The One Statistic Every Leader Needs to Hang on Their Wall (Hint: It Involves Millennials)
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Great leaders can sense what is coming. They know when change is imminent and they usually have an idea on how to handle it. Not this time. If you sit down with a leader, you can see it in their face. They don't have the answer. The topic is Millennials, and the statistic is that Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce as 1 out of every 3 workers is a Millennial [Pew Research]. This trend doesn't look like it will slow down either. Time reports that by 2025, 3 out of every 4 workers globally will be Millennials [Time].
This changes everything - the way you build and market your product to the way you build and run your teams. Let's tackle a few of these ideas:
Why are people are not using my products?
87% of millennials use between two and three tech devices at least once on a daily basis. [Forbes]
Leaders want to purchase products and then force employees to use them. Newsflash: if the product doesn't work for Millennials they won't use it. Gone are the days of forcing employees to use kludgy products because they have to. Millennials will not use a product that doesn't make their life easier. End of story.
Why is my marketing spend not working?
33% of millennials rely mostly on blogs before they make a purchase, compared to fewer than 3% for TV news, magazines and books [Forbes].
Keep telling the world that your product is the greatest through regular advertising channels if you want, but it will do you no good. Your product has to create raving fans. Raving fans help others becomes raving fans and the cycle repeats.
Why are people are not purchasing my product?
60% of Millennials say that they are often or always loyal to brands that they currently purchase [Forbes].
Sell your product and deliver the benefits statements with a strong value proposition is what most leaders would tell you. For Millennials, it is different. You need to move from vendor to partner. Millennials need to love your product but they also need to believe in what your company does and have a relationship with you.
Why are people leaving my company?
Average tenure for Millennials is 2 years (compared to 5 years for Gen X and 7 years for Baby Boomers.) [Pay Scale / Millennial Branding]
Most leaders say Millennials expect to move through positions too fast and it's unrealistic. Rather than putting Millennials down, leaders need to find a way to create smaller career progression steps that allow Millennials to be satisfied but also keep the company happy.
Why is my work culture not where I want it to be?
38% of Millennials say that older senior management do not relate to younger workers, and 34% say that their personal drive was intimidating to other generations [PWC].
Many older generations assume Millennials are all about 'me' and not about the company. Millennials' reality says that as the people grow, so do the company so there is no reason individual interests and company interests can't align. Leaders need to recognize this and bring personal life and work life together in a 'work hard play hard' environment that shows you can have your cake and eat it too.
Why am I not communicating effectively with my company?
With technology dominating every aspect of millennials lives, it’s perhaps not surprising that 41% say they prefer to communicate electronically at work than face to face or even over the telephone [PWC].
In-person meetings and interactions will never die, but forcing these interactions where they don't need to be is silly. Leaders need to follow the trend and find ways to leverage technology to communicate where possible.
Closing
Millennials are here to stay and leaders and companies must face that reality and make a conscious decision on how they are going to change their businesses to thrive in this new normal.
Like this article? Check out some of the below from our Sales Acceleration Podcast:
Scaling Revenue & GTM Systems | Driving Efficiency & Growth
8 年Great read!
N.Y. City Exclusive Enterprise Account Manager Proofpoint
8 年My favorite is how you point out the perception old school sales leadership has when it comes to Millennials and how to best communicate. The suggestions your providing sales Sales Leadership in addressing the preconceived notion or "stigmata" Millennials have created around this sense of "whats in it for me" or "entitlement" through communicating Electronically to speak their language and create an open, efficient, and addictive environment like we do to "work hard play hard" through our platform is a winning recipe! #SELLMORE
Empowering Client Revenue | Unlocking New Opportunities | Telecom and CPaaS Sales Executive
8 年I've felt this way about all these categories at some point in time at my company.