A quick read from Inc.com – Younger Employees More Loyal.  Some excerpts:

In a survey of 2,469 adults nationwide, 56 percent said they feel appreciated by their employer, according to the latest Workplace Insights Survey by Adecco, a Melville, N.Y.-based workforce-solutions firm.

It doesn’t get any fuzzier than to use the words “feel appreciated.”

Three-quarters of respondents reported that they are committed to their employers, with members of Generation X — ages 30 to 42 — feeling the most secure in their jobs.

I suspect the Gen Xers are moving into management positions and are more confident.

However, the survey also found that feelings of company loyalty often vary by generation. Twenty-one percent of the oldest generation of workers — 65 years and older — do not believe that their company is loyal to them, compared to 13 percent of Generation Xers.

Interesting, but what’s missing?

How about Gen Y?  This is a quick news brief article, but I would think the results for Gen Y would be important (dare I say more important than the oldest generation staring at retirement?).  Retention is a mission-critical issue today so I am surprised that the upcoming generation is omitted.

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We work with our clients in a variety of levels from simply assessing candidates to full-fledged sales management.  For one of our clients, we are hosting their weekly sale conference call for their geographically-dispersed sales team.  We are building this team by recruiting salespeople and a sales manager to take over the reins.

The chance to work with these sales reps every week has reminded me of the critical nature of value differentiation.  These reps are located throughout different states in the Western US and each one is chasing slightly different markets.  But one thing is clear, they all have focused in on their value and how it differs from their competition.

This is priority number 1 for any salesperson.

Unfortunately, some form of this phrase gets bandied about on a regular basis without clarifying why it is important.  Simply put, if the prospect cannot differentiate your value from a competitor, they will move their decision to price.  It is that simple.

If you offer the low-priced solution/option, you may be ok with this outcome.  However, this tactical position is one of the most difficult to successfully defend.  Eventually there will be a lower-priced option other than you.  Second, eventually a salesperson who knows how to sell value will enter your space and successfully compete against you.  And probably unhook the business from you.  Lastly, price-based customers tend to be some of the least loyal since there decision was made strictly on dollars.

The sales team we are working with each week understands this principle even though they are in an industry that can often be commoditized by prospects.  The salespeople have identified their value and are leveraging it in their qualifying.  Even better, they are adjusting which value point they use based on the prospect’s needs.

If you don’t clearly know the value you bring to the market, take the time today to list all the reasons why customers choose your solution.

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