Has Your Sales Team Adapted?
Does this story hit home?
You have a sales team that consists primarily of men in their mid 40’s to late 50’s and have been with you for decades. You have all made a lot of money and had some great times along the way. The relationships you have with your customers are healthy, some would say rock solid. Your top 10 customers have not changed in the last five years. You can count on them like clockwork.
You are looking into 2020 and beyond, thinking it's going to be smooth. Your team will be with you till your end, and your top customers will continue to buy. Until the day Fred, your top salesman with your best client, asks to talk to you.
Fred: You know Bill, the VP of Purchasing at Widget Co. just told me he is retiring in March 2020
You: That is great he has earned it, so Brett will be taking over?
Fred: No, Jenny from manufacturing is taking over
You: So, what do you know about her
Fred: Not much. Bill told me she has only been with the company for 3 years and has had a massive impact on the floor. She came from a couple of other industry leaders. Bill thinks she is under 40.
You: Seems young to be a VP of Purchasing
Fred: They are re-structuring Jenny will become VP of Supply Chain, Brett is less than excited
You: Fred, you have some work ahead of you, get on Jenny's calendar, and take her to dinner to make sure nothing is going to change.
I am going too fast forward this story. Your number one customer is going to change the way they do business significantly. Bringing in new people and technology. There will be "key people" retiring early or leaving. You will not see as many quotes, and orders will be lost without a trace or conversation, you will be stuck with inventory that has no home, sound familiar?
What are you going to do? You and your team have been riding the wave the last decade +, and now your world will be turned upside down. Panic sets in, your sales team gets nervous as top-line decreases, you put pressure on getting more, cutting some of the perks, tensions begin to rise, the culture starts to erode, and you now start to have doubts about those who have been with you the longest.
I write this because I have been part of several versions of this story. The manufacturers, distributors, and trades fall victim to this all too often.
As your customers see retirements, selling of the business, and generational shifts in their employment, what are you doing to stay top of mind? How is your sales staff making themselves relevant to the “Millennial” and “Generation Z” employees at your customers? The days of going to lunch, dinner, golf, or gun club are all but gone. This not good or bad, just the way it is. What tools and training are you providing them to improve and return to selling vs. order taking? What technology are you bringing into the company to help your team be successful?
Below are several things to consider
Make it a priority for you THE BUSINESS OWNER to get to know and meet your customers executives and key people in engineering, manufacturing, logistics, purchasing, and finance.
- You set the tone. You need to personally have met or know the team your customers leaderships trusts. Who are the influencers and decision makers?
- People do business with people they know and trust. The more often you can place a name with a face the more you will become top of mind.
Make it a strategic priority for each salesperson to develop a relationship with at least one up, one down, and one additional person at the same level as the primary contact.
- You must position your company, so one promotion, firing, or retirement will not move you out of your incumbent position.
- Having proper relationships in multiple parts of an organization can differentiate your team from the competition.
Make it a strategic priority to train and educate your sales team on how to sell to different generations and personalities.
- How you sell to Boomers and Millennials is very different. Each generation has a different principal purpose that drives the "group."
- Each individual is just that an individual, you must know the individual and what drives them for real success.
Make it a priority for you to bring in a CRM tool to manage your relationships, lead generation, and sales process. You do not want to be one lottery ticket away from having all your knowledge walk out the door.
- Creating systems and accountability will better position your company to hire new sales talent.
- Know the pipeline and opportunities as "DATA" vs. gut feel and intuition will add value to your business when you are ready to sell it.
Making it a priority to have your lead generation and sales process fit the generational shift in the market will be a significant contributor to your success. Getting it right will add considerable value to your business. Your customers will have a consistent experience, and expectations can be met regularly. What was once exceptional has now become the minimum. How has your organization changed with the times?
“In this world, you're either growing, or you're dying, so get in motion and grow.” - Lou Holtz
Some try to grow alone, and many have outside support. To begin growing or to grow again and looking for support, let's have a complimentary conversation and determine a path that is for you and your organization.
The Generational Shift is in full swing, how are you turning it into an opportunity?
