By 2025, millennials will account for 75% of the workforce. Millennials are a dynamic and powerful generation, and your sales training initiatives should reflect their needs.
Is your sales training geared towards millennial behavior trends?
Do you know how to keep the millennial generation engaged?
If you can’t confidently answer those questions, it might be time to re-evaluate your strategy. Use the following three tips to learn more about the millennial generation, and how to successfully tailor and sales training and coaching program to them.
Understanding Your Team
The first step in successfully coaching your millennial sales team is understanding them. Spend a few minutes getting to know the general tendencies and behaviors of this dynamic group:
- Digital Living. Millennials spend their lives in the digital world. They are used to accessing everything online, and often research ahead of purchases and experiences. They’re big social media users too.
- Values. This dynamic generation cares. They’re drawn to passion, diversity, social change and personal growth. More than anything, they value authenticity.
- Information Overload. Millennials are used to an information overload. They’re constantly accessing and researching data online. The more they can consume, the better. In fact, 33% of millennials rely on blogs to help make purchases.
Understanding what your team values and how they interact with the world will give you the foundation for building a sales training and coaching program that works.
Starting Fresh
Millennials are more likely to change jobs faster than any other generation. Because of this, they may have less in-depth training and experience than older generations. When you’re building your sales training and coaching program, make sure you start with the right foundation. Don’t assume anything. Millennials are smart and eager to learn, so don’t skimp out on an amazing opportunity to mold powerful sales reps.
You can take your sales training customization one step further by making sure to tailor the training to their priorities. Building a program that keeps your millennial reps engaged will boost employee retention while giving your reps exactly what they’re looking for. So what they do they value? Leadership training above anything else.
Incorporating Technology
Technology is a huge influence for the millennial generation. Your company culture and sales training strategy needs to reflect that. In addition to covering topics that will keep millennial sales reps engaged, you should use methods that will appeal to them too.
Trade in classroom training sessions for online options. Ditch all day seminars for mobile bite sized modules they can access from anywhere. Keep an online library of information your reps can access anytime. And don’t forget to incorporate games, interactive components, and video into training.
Showpad Coach‘s technology allows sales leaders to efficiently implement a solution that gives sales reps the opportunity to record and submit demo, pitch, and client engagement practice for coaching and feedback. Your millennials reps will love it, and it won’t take any extra time out of your day to manage.
The millennial generation is smart, dynamic, and tech savvy. Start embracing these strengths by building a sales training and coaching program tailored to their needs and desires. You’ll develop better sales reps, and see improved employee retention too.
