Gen Z Sales Myths and Misconceptions

They don’t care about your ping pong tables. They don’t care how long your brand has existed. And they definitely don’t care about your open-plan office with the green juice fridge. What Gen Z cares about? → Impact. → Transparency. → Leadership that actually walks the talk. I say this not just as a headhunter who works with FMCG boards to find global CMOs and GMs but as someone watching how talent pipelines are changing from the bottom up. For decades, employer branding in FMCG was almost self-sustaining. Global recognition. Category dominance. Maybe a graduate program with prestige. That’s not enough anymore. 83% of Gen Z candidates say they won’t even apply for a role if a company doesn’t clearly communicate salary and values (LinkedIn Talent Trends 2024). And 57% rank “authenticity of leadership” as a top reason to accept (or reject) a job offer (Handshake, 2024). I’ve seen this play out. Here’s what I’ve learned: Gen Z isn’t anti-FMCG. They’re anti-performative. Prestige doesn’t buy loyalty—purpose does. Your brand voice matters more than your stock price. So many global companies tell me, “We want to build future C-suite talent.” That starts now—with the stories you tell at the graduate level. If your early-career employer brand still looks like a 2015 PowerPoint deck, you’re not in the conversation. You’re in the past. Because this generation is researching your Glassdoor, analyzing your LinkedIn content, and checking if your leaders match your values. If they don’t? They move on quietly and permanently. For companies that get this right? You won’t just win Gen Z talent. You’ll build a leadership pipeline that’s ready for the future of FMCG. → Where brand and values are one and the same. → Where marketing starts with employee belief. → And where your next CMO might be watching your EVP video… and deciding if you’re worth their talent. Let’s talk about how to build that brand from Gen Z to the C-suite. #EmployerBranding #FMCGLeadership #GenZTalent #FutureOfWork #ExecutiveSearch #TalentStrategy

'I'd rather manage anyone else'—why Gen Z has become the least wanted generation in corporate America. As someone in Gen Z, this data is... interesting. ResumeTemplates surveyed 1,000+ managers. 68% say managing Gen Z feels like "raising children." The complaints are predictable: need constant reminders, require emotional reassurance, can't handle basic workplace norms. Here's the uncomfortable truth: they're not entirely wrong. But they're missing the bigger picture. We grew up with infinite feedback loops (likes, comments, streaks). We expect rapid iteration and transparent communication. Traditional managers interpret this as "needy" when it's actually how we're wired to perform at our highest level. What Gen Z actually wants (and why it drives results): - Frequent feedback cycles: Not annual reviews—weekly check-ins with clear metrics and course corrections - Transparent communication: Direct feedback without corporate fluff. Tell us exactly what success looks like and how we're tracking - Growth frameworks: Clear progression paths with specific skills to develop, not vague promises of "future opportunities" - Flexible systems: We optimize for output, not hours in a chair Practical tools that actually work: - Dextego: Soft skills training for sales teams that speaks our language—gamified, data-driven skill development - 15Five: Weekly check-ins that create the feedback loops we crave without overwhelming managers - Notion/Monday.com: Project management that gives us ownership and visibility into impact - BetterUp: 1:1 coaching that addresses the "emotional reassurance" gap with professional development The real opportunity here: For Gen Z: Stop waiting for permission. Learn the game, then change it. Every complaint in that survey is a skill you can develop in 30-90 days if you're intentional about it. For managers: The Gen Z employees who scale fastest get clear frameworks, frequent check-ins, and direct feedback. Treat us like the high-performance systems we are, not the corporate drones you're used to. For companies: The first organizations to crack the Gen Z code will dominate the next decade. We're not going anywhere—we're your future workforce, customers, and leaders. Most people will read this survey and complain. Smart companies will see it as a competitive advantage waiting to be captured. Your move.

"That guy's gonna be a great salesperson—he'll talk to anyone!" I've heard this my entire career. And every time, I think the same thing: You've got it backwards. The gift of gab might have worked in 1985. Today, It's a liability. Here's what actually makes a great salesperson: "He'll LISTEN to anyone." Research from Gong analyzing over 326,000 sales calls found the "golden ratio" for sales success: 43% talking, 57% listening. Top performers who won deals stuck to this ratio. Poor performers? They talked 64% of the time in lost deals and dominated conversations. Does that sound like any salesperson you know? Sixty-nine percent of buyers expect sales reps to listen to their needs. Not pitch at them. Not talk at them. Listen to them. But here's where it gets interesting: This shift isn't temporary. It's generational—and it's aging IN, not aging out. Eighty-three percent of Gen Z emphasize buying from brands they trust. And how do you build trust? By making people feel heard and understood. Sixty-seven percent of Gen Z say that "being true to their values and beliefs makes a person cool." Translation: Authenticity matters more than salesmanship. The "Good Time Charlie" salesperson who could talk his way into any deal? That approach is dying with the generation that valued it. Millennials and Gen Z don't respond to charm and chatter. They respond to being understood. They've grown up in a world where everyone is performing, pitching, and posting. They can smell inauthenticity instantly. When a salesperson actually listens—truly listens, not just waits for their turn to talk—it stands out because it's so rare. This is one of those fundamental shifts that I keep talking about, and it won't reverse. As younger buyers move into decision-making roles, the salespeople who win will be salespeople who ask great questions and shut up long enough to hear the answers. The best salespeople I work with have mastered this. They don't dominate conversations. They facilitate them. They don't pitch solutions before understanding problems. They ask, listen, clarify, and then—only then—do they present something tailored to what they heard. Eighty-six percent of consumers say authenticity matters when deciding which brands to support. You can't fake authenticity. And you can't demonstrate it while you're talking. Stop looking for salespeople who "can talk to anyone." Start looking for salespeople who can listen to anyone. That's the skill that wins deals now. And it's the only skill that will matter more as Gen Z takes over the buying seats. Who do you trust more: the salesperson who talks, or the one who listens?

