Winning customers is the growth engine for any company selling in the B2B space. We are at an unprecedented time in our business history, with four generations of sales staff selling to four generations of buyers. As these disparate generations come together during the most critical business process that a company attains—the selling process—there are friction points or areas of congruence that occur which can derail the sales efforts.

Think of the Gen Y sales rep selling a software solution to a Baby Boomer CFO and how these distinctly different generations prefer to communicate, talk, read, dress, interact and develop relationships. Or, imagine the Baby Boomer sales rep selling financial services to the Gen Y decision-maker and how these generational differences make the selling efforts very challenging. In both instances, do you think the sales rep was confident, relevant, powerful, persuasive and likeable? Or, did the sales reps leave the meetings thinking what they could have said or done to make the interaction more productive?

Generations share common experiences or imprinting during their formative years that have profound effects on their attitudes, work styles, behaviors, beliefs, relationships, goals, and other aspects critical to building effective relationships. It is critical to understand these buyer preferences and adapt the selling process accordingly. Even more than the selling process, it takes communications, marketing messages, collateral, and all other support services for selling to be effective. Sales reps can no longer be generationally ignorant and fail to take these differences into account in the selling process.

As more Boomers retire and Gen Xs and Ys enter the buying process, they bring different preferences that will change the way the selling process works. Many of the assumptions we have for selling effectiveness are wrong with newer generations of buyers. Recently, we completed research to determine how generational differences will create new challenges for selling efforts to be successful. Our hypothesis was that the generation of the buyers will create differences in the buying process. Let me give you a few preliminary findings for the Gen Y buyers:

• They span all purchasing levels, including $100k+.
• 56% are willing to purchase goods and services under $20k over the Internet (without face-to-face meetings).
• 50%+ use best practice and content websites as important sources of information to aid buying decisions.
• 50%+ felt that the impact of buying decisions on their pay and job security was very important when purchasing goods and services.
• The majority indicated they prefer working with sales reps who are traditional, tech savvy and direct.  

While these are preliminary and represent a small portion of the research findings, you can see the implications for how companies can sell products and services more economically and effectively. Helping your sales reps understand the differences among generations and how to adapt their whole selling approach and style will increase the pipeline, win more deals and shorten the selling cycle.