Generational Selling Tactics that Work E-Book

Cam Marston

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 262

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Make the sale to four key generations All your customers like the same type of service, right? And all your products should be sold the same way to all prospects, right? And the reasons you like your product and service are the same reasons your buyers should like it, right? Wrong! What your sales team doesn't know about Gen Xers, Boomers, Matures, and Millennials impacts the bottom line. Each generation's differing values creates differing expectations for what makes a quality sales or service experience. In Generational Selling Tactics that Work: Quick and Dirty Secrets for Selling to Any Age Group, thought leader Cam Marston reveals the four generations' sales and services biases and provides simple, easy-to-execute ideas for reaching each. * Author has a winning track record with his previous book, Motivating The "What's In It for Me?" Workforce * Unique in preparing you and your sales team to sell cross generationally, not just to one generation or other Highly energetic and engaging to read, Generational Selling Tactics that Work is full of immediately actionable ideas for each generation so you can sell confidently and deliver superb service to each of these unique demographics.

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Selling and the Generations: Making a Connection

Generational Differences

The Four Generations

Generational Insight for Selling

Generational Selling Tactics

Chapter 2: Snapshot of Baby Boomers

Meet the Baby Boomers

Who Are the Baby Boomers?

Why Are They Called Baby Boomers?

When Were They Born?

Formative Experiences

Why Are the Baby Boomers Important?

Characteristics of Boomers

Chapter 3: Selling to Baby Boomers: The Search for Control

Baby Boomer Consumers

Two Generations in One?

Identifying and Understanding Your Baby Boomer Customers

Engaging Your Baby Boomer Customers

Building Sales Relationships with Baby Boomer Customers

The Last Look: Closing the Deal with Baby Boomers

For Further Thought on Your Boomer Customers

Chapter 4: Snapshot of Millennials

Meet the Millennials

Who Are the Millennials?

Why Are They Called “Millennials”?

When Were They Born?

Formative Experiences

Why Are the Millennials Important?

Chapter 5: Selling to Millennials: The Search for Connection

Millennial Consumers

The Last Look: Closing the Deal with Millennials

For Further Thought on Your Millennial Customers

Chapter 6: Snapshot of Generation X

Meet Generation X

Who Is Generation X?

Why Are They Called “Generation X”?

When Were They Born?

Formative Experiences

Why Is Generation X Important?

Characteristics of Generation X

Chapter 7: Selling to Generation X: The Search for Truth

Generation X Consumers

Indentifying and Understanding Your Generation X Customers

Engaging Your Generation X Customers

Building Sales Relationships with Generation X Customers

The Last Look: Closing the Deal with Generation X

For Further Thought on Your Generation X Customers

Chapter 8: Snapshot of Matures

Meet the Matures

Who Are the Matures?

Why Are They Called Matures?

When Were They Born?

Formative Experiences

Why Are the Matures Important?

Characteristics of Matures

Chapter 9: Selling to Matures: The Search for Quality

Mature Consumers

Identifying and Understanding Your Mature Customers

Building Sales Relationships with Mature Customers

The Last Look: Closing the Deal with Matures

For Further Thought on Your Mature Customers

Chapter 10: Closing the Deal: Connecting and Selling across Generational Lines

The Big Picture

The Details

The Crucial Connection

About the Author

Copyright © 2011 Cam Marston. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

ISBN 978-1-118-01838-5 (cloth)

ISBN 978-1-118-07808-2 (ebk)

ISBN 978-1-118-07809-9 (ebk)

ISBN 978-1-118-07810-5 (ebk)

This book is dedicated to those who are in the “people business”

and are looking for new ways to connect with those who

could be or should be their customers.

Also to the corporate behemoth that is GE, without whom I would

have never begun down this path of learning the selling preferences

of the different generations. GE trains their people well to be

tough negotiators and demanding clients, but, in the end,

their demanding processes tend to make their vendors better

at what they do. That has certainly been my case.

And to the Mellow Mushroom at the corner of Old Shell

and University and Satori Coffee House on Old Shell Road,

where I diligently edited and reedited the manuscript.

Finally, I'd be foolish to neglect my wife and my family.

