As sales speakers and experts can tell you, we now have four generations operating side by side in the workforce today. As a result, for businesses looking to more effectively speak to B2B clients, or everyday end-users, finding ways to better communicate and engage customers of all ages, backgrounds and interests is key. This past week, our friends at Xerox and RealBusiness asked us to take a closer look at generational differences, and explain how marketing and advertising pros can better present their message, in an article title Is a Generational Gap Hurting Your Sales Relationships, which we hope will prove a fascinating read.
In the clip, we take a closer look at how to be more effective when it comes to sales presentations, relationship building activities, and making sure your message is heard. As you might imagine, this requires finding different ways to communicate with different audiences via different channels – and yet, at the same time, finding ways to convey consistent information, as well as get across just what it is that sets you apart at a glance, in your voice. Naturally, key pieces to keep in mind to be most effective here include being yourself, being value-oriented, and being willing to think about building meaningful relationships – e.g. not just getting to understand you customer, but also being willing to put them first, and think about how you can serve more as a trusted counselor capable of advising them and helping steer them towards the solutions that will be most effective, not necessarily the most lucrative in the immediate from your standpoint.
Our general approach when it comes to connecting with audiences of all ages: Be relevant. Be helpful. Be engaging. And most of all be willing to put others first. It’s not so much about creating sales as it is creating meaningful partnerships – long-term relationships based on providing mutually beneficial assistance (read: win-win scenarios) are worth far more from every standpoint that individual sales.
