2024 SALES LEADER

TREND REPORT

Managing a
Multigenerational
Sales Team:
10 Trends for
Sales Leaders

Sales Performance
SPRC
Research Center
What’s the best way to manage a Gen Z
sales professional versus a Baby Boomer?
What motivates them?
What’s the best way to train, coach, and
retain them?

SALES PROFESSIONAL
If you’re a sales leader of a multigenerational team, you may GENERATIONS
be asking these questions.
Generation Z: Born 1997-2012
There are now four generations of working sales
professionals in the market: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Millennials: Born 1981-1996
Baby Boomers. It’s crucial for sales leaders to understand
the motivations, behaviors, and learning styles of each Generation X: Born 1965-1980
generation.
Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964
Managing these differences can be challenging. But
leveraging each generation’s strengths pays off. With this
knowledge, you can attract, retain, and inspire a high-
functioning multigenerational team.
We set out to understand the differences and similarities of
each generation of sales professionals. We surveyed 155
B2B sales leaders across multiple industries at
organizations with revenue greater than $50M to identify
trends in sales professional capability.
Sales leaders reported which generation represents most of
their sales force and we analyzed results for each of the four
groups. This report presents findings for sales performance
and sales skills from this research data.
By developing a deep understanding of each generation,
sales leaders can create a more inclusive, engaged, and
high-performing sales team, ultimately driving better results
for the organization. Use these insights to lead your team to
greater success.

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 2

4 Perspectives On Work
Every generation has a distinct attitude toward work—what they prioritize and
expect from it. While each individual has a unique perspective, here are the general
preferences of each generation:

Generation Z (Born 1997-2012) Millennials (Born 1981-1996)

Digital Natives Purpose-Driven Workers
• Value work-life balance and flexibility • Value work-life integration and workplace
flexibility
• Prioritize workplace diversity, equity, and
inclusion • Seek jobs with purpose and opportunities for
advancement
• Expect frequent feedback and opportunities
for growth • Appreciate regular feedback and recognition

• Prefer collaborative work environments • Prefer collaborative team environments

• Desire work that aligns with their values and • Prioritize work-life balance and personal
makes an impact development

• Comfortable with technology and remote work • Embrace technology and innovation

SALES LEADER TIP: Help them establish a career SALES LEADER TIP: Extend coaching,
vision and share frequent feedback and mentorship, and clear upward career paths.
opportunities for growth. Give them an opportunity to lead and lift others.

Generation X (Born 1965-1980) Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964)

Skeptical Independents Hardworking Traditionalists
• Value work-life balance and independence • Strong work ethic and dedication to their jobs
• Appreciate direct communication and • Value loyalty and respect for hierarchy
feedback
• Prioritize job security and steady employment
• Prioritize job security and stability
• May be resistant to change and new
• Willing to work long hours for career technologies
advancement
• Prefer face-to-face communication and
• Resourceful and adaptable to change traditional work arrangements

• Value experience and skills over job titles • Possess proven expertise and results

SALES LEADER TIP: Provide work autonomy and SALES LEADER TIP: Leverage experience and
a results-oriented approach. Leverage their work ethic. Help them develop transition plans
experience and work ethic to contribute optimally for their portfolios and relationships.
as individual contributors or as leaders.

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 3

10 Generational Trends for Sales Leaders
Our research identified 10 trends in sales performance and sales skills related to the
generation of each sales team in the survey.

Sales Performance Trends

TREND 1: Leaders of Millennial teams are more confident they have the skills and
capabilities to meet strategic objectives than leaders of other teams.

• 86% of leaders with Millennial teams are confident.

SALES LEADER TIP: To gain confidence in
• 74% of leaders with Gen X teams are confident. your team’s capabilities and to train on
correct development areas, use an
• 62% of leaders with Gen Z teams are confident.
assessment tool that identifies skill gaps,
• 50% of leaders with Boomer teams are confident. motivators, and behavior styles.

TREND 2: Organizations with predominantly Gen X sales professionals are more

on track to reach quota this year than other generations.

• 72% of Gen X teams have more than half of their

SALES LEADER TIP: Look to the habits and
salespeople on track to reach quota.
tactics of Gen X sales professionals to see
• Other teams only have 48-50% of salespeople on track what you can replicate to improve quota
to reach quota. attainment.

TREND 3: Gen Z teams are less likely to consistently follow a sales process.

Only 58% of organizations with predominantly Gen Z sales professionals

follow a sales process consistently, while 75-94% of other teams do. SALES LEADER TIP:
Make sure you have a well-
Sales process adherence correlates with team success. Younger sales defined sales process in place
professionals may be unfamiliar with the benefits of following a process and train all team members to
or have not been part of organizations in recent years where process follow it.
adherence has been expected and reinforced.

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 4

TREND 4: When onboarding new sellers, teams with mostly Gen X sales
professionals are ready to start engaging with customers more quickly than
other generations.