They tolerate dramatic mood swings based on my most recent

client calls, long periods of my being away with clients, and

my calls from the road from exotic locations while they're

slogging away at home in carpool lines and endless swim meets

under the blazing south Alabama sun. Lisa, Reiney, Spencer,

Mackey, and Ivey – thanks for letting me do what I do.

I'm one lucky husband and father.

Preface

Eight years ago an audience member asked me if my information on the generations could be adjusted to apply to sales. “It makes sense,” she said, “that if these generations have such strong biases about their workplaces that they may also have some biases about the sales process.” At the time my focus was the generational changes impacting the workplace. “Probably,” I said, “But I've not done any research into that.” A few months later she called me and said, “Do the research. I want you to come speak to my sales force.” Thus began my odyssey into generational biases around sales and discovering specific sales tactics that each generation prefers.

In the audience of this first presentation on generational selling was a gentleman with General Electric (GE), whose responsibility was to educate the entire U.S.-based GE sales force on selling tactics. He liked my presentation and said he found some truth in my content, and not long after that I began touring the country speaking to the GE sales forces across the nation. Those speeches and seminars continue to this day, but now it's not just with GE; it's to a broad spectrum of companies across North America.

Most normal people tend to think of sales and service from a few standard frames of mind:

If I like my product or service for a certain reason, you will like it for that reason, too. Therefore, I will sell it to you featuring the reasons I like it.If I want to learn about a product or service, you will likely want to learn about it the same way. Therefore, I'll assume you'll want to learn about it like I do.And if I like a salesperson for one reason or another, you'll probably like the salesperson for those same reasons. Therefore, I'll try to behave like the salesperson I'd like to do business with.

What this creates is salespeople, marketers, and service providers who essentially replicate their own preferences on their customers. And, frankly, sometimes this works, but many times it doesn't.

I've written this book to get you “out of you and into them”—into your customer's frame of mind. I want you to become aware of your generational biases and not to let your biases dominate your sales, marketing, or service processes. It's not too hard, actually, and in the process you'll probably learn something about yourself.

Always remember:

People do business with people that they like.People do business with people they think are like themselves.

This book is written to help you become likable to your different generations of customers and to give you tools and ideas for how to become like your different generations of customers. Are they ways for a Millennial to become like a Boomer? Absolutely; if they know what a Boomer prefers when they're making buying decisions, then that Millennial can adjust to become more like the Boomer. The same with a Mature to a Millennial or a Boomer to an Xer. It works from all generations to the others. The key is being able to get out of your habits and routines and into the preferences of your prospect. Knowing what those preferences are is step one.

Good selling.

Acknowledgments

Steven James never blinked when I called to tell him Wiley wanted the manuscript in six weeks. He quickly got to work organizing the information, helping craft the chapter outlines, and working with me to organize the jumbled and disparate information in my head. This book exists because of his dogged determination to make sure we met the deadline.

Excellent work, Steven, and thank you very much for your help. Now stand by for what's next. . . .

Chapter 1

Selling and the Generations

Making a Connection

A customer's decision to buy is usually about 85 percent emotional and 15 percent rational. In a crowded marketplace with many buying options, the typical consumer spends as much time deciding from whom they will buy as they do deciding what they will buy. Consumers make the emotional part of their choice based on two qualities that they find (or don't find) in a sales professional: likability and respect. Respect comes from vendors' knowledge of their products, services, and industry, as well as from their experience and accomplishments. But likability can be more elusive, even for the friendliest and most outgoing account executive. It's one of those things that just seems to “be there” with some people and not with others.

A big part of successful selling is the likability factor—one's capacity to consistently establish a connection or rapport with prospects, clients, and customers. Clients need to establish a level of comfort with us before they trust us with significant purchase decisions—or even before they will believe anything we say. That comfort level is expressed in phrases like “He gets me” or “She just knows exactly where I'm coming from” or even—if we're really lucky—“Hey, I this guy!” Sometimes, establishing this connection is easy. We just “hit it off” with a client, especially one with whom we share a common background, age group, or interests. Other times, however, it seems more difficult. We can't seem to find the right “wavelength,” or we aren't even “speaking the same language.” This happens most often with customers who are of different ages and backgrounds than our own.