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This is how you impress millennial decision makers
Gert-jan de Rooij | 10-11-2021
Millennials are increasingly the decision makers in your B2B sales process, a process that largely takes place online. So it's good to focus on that with sales and marketing. But how well do you really know the socially conscious and digitally savvy millennial? If you want to reach the millennial audience, you have to look for the right chord through the right channel. It is known that companies with a positive impact on the world, especially among this generation Y, have an advantage!
In the sales process you quickly have to deal with six to ten decision makers and a Decision Making Unit (DMU) that increasingly consists of millennials. That makes decision-making in B2B quite complex. At the same time, the sales relationship also becomes more personal and a decision maker wants to know in advance who he is doing business with and what you stand for as a company. But do you, as a sales manager, also know who exactly you are dealing with and where the focus should be, especially when it comes to millennials?
'Although the social component is very important for millennials, their business contact is often online'
Digitally up to date
In the Netherlands, Generation Y, which is now between 26 and 41 years old, consists of more than 3 million (working) people. Raised with technology, completely up to date digitally and extremely adept at finding information. There is a clear shift in communication from text to images in this generation. Consider, for example, YouTube, infographics and the use of emojis. Furthermore, millennials are more looking for connections with friends, family and peers. Although the social component is very important, their business contacts often take place online. Calling is not really their thing and cold calling is certainly not their thing. Their preference is for chat, mobile apps and online contact via LinkedIn. My advice: make sure you are easy to find and visible to them with an active profile.
'Tune your sales approach to the positive impact of your company on the world, that is extremely valuable'
Idealistic
Unlike previous generations, millennials are often socially conscious to a higher degree. They are idealistic and that is how they choose companies and their products. They are not only concerned about profit, but also about the social aspect and the planet. It is therefore valuable to tailor your sales approach to the positive impact of your company on the world. Research also shows that four out of five millennials prefer suppliers with a compelling business strategy and a unique voice (Forrester*). It also appears that this generation is only satisfied with credible digital content, especially when it comes to success stories. Content that you can share, for example, via videos or testimonials on LinkedIn. And once you have (digital) contact, keep it informal and simple. Nice handles to touch that sensitive nerve!
Download our trend report
Now that the DMU increasingly consists of millennials, it is good for the sales team to anticipate this. Is your team already future-proof and effectively working on a digital sales approach such as social selling? We at Kenneth Smit are happy to help you with this. For example with us trend report Sales of the Future. Go through the handy checklist and experience whether your team is ready for tomorrow's sales!
