By Kevin Cundiff, Fortegra
Your workforce is evolving. Are you?
Today’s culture of immediacy has completely changed the way Millennials take in information and communicate what they’ve learned. As a result, Millennials — your newest generation of salespeople — want fresh ways to learn and engage with their employers.
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So the questions is, how can retailers update their training to engage this new breed of workers with fresh, modern tactics? ‘Millennialize’ your sales training and equip your team for every situation starting with these three updates:
1. Keep It Brief
Eight seconds. That’s the attention span of your average, everyday human being. Shocking? Well, here’s something for bar trivia night: even your average, everyday goldfish can maintain focus for longer than eight seconds.
To combat focus fatigue, keep your training sessions brief. This will not only help you hold your trainees’ attention, but it’ll also give them a better shot at recalling info later. And no 10- point lists. A good rule of thumb is to limit info to three or four important points per session.
2. Offer A New Perspective
Perspective matters and, let’s face it, we could all use a little extra from time to time.
But it’s especially significant when applied to sales scenarios. We all know every customer is different and, as such, a variety of tactics are needed to sell to each of them. But employing this knowledge and mastering this selling skill takes practice. Guide your new trainees’ tactical know-how by both demonstrating and fully explaining various methods for different demographics, and you’ll see them selling like seasoned veterans in no time.
3. Get Techy
Millennials want more than a boring lecture; they want bells, whistles, and for you to reach into the grab bag for something impressive. Luckily, these kinds of tools aren’t so far out of reach.
Aim to make technology a key part of your training efforts. Tools like game play and immediate response systems will encourage your trainees to participate, and will help them to better absorb information.
Kevin Cundiff is Vice President of Retail for Fortegra, a subsidiary of Tiptree Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: TIPT). Fortegra is a single source insurance services company that, through a network of preferred partners, offers a range of specialty program underwriting, credit protection, and warranty solutions. Delivering multifaceted coverage with an unmatched service experience for both resellers and their customers, Fortegra solves immediate, everyday needs, empowering consumers to worry less and Experience More.