Age Factors in Sales/Management Training – Part 1 of 5

Hello everybody,

Tonight’s post is so in-depth I had to make my 1st 5-part series. The subject is on the difference, obstacles and advantages of training for sales and management within different age groups. Tonight I will take on the obvious one. As I go through this series I will leave it up to my kind readers as to which you think is more advantageous. I have and still on a daily basis have been blessed with the opportunity to train both the very young and the…we’ll call them experienced sales persons.

One of the most obvious is the young, open mind opposed to the experienced person that has predetermined ideas. I have found that there is an upside to both! It is definitely true that the young salesperson has an open mind that is readily cultivated and eager to learn, while the experienced person coming in with a predetermined notion has to be shown that that the person doing the training not only is his or her equal but also somehow has more knowledge than them. Not easy to pull off unless you really are better and have a lot to offer.

While the young mind is easy to impress it is incumbent upon the trainer to teach the young salesperson the right way with integrity or you could ruin him or her forever.

Unfortunately, the experienced person usually has an “I know everything” attitude and you have to break through that before the learning process can begin. If you can break through, the training is a lot less tedious because they usually have a lot of the basic skills, even some advanced skills. They also bring the baggage of some bad habits. With the young person, even though their mind is open, you are literally starting with a blank canvas. There is a lot to teach!

I find enjoyment from training both but as usual I will let you the reader when the series is concluded make your own judgement.

“The Specialist”