Will Millennials SAVE The Sales Industry?

The world is changing. Technology and social media have taken over everything and the impact is becoming bigger and bigger. One of the biggest impacts is on the way that we work. Offices are now becoming more engaging, working contracts are becoming more flexible and leadership is becoming more collaborative.

A big contribution to this change is the millennial generation. Love it or hate it, it's having a huge impact on the world around us. With technology and social interaction changing at such a rapid rate, those who were born or who grew up during this time are living in a much different world.

So what does this mean for the sales industry......?

These changes are having a big impact on the sales industry in 2 major ways, it's changing the way people sell and it's changing the way people buy.

There is a fantastic new sales podcast series called The Sales Reinvented Podcast. Their mission is to change the negative perception of sales people are make sales a profession to be proud of.

I am huge supporter of this mission but it did get me thinking, how can this mission be achieved? How can we change the negative perception of sales people? To start let's look at the problem:

Where does the negative perception of sales people come from?

Sales people are often disliked for one main reason, they're job is to sell and not to serve. They are ultimately bias towards the product they sell and targeted to sell as much as they can. Is that really someone you can trust?

The stereotypical sales person is shifty, untrustworthy and pushy. We can all imagine that sales person who is trying too hard to be charming and persuasive and who puts pressure on you to buy whatever it is they are selling!

Times have changed though........

There may have been a time where pushy selling, cold calling and aggressive targets were successful strategies for a business, but that time has passed. In the past you couldn't just google something or access information about what you want or need, you really were at the mercy of the sales person.

Now however customers know what they want, they know what they want to pay and how they want to buy. Their expectations are higher than they've ever been and so their needs for a sales person have changed.

On top of that the world in which they live and work in has changed. Business don't have the same structures that they used to have. They don't operate in the same ways they did before and they don't communicate in the same way.

This is not the landscape in which sales people are used to working in and their customers needs are significantly different to the past.

Millennial's to the rescue!

With all these changes in the world who better to help save the sales industry than those who were bought up and who live in this new world? 75% of the entire workforce will be taken up by millennials, that means 75% of buyers and sellers will be millennial.

This generation has different beliefs, different working priorities and different standards. Here is why I think they will be the ones to save the sales industry:

1) They're entrepreneurial. Over 90% of millennials believe that being an entrepreneur is a mindset and not something limited to starting a company. Having this mindset encourages them to be more accountable for their actions and also to be more passionate for their business and customers. They're less likely to put their company or targets first but instead are more customer driven.

2) They've been bought up with social media. Gone are the days when you're only sales method was grabbing a phone book, calling someone out of the blue and starting the long process of identifying or creating sales opportunities. Sales people can (and should) now been using social media to find their target buyers, follow their activity, share relevant content and build the foundations of a much better and more collaborative relationship.

3) Fulfilment is more important to them than reward. Millennials aren't driven by massive commissions or huge salaries but by the sense of achievement or fulfilment from their role. Nearly 65% would prefer a job they love and enjoy over a job that pays more. This change of focus matches the customer need for sales people to serve and provide value over sell and convince.

4) They're used to rapid and constant change. Adaptability is one of the biggest strengths a sales person can possess and it's something that millennial sales people have been bought up to have. Technology and social media have changed so much over the last few decades and so people have had to adapt to that. The same is happening within the sales industry, changes to buyer behaviour, changes to sales strategy, changes to technology, changes to business structure, the list is endless.

5) They don't want to be machines. Millennials don't want to do the work that machines can or should be doing. They don't want to read sales scripts or make endless amounts of cold calls. The reality is that neither do our customers want this. They don't want to be the target of an automated message or scripted sales call. They want to buy from people and build relationships. Value is key and millennials are fighting against the system to provide this.

Will Millennials be able to save the sales industry?

It's going to take a lot to change the negative perception of the sales industry. I fear that unless you take the term or title "Sales" away from the equation we may never be able to change that perception. What does give me hope is this new force of millennial workers who are already living and breathing the change that the industry needs.

This new focus around social engagement, collaborative selling and corporate partnerships is laying the foundations for a modern sales industry and this is something that millennial sales people fully understand.

With the millennial generation set to make up a large majority of the workforce if they're living and breathing the change needed for the sales industry then this will have a huge positive impact on the future perception of sales people.

What do you think?

I'd love to know your thoughts, do you think Millennials will help save the sales industry? Does the sales industry need saving? What changes do you think it would take to change the negative perception of sales people? Please write them in the comments box below, I look forward to reading your thoughts and ideas.

If you enjoyed this post please click LIKE and click SHARE to share it with your network. I'd love it if you took some time to read some of my other recent posts as well:

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About the author: Dan Disney is the founder and owner of The Daily Sales and Head of IT Service Line at The Training Room. He writes regular posts and blogs on Sales, Leadership, Technology, Social Selling, LinkedIn, Recruitment and Sales Leadership . If you work in sales make sure you check out The Daily Sales, It's the number 1 place on social media for hilarious sales memes, inspiring sales quotes and informative sales blogs.