Millennials—a generation generally defined as having been born between 1981 and 2001. Millennials are a unique generation with beliefs and preferences shaped by the technological revolution that they grew up in. It is estimated that by 2020, roughly half of the American workforce will be millennials. Contrary to what some have said, millennials aren’t entitled or lazy at all. In fact, they possess many qualities that make them great salespeople.
Millennials are social media natives.
Millennials were the first to adopt and popularize social media platforms, which are now key to the sales game. In fact, 78% of salespeople use social media to outsell their competition. LinkedIn and Twitter have become invaluable tools for building relationships with prospects. Although social selling is relatively new, using social media is second nature to millennials.
Millennials embrace technology.
Millennials adopt new technologies twice as fast as the rest of the world. This gives millennials an advantage in the sales world as digital tools and automation are saving time and helping to streamline the sales process. Salesforce, Google Drive, and Evernote are common technology outlets among salespeople of the millennial generation.
Millennials live and breathe your product.
Millennials are drawn to a company’s mission first and foremost. Most believe in the products they sell. They arm themselves with product knowledge and go beyond the product’s FAQ page. As result, they don’t need to use aggressive sales tactics to succeed. Instead, they know everything a prospect ever wants to know about a product, and this helps them sell it to informed buyers. Since they believe in a company’s mission, their commitment to the business creates invaluable interactions with prospects.
Millennials are entrepreneurial.
It seems like millennials have entrepreneurialism in their DNA. In fact, over 50% of millennials either say they want to start their own business, or already have one. As a generation, their solution-oriented, creative, and hungry nature allows them to embrace new sales methods, such as responding to emails with a creative meme and building relationships through personal branding.
Millennials are data driven.
If a millennial isn’t at the top of the pack, they examine the key differences between top performers and themselves. They dive into the data and metrics because of their digital disposition. Millennials are then quick to adopt a plan for making it to the top.
Pulling it all together
Don’t be fooled by the millennial generation’s bad rap. They embrace social media and technology and use both to their advantage in the sales field. They are poised to succeed in a world where people are making more informed buying decisions because they rely on product knowledge, empathy and data. For all these reasons, a millennial might just be your next best hire.
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Jeff Ruby
Founder of RedRock Leadership