To locate the very best talent, your recruiting strategy must account for the hiring expectations of different generations. Yet, many businesses are having a tough time recruiting millennials in sales positions.
Millennials are those who were born between the years 1981 and 1996. As seen with all generations, millennials have personal and professional values that are unique to their age group. A key part of recruiting millennials is understanding exactly what these values are.
With 80 million millennials in the world today, it’s more important than ever to develop sales recruiting strategies for this age group. By taking a closer look at what motivates millennials, you can position your company to attract new sales talent.
What Makes Millennials Different?
No matter what generation they might come from, people are products of the world around them. Due to the connectivity of the modern world, it should come as no surprise that millennials are the most tech-savvy and culturally sensitive of any generation.
Key things that define millennials include:
- Technology: millennials were raised with computers, cell phones, and the internet.
- Independence: millennials like to do things their own way.
- Diversity: millennials are more accepting of other cultures than past generations.
Following these key values as a roadmap, you can assess your recruitment process to begin better targeting millennials.
Recruiting Millennials vs Other Generations
As seen with other generations like baby boomers, millennials put a high value on personal recommendations during job searches. That being said, establishing an employee referral program is a great way to attract millennials to your sales team. In the end, no matter what generation you come from, the word of a trusted friend or associate goes a long way.
As seen with just about every facet of their lives, millennials rely heavily on technology for job searching. While newspaper classifieds were great places to find jobs for older generations, millennials prefer company websites, job boards, and social media pages. To keep a steady flow of millennial talent coming into your sales team, we recommend posting jobs on Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn – as well as your company website.
Why Millennials in Sales are Important
There are many reasons why millennials in sales are important in the business world today.
With more baby boomers retiring each year, it only makes sense that millennials have a larger influence on the overall market. Not only are there more millennials working in sales jobs, but this generation also represents a massive customer base with billions of dollars in purchasing power.
The technological savvy that largely defines the millennial generation also speaks to their importance in sales jobs. While older generations often have a tough time working with sales technology like customer relationship management (CRM) software, these things come as second nature to millennials. In fact, the entire sales profession has been upended by new technologies – with practices like prospect emailing becoming the new normal.
Sales Team Recruiting Strategies for Millennials
With the right approach, you can develop winning millennial recruiting strategies for your sales team.
A good starting point in recruiting millennials is getting your business up to speed with the latest technologies. Not only is it recommended to supply sales teams with cell phones and laptops, but you should also implement sales software like Salesforce or HubSpot.
It is also important to get your company updated with the latest digital marketing practices. Besides having a professional website, you should practice digital advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) so millennials can easily find your business online. It’s also a good idea to develop a company profile on important job boards so people can learn about your business.
You should also make it known that your company values align with those of millennials. For example, actively supporting diversity and equality in the workplace is a great way to appeal to millennials. In addition, offering hybrid positions or remote work will get the attention of millennials who value flexibility and independence in their schedules.
Contact CulverCareers
The team at CulverCareers knows what it takes to recruit new sales talent. Please Contact Us with additional questions about millennial recruiting strategies.
Ty Culver has extensive experience in the Talent Acquisition/Retention space. He has helped some of the most powerful companies in the market place enhance their employee experience and scale their teams. Ty specializes in Executive Search, Retention programs for Key People and Population Wellness. Ty has helped CulverCareers rise to the Top 1% of the industry and differentiate from the field with a holistic approach to Acquisition and Retention of People.
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