Retaining Salespeople: Understanding the New Needs of Generation Y

While customer retention is a major focus of your business, it’s not enough: as a manager, you must also succeed in retaining your salespeople.

However, the arrival of Generation Y in the job market changes the game: their expectations, but also their fears, are challenging traditional management approaches. So, how should you manage your salespeople from this ultra-connected generation?

Generation Y: What if We Dropped our Prejudices?

Prejudice #1: Generation Y is Individualistic

Senior salespeople often criticize their younger colleagues for their individualism. While Generation X and the baby boomers sought to establish a culture of community within the company, Generation Y is said to be one of individualism and isolation.

Yet, this new generation builds larger, more extensive digital networks than before. Social media hasn’t confined them to a kind of digital isolation: it has simply reshaped human relationships, both personally and professionally. What if you leveraged this new way of communicating and collaborating, rather than trying to change it?

Prejudice #2: Generation Y Wants Everything, Right Now

The desire for instant gratification often characterizes Generation Y, who would like to see their wishes fulfilled the moment they are expressed. The development of a social Web, where everyone can act instantly (by communicating, buying, publishing their opinion…), has also contributed to the emergence of this character trait.

However, Generation Y doesn’t necessarily lack patience: they perceive time differently. They make a clear distinction between short, medium, and long terms, whose standards have also evolved. A delivery that could take up to several weeks 10 years ago now happens in 24 hours or less: what if Generation Y had simply adapted?

Prejudice #3: Generation Y Struggles with Authority

Again, this widespread idea can undermine all your managerial work with your younger employees. This prejudice needs to be qualified to reflect the truth: Generation Y struggles with authority when they don’t understand its purpose. These young professionals will not hesitate to answer “yes,” provided you explain “why” to them.

It’s no mere coincidence that this new generation pronounces itself why (“why?”) in English. They ask questions because they want to understand what they are doing. It’s not necessarily a sign of insubordination: what if you tried to see it as a genuine desire to commit to a meaningful project?

What Sales Management for Generation Y?

The specific characteristics of Generation Y should lead you to adapt your management methods, without destabilizing employees who are not part of it. An intergenerational coexistence, with mutual understanding and creating added value for the company: such is your mission as a manager.

Start by consolidating the position of your youngest employees within your sales organization. Often perceived as detached, Generation Y actually suffers from a real fragility: that of the job market, which has never been so unstable. Be frank and open: don’t hesitate to make compromises on working conditions, such as hours or methods, provided you set clear and non-negotiable objectives. Launch innovative sales challenges for your youngest employees, and don’t hesitate to have them mentored by their more experienced colleagues to build connections.

Finally, engage in productive self-reflection: observe your employees, pay attention to their working methods and their questions. Strive to understand their expectations, so as to provide them with a quality work environment. Identify their key skills, their areas of expertise, and highlight them, always seeking to emphasize the complementary link between different employees — regardless of their generation.

The integration of Generation Y into your sales organization should be seen as a challenge whose lessons you can leverage to improve your team’s performance. Understood and channeled, the specific characteristics of this young generation can help you optimize your company’s results: what are you waiting for?

To retain your salespeople, download our White Paper: “Engaging Your Sales Force to Retain Them”

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