Optimum Sales – Vendors with planned obsolescence
How to sell to “Millennial” buyers?
Millennial professionals are already reaching decision-making positions in companies. They have already taken a step further in their professional careers and have evolved from interns or juniors to being “decision-makers.”
There is extensive literature on the behavior of “millennials” as consumers of consumer products, now we need to start parameterizing their behaviors as “buyers” of B2B products since the current and near-future decisions will be made by them.
At Optimum Sales, we have initiated an investigation into these behaviors, which we have not yet completed, and which already provide us with some initial conclusions that can make us reflect on how to evolve our sales processes.
How does a Millennial buyer behave?
5 characteristics of a Millennial buyer
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- Millennials are digital natives and therefore the internet is their main source of information. Companies that do not start their online sales processes no longer have the option to compete, just like sellers who are not relevant in digital environments because they are not considered valid interlocutors.
- Immediacy as a barrier to competitors. A Millennial buyer is not willing to wait to choose where to shop, so either companies provide an immediate response when they make an initial inquiry, or they don’t enter their decision-making map.
- The first visit can be difficult to arrange. No matter how complex the product or solution you sell, millennials first want to receive the offer, and only if they are interested will they meet with the pre-selected salesperson. This requires initial proposals that are visually “sexy” and with content that makes the seller appealing. Companies must make considerable efforts to adapt their offers to these selection processes in terms of the “image” parameters of Millennials.
- They don’t listen. Perhaps due to youth or because they consider their preparation to be extensive and comprehensive, or because they have thoroughly informed themselves online, they find it difficult to accept the contribution of an experienced salesperson. This situation forces sellers to guide buyers subtly and humbly to see the value of their proposal.
- They are V.U.C.A. managers (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity). Their decision-making processes are quick, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, a situation that forces sellers to maintain a continuous attitude of resilience and to manage the sometimes senseless decision changes of this buyer profile.
Based on these new B2B buyer profiles, Optimum Sales recommends that company sales departments redefine their commercial processes, establish an online sales strategy (e-sales strategy) for companies and sellers, and train their teams on how to manage this new buyer profile because otherwise, in approximately 5 years, “traditional” salespeople will be obsolete professionals.
| David Galve | General Director www.linkedin.com/in/davidgalve |  |
