Q&A With Marco's Jeff Gau: How Millennials And Boomers Bring In Sales

What do millennial sales reps learn from their boomer colleagues?

I think if you go back to the selling essentials and you say "All right, here are some things that are always going to be. Thing Number One: People buy from people they like. It's always going to be that way. People don’t buy from people they don't like. It's always going to be that way. That "first impression" piece still exists. We make our first impression on somebody in 30 seconds. We've always done that.

The baby boomers understood that pretty well; the Gen Xers understood that pretty well. And I think they can blend that expertise of good engagement [and communicate it] to the millennials.

Presentation skills are a big deal. If I'm a skilled presenter … I think it's important that [a baby boomer or Gen Xer] can teach the art of communication as it relates to personal relationships. As baby boomers, we like to work more one on one, more personally, whether it's a phone call or whether it’s a physical presentation.

We, as boomers, get that better.