• Gen X new hires take an average of 7.49 months to

engage with customers. SALES LEADER TIP: Identify skills gaps or
sales process deviation that could be
• Gen Z and Millennial new hires take 10.52 months. slowing down sales professionals. Enhance
those areas of your new hire onboarding.
• Boomer new hires take 11.75 months.

TREND 5: Organizations with predominantly Millennial sales professionals had

the highest average turnover in the past year. Gen X teams had the lowest.

• Millennial teams experienced 27% average turnover in the past year.

SALES LEADER TIP:
• Gen Z teams averaged 19% turnover. Understand what motivates
individuals on your team. Align
• Boomer teams averaged 15% turnover.
incentive structures with team
• Gen X teams averaged 13% turnover. member’s driving forces. Invest
in retention strategies,
There are many reasons sales professionals change companies. professional development,
Millennial turnover may be due to the fact that this age group is training, and coaching.
reaching its professional prime and wants to advance in their careers.
Some seek work-life balance and better opportunities. Some want to
improve earning potential. You can’t assume money is the primary
driver of satisfaction.

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 5

 Sales Skills Trends

TREND 6: Millennial and Gen Z teams struggle more when it comes to the
discovery and questioning phase of the sales process.

• 61% of Millennial teams struggle with discovery and questioning.

SALES LEADER TIP:
• 57% of Gen Z teams struggle.
Your team may lack the
• 36% of Gen X teams struggle. interpersonal skills,
patience, or confidence
• 0% of Boomer teams struggle.*
to ask probing
During most of the selling career of these younger generations, there was a questions. Dedicate
great deal of business driven by easy money. You don’t need to understand time to coaching on
why people want to buy things when they are clamoring to buy. Now that the these skills.
environment has changed, deep discovery is needed to fit the solution with
strategic priorities and motivate action.

*small sample size

TREND 7: Gen Z teams struggle most with the managing objections and
negotiating terms phase of the sales process.

• 76% of Gen Z teams struggle with managing objections and

negotiating terms.
SALES LEADER TIP:
• 53% of Millennial teams struggle. Your team may need
• 41% of Gen X teams struggle. targeted skills training
to improve negotiation,
• 0% of Boomer teams struggle.* objection handling, and
selling value.
This generation started their careers handling “high-class objections.” Buyers
would often purchase even if they were not fully satisfied because they faced
few negative ramifications. That is not the case now. Careers are on the line
from poor purchase decisions, making buyers much more skeptical.

Gen Z is also seeing the rise of buying committees and uncertain economic
conditions that have slowed the buying process for the first time.

*small sample size

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 6

 Sales Skills Trends CONTINUED

TREND 8: Each generation prospects for new sales opportunities differently.

Boomer teams use the second-most effective prospecting approach, while Gen Z
teams are more likely to use the two least effective approaches.
• Boomers use events and tradeshows.
• Gen Xers use inbound leads.
• Millennials use promotional offers and discounts.
• Gen Zers use cold outreach and promotional offers and discounts.

Age may play the biggest role in approach. Boomers and Gen Xers, who began
selling in the ’90s and ’00s, are most comfortable meeting with people in person SALES LEADER TIP:
and are in the habit of attending events and tradeshows. Invest in prospecting
skill development.
Millennials began selling during a good economy and didn’t have to work as hard Be sure team
to uncover new opportunities. Now in a tougher economy, they don’t have members are not just
prospecting skills they need and use promotional offers to woo new customers. relying on habits and
can prospect using
Gen Z are early in their careers and most likely to be in front-line business
targeted outreach
development roles where they’re responsible for cold calling.
and referrals.
The younger generations are hoping to “buy” their way into customer attention by
offering discounts—the weakest strategy if you have not built trust or
substantiated value. Boomers love the old-school human connection, and Gen X
came of age in the inbound revolution of 10-15 years ago.

The challenge for sales leaders is to develop a mix of channels that make all
generations comfortable and optimally efficient. If you use just one approach, you
will diminish the effectiveness of some portion of your team.

PROSPECTING TECHNIQUES BY GENERATION

Techniques (Most to Least Effective) Boomer Gen X Millennial Gen Z

Targeted Outreach & Referrals 0% 31% 19% 10%

Events & Tradeshows 50% 5% 6% 20%

Inbound Leads 25% 49% 21% 20%

Unsolicited RFPs 0% 23% 16% 0%

Promo Offers & Discounts 25% 10% 28% 25%

Cold Outreach 0% 3% 11% 25%

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 7

 Sales Skills Trends CONTINUED

TREND 9: Most teams are not using the most effective questioning
strategies during discovery.

Boomer, Gen X, and Millennial teams use product-based questions most,

while Gen Z teams use needs and buying process questions most. SALES LEADER TIP:
Sales professionals
• 50% of Boomer teams use product-based questions. must seek to
• 38% of Gen X teams use product-based questions. understand customer
needs and wants before
• 41% of Millennial teams use product-based questions. proposing solutions.
• 35% of Gen Z teams use needs and buying process questions. Focus on developing
discovery and
“Needs & Wants” is the most effective questioning strategy. “Needs & Buying questioning skills that
Process” is the second most effective. A “Product-Based Questions” go deeper.
approach is the third most effective.

QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES BY GENERATION

Techniques (Most to Least Effective) Boomer Gen X Millennial Gen Z

Needs & Wants 25% 15% 19% 25%

Needs & Buying Process 25% 31% 22% 35%

Product-Based Questions 50% 39% 41% 20%

Intro Questions & Product Pitch 0% 15% 18% 20%

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 8

 Sales Skills Trends CONTINUED

TREND 10: Most teams are not using the most effective value selling
approach—connecting value to ROI—regardless of age.

A value-based selling approach—the ability to add value to your

product or service—is critical. When you only sell on price, margins
are slim. Profitability and long-term growth are more of a challenge
and there is little of value to differentiate you from competitors.

“Connect Value to ROI” (the most effective approach) is used by

Gen Z more than by other generations.
• 25% of Gen Z teams SALES LEADER TIP: Train your
• 23% of Millennial teams team how to connect the value
of your products and services
• 3% of Gen X teams to a high return on investment
• 0% of Boomer teams for your customer.

“Connect Value to Needs & Wants” (the second most effective

approach) is the most common for all generations.
• 75% of Boomer teams
• 51% of Gen X teams
• 44% of Millennial teams
• 40% of Gen Z teams

VALUE SELLING TECHNIQUES BY GENERATION

Techniques (Most to Least Effective) Boomer Gen X Millennial Gen Z

Connect Value to ROI 0% 3% 23% 25%

Connect Value to Needs & Wants 75% 51% 44% 40%

Discuss All Value Components 25% 44% 26% 15%

Focus on Price 0% 3% 7% 20%

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 9

Recommendations for Sales Leaders
The key to sales success for multigenerational teams is to understand the unique
drivers, communication styles, and needs of each generation while also promoting
collaboration, mutual respect, and open-mindedness across the entire team.

Some general tips across generations:

• Facilitate cross-generational mentoring and knowledge sharing. This doesn’t just mean from
older generations to younger generations. For example, younger generations may have
something to teach older generations about positioning ROI.
• Promote an open culture of feedback and two-way communication.
• Acknowledge diverse working styles and preferences.
• Lead with empathy, emotional intelligence, and inclusivity.

Here are some specific recommendations for sales leaders to build better working relationships
with each generation:

Generation Z Millennials
• Provide frequent feedback and opportunities • Offer coaching, mentorship, and clear
for growth. career paths.

• Leverage technology and digital • Create a collaborative and inclusive team

communication channels. environment.

• Allow flexibility and work-life balance. • Allow for work-life integration and remote
work options.
• Emphasize company values and social impact.
• Provide opportunities for learning and
• Make wellness a priority, especially mental development.
health.

Generation X Baby Boomers

• Offer work autonomy and a results-oriented • Recognize their experience, loyalty, and
approach. strong work ethic.

• Provide work-life balance and flexible • Maintain respect for hierarchy and
schedules. traditional processes.

• Leverage their experience and value their • Provide stable working conditions and
input. job security.

• Communicate directly and avoid excessive • Offer training on new technologies adopted
corporate jargon. by the company.

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 10

Building High-Performing Sales Teams
As Baby Boomers retire in greater numbers, sales leaders must develop the next
generation of sales professionals. Understanding age-related attributes is a huge
opportunity to leverage the strengths of each team member and build high-
performing multigenerational organizations.

Developing insights into each age, while recognizing individual differences, will
help you motivate and reward sales professionals from Boomers to Gen Z,
ultimately driving better results for the organization. Use this report to lead your
team to greater success.

Find out how your team can achieve sales excellence with the IMPACT Selling®
training program.

Report Methodology
The Brooks Group commissioned independent research firm Qualtrics
to survey 155 B2B North American sales leaders across multiple
industries at organizations with revenue greater than $50M. Survey
questions were designed to identify trends in B2B seller capabilities and
sales leader priorities for 2024.

Respondent titles included CEO, General Manager, President, Owner;

Head of Sales, CRO, CSO; Sales VP, EVP, SVP; Director of Sales, Sales
Manager, and Sales Enablement Leader.

© 2024 The Brooks Group | BrooksGroup.com | 11

About The Brooks Group
Unlocking sales potential for over 45 years, The Brooks
Group is the leading sales training and development
company empowering sales teams to generate breakthrough
results. To learn more about our suite of ROI-driven sales
training and development programs, industry-leading
reinforcement tools, and best-in-class assessments,
visit www.brooksgroup.com.

Sales Performance
SPRC
Research Center

About The Sales Performance Research Center

The Sales Performance Research Center helps sales
organizations make informed decisions on sales strategy,
sales talent management, sales training, and more.
Learn more here.

Contact Us
(336) 282-6303
Contact@TheBrooksGroup.com
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© 2024 The Brooks Group