DRIVING REVENUE BY UNDERSTANDING TODAY’S YOUNG SALESPEOPLE
Many young radio account executives quit or get fired long before there’s a reasonable expectation that they will succeed. This is often because of some radio station managers' outdated views about how young people are wired in the 21st century. The best way to empower younger sellers is to understand who they are and why they do what they do. This will be different. It won’t kill you. It won’t even seriously injure you.
If you want to hire young people and keep them you have to adapt to the way they think.. Here are some ways.
Knowing that they’re not shy about changing jobs based on money – don’t pay them straight commission or some other insultingly low “entry level” compensation. If you want them to act like adults, pay them adult wages. Of course, you’re going to compensate them based on performance but don’t price them into the revolving door the moment they’re hired.
Knowing that they’re social and peer-oriented – use this to your advantage. Start them out calling on people close to their own age, if possible. Let them establish business relationships that are comfortable for them now because, guess what? This generation isn’t going away. If you’re going for long-term growth, you’d better be able to get these people off to the right start. You’ll need to work with any of them who don’t know how to write proposals and leave phone messages in a businesslike way but, hey, we also know that they absorb education well!
Knowing that they work well together – why not let them work on projects together, perhaps mentored by an older sales person who gets what they’re about? Loyalty to the group is a big deal to these young lions. You can use that to keep them interested and valuable.
Knowing that technology is practically bred into them – listen to them when they have ideas (which they will) about how your systems could work better. And don’t shoot down ideas that aren’t practical or that you don’t understand. They’ll appreciate your consideration even if you don’t adopt their ideas. (Plus, what they suggest that doesn’t work might get your brain working on a variation that does. You’ll share the credit, right?)
Knowing that they need personal attention – give it to them. Spread it around, too, so your older sellers won’t feel left out. Some of them would rather just be left alone but that leaves more time for the ones who need some quality time from you. Praise them for work well done and reward them when it’s appropriate. And keep in mind that they not only want this but expect it in a relationship of any kind.
Clearly, communication is the key to managing and retaining younger sales people. In chapter 16 (Dialing In Goals And Expectations) we’ll look at how precisely describing what you want and carefully listening to what they want is a tremendous factor in keeping this generation away from the revolving door.
As Generation X becomes a more mature slice of the employment pie, the so-called Millennials hit the work force. What do they want? I read the results of a survey taken by that iconic bastion of pop music, MTV. It listed friends, family, technology and health as things that are most important to this group. No, this doesn’t foretell a return to the Fifties with iPods added. It’s just the normal swing in values from one generation to the next. Understand it – and profit from it.
This article contains information form my new book, The Zero Turnover Sales Force: How To Drive Revenue BY Keeping Your Sales Team Intact. Grab your copy at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders or, if they’re sold out, at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Zero+Turnover+Sales+Force&x=20&y=15