Somebody has to say it so I guess it'll be me. GenZ is not afraid of making phone calls. I work with a LOT of sales teams. 90% of the teams I work with are making cold calls. 90% of the people making cold calls are GenZ (your employees between 18-27 yrs old) and some millennials (your employees between 28-43 yrs old). Yet I hear from Sales Leaders, usually folks who are in that 45+ age bracket that, "young people just don't know how to make a phone call these days." SPOILER ALERT - IT'S YOUR JOB TO TRAIN THEM. If you're hiring folks who are digital natives. Sellers who grew up using Snapchat, texts, and other async tech as their primary form of communication, they probably need more training than sellers did a generation ago to feel confident on the phones. ❌ STOP complaining that your reps are afraid of the phone ✅ START enabling and empowering them to feel confident using the phone as a primary channel 👉 3 ideas to get you started: 1. Start new reps with a script It drives me NUTS when sales leaders tell a rep with a few weeks of total sales experience to write their own script. You are setting them up for failure. Instead, give them an idea of what works and what good looks like. Ask them to start practicing using that script and to seek ways to incorporate their own voice and personality into the script. You don't want them reading a script like a robot. The goal is for it to sound authentic, but you gotta give them something to work from. 2. Role-playing I had a COO once who told me they thought role-playing was cringe and had the audacity to suggest that I, the VP of Sales/CRO, not role-play because they thought it was embarrassing. Role-playing works. It helps folks get comfortable and gain confidence. A confident tone carries more weight than the words our reps say so anything we can do to help them gain confidence BEFORE they are asked to call a stranger is KEY. *AI for role-playing is one of the most exciting evolutions I'm bullish on* 3. Feedback Loop Your reps are going to make mistakes when they start making calls. This was true for all reps of all generations, but anticipate it is especially true for folks who are both learning how to sell and learning how to have confident conversations. Listen to their calls. Set up post-call coaching sessions. Index on creating psychological safety and positive reinforcement. How do you get sellers confident in and excited about cold calling? -- Enjoyed this post? Click here 👉lnkd.in/emVkCrf3 to hit follow & ring my 🔔 for more #ColdCalling #ColdOutreach #SalesTraining Video credit to: BarelyAdult on TikTok

“My young reps don’t believe in using the phone.” 👆 From a recent convo I had with a sales leader. I had to challenge his thinking. Me: "Can I give you a different take? I don't believe this is a Gen Z thing. 'Young reps' aren't phone-averse because they grew up on texts and DMs. They’re a generation that values authenticity." Sales Leader: "Okay..." Me: "Follow me here...you know what might feel inauthentic? Making cold calls using techniques that feel scripted or inauthentic. Gen Z questions authority more than their older counterparts—like every previous generation. And they’re less willing to blindly follow advice and direction that doesn’t make sense to them. I'm curious—who are your top reps?" Sales Leader: "Uh...David and Ashley." Me: "How closely do they follow the talk track you provided them?" Sales Leader: "They sort of do their own thing." Me: "If you incorporated their feedback to update the talk tracks—how do you think that might affect the buy-in from the rest of the team?" ~~~ To my surprise, this sales leader took my feedback like a total champ 😂 Then I shared a few ideas on how to get their reps to pick up the phones: ✅ Rub shoulders and make calls with them (that’s right, get in the pit!) ✅ Don’t teach scripts, teach principles so they can make it their own ✅ Invite your reps to contribute to the talk tracks and messaging ✅ Move to 10% product training, 90% your prospect’s problems training ✅ Capture tons of examples and recordings of what good sounds like ✅ Run group virtual call sessions (using a tool like Orum) ✅ Invest time and budget in training your front-line managers Lead by example—show your reps that the phone works. And involve them in the creation of talk tracks & messaging. The buy-in will be much higher. Agree or disagree? #sales

There’s a misconception that young people don’t trust brands anymore. That’s not true. They just trust differently. What we’ve seen is that Gen Z and Gen Alpha don’t hand out trust automatically.  They expect brands to earn it.  And they decide based on behavior, not slogans. They pay attention to how brands respond to real issues, how transparent they are about their products, and whether their actions match their words.  When those things align, trust follows, sometimes faster and stronger than with older audiences. The real shift isn’t a lack of trust.  It’s a higher standard for it. Young people don’t reject brands.  They reject inconsistency.  And the ones that show up honestly, consistently, and with purpose still build deep, lasting loyalty.

𝗨𝗻𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲. Some deeply care for their work. I read the headlines like you do. Bias. Job hopping. Low engagement.  1. 31 percent of hiring managers say they avoid Gen Z candidates.   2. 36 percent admit bias against Gen Z, citing job hopping, weak professionalism, and low reliability.   3. Managers report stress working with Gen Z. One in four would avoid hiring them if they could. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲. When we give a clear goal, fast feedback, and a small piece of real ownership, many young teammates shine.  • They write things down.  • They ask why.  • They spot blind spots we miss. When we toss only tasks with no context, they switch off. That part is on us. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘄  • Set one outcome that matters. Explain the why.  • Give weekly feedback that is honest and kind.  • Pair a young owner with a steady mentor.  • Reward process and teamwork, not just hero moments.  • Keep flexibility high and standards higher. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭  • Show your work in writing.  • Ask for context when it is missing.  • Own one small result end to end.  • Share what you learned so the team gets faster. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀, 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲. They are not a problem to fix. They are a promise to guide. If both sides move a little, the work gets better for everyone.