It can be easy to assume that in complex B2B sales that the final decision maker (and therefore the most important person to target) is a member of the baby boomer generation. But this is a dangerous assumption to make. There is often a buying committee around the lead contact in a sale that has considerable influence on the final decision. Within this committee we are seeing an increasing number of millennials, highlighting the importance of engaging younger generations in your sales and marketing approach.

The best way to find out how much influence younger generations may have on your customers is to utilize the digital analytics tools available to you. First find out what age ranges are engaging with your website, chat bots, adverts and so on. This will tell you what age brackets you should optimize your content for. Make sure to review your data regularly so that your content is always relevant and valuable to your target audience.

We all know that salespeople prefer face-to-face interactions where possible. Physically shaking somebody’s hand, perhaps over coffee or lunch, gives them the opportunity to really assess a prospect’s intentions and buy in. But this appetite for face-to-face interaction is now rarely shared by buyers, especially in the early stages of a buying journey. They know that by meeting in person they are offering a not insignificant amount of commitment that perhaps they don’t want to give away too early.

This difference in attitudes has been accelerated by the global pandemic, forcing the best salespeople to adapt. They’ve embraced that early contact with a prospect is now highly likely to be digital or virtual, tailoring their approach accordingly. Successful salespeople are now inviting their early-stage prospects to relevant webinars or speaking with them on video calls first, to help the prospect feel more comfortable and build trust. For an increased chance of success, marketing should work collaboratively with their sales colleagues to identify what content prospects are engaging with, or actions that they are taking outside of their sales interactions, so that sales teams follow-up accordingly. A great way to bridge the gap between early-stage digital interactions and physical meetings is to put on relevant conferences and workshops for your buyers. This gives salespeople the opportunity to gain highly valuable face time with buyers but in a way that doesn’t over-commit the buyer.