The Multigenerational Sales Team

Introduction

We are about to deliver a presentation at an annual sales conference for a large U.S.–based energy company. As we stand on stage and look out over an audience of five hundred people, we are struck by what we see: In the large ballroom there is a sea of individual sellers, sales leaders, support staff, and executives—a melting pot of age groups represented. Some sellers appear to have a few decades of experience, whereas the senior leadership team all appear to be in the latter years of their careers, and there are pockets of youth all clustered together around the room. There are people who have undoubtedly been through dozens of annual sales kickoff meetings and others who are encountering this type of production for the first time. ...