{"id":560726,"date":"2020-09-04T03:02:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T07:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vrbbd.wpengine.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/considering-generational-strategies\/"},"modified":"2022-01-31T12:41:52","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T17:41:52","slug":"considering-generational-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/considering-generational-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"Considering Generational Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When you are buying or selling a business, you might very well end up making a deal with someone from another generation.\u00a0 Therefore, it only makes sense to take the time to understand that individual\u2019s background and how that might cause behavioral differences.\u00a0 <\/span>It is important to understand and reflect upon where many of them are coming from and the collective experiences and trends that shaped their identities and perspectives.\u00a0 <\/span>At the same time, you can identify your own biases, strengths and weaknesses that may be caused by your own upbringing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The strategies in this article originated from Chuck Underwood who is considered a leading expert in the diversity of communication styles between generations.\u00a0 He is the author of a major book on the subject as well as host of the long-running \u201cAmerica\u2019s Generations with Chuck Underwood\u201d on PBS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Generational Sensitivity\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Underwood\u2019s perspective is that people of each generation were molded by their unique formative years.\u00a0 The decisions that buyers and sellers make will be impacted by their generation.\u00a0 Mostly likely, the buyers or sellers you will be coming into contact with will be either Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Working with Baby Boomers<\/b><\/p>\n

Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are a major force in the business world.\u00a0 While they often possess a patriotic passion to improve the country, they were also witness to a time of great change via many movements including the civil rights and women\u2019s movement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re dealing with Baby Boomers, it is important to remember that they will want to build relationships and get to know you.\u00a0 Common courtesy is very important to Baby Boomers.\u00a0 That means they\u2019ll expect you to show up on time and turn your phone off during meetings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll want to keep in mind that older Baby Boomers may be experiencing hearing and eyesight loss.\u00a0 As a result, you\u2019ll want to keep your type and font size larger, and make text easy to read.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re working with your clients, it only makes sense to pay attention to the generation during which they were raised and adapt your approach accordingly.\u00a0 Understanding generational differences will help you get a leg up on the competition while at the same time helping your clients achieve their goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Generation X?<\/b><\/p>\n

Generation X (or Gen X) had a wildly different formative experience than the Baby Boomers.\u00a0 Generation X is generally defined as being born from 1965 to 1980.\u00a0 This generation spent its formative years from the 1970\u2019s through the 1990\u2019s.\u00a0 In stark contrast the relatively more pleasant and optimistic childhoods of the Baby Boomers, Gen X had a rougher ride.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

America became more mobile during the time period during which Generation Xers grew up.\u00a0 As a result, many children were uprooted and separated from their friends, family and hometown roots.\u00a0 Growing up, these individuals witnessed a variety of scandals ranging from political and religious figures to sports figures.\u00a0 Gen Xers witnessed the systematic dismantling of the American middle class and with it a general lowering of quality of life, opportunities and confidence in corporations.\u00a0 In the end, Gen X was quite literally left home alone and lived as \u201clatch key kids.\u201d\u00a0 It is no wonder that this neglected generation has some issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Individuals growing up during this time learned early on that they had to be ready to fend for themselves.\u00a0 Since Gen Xers have been met with consistent and systematic disappointment and even wide scale institutional betrayal, this generation, on average, is more distrustful of organizations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gen Xers are self-reliant and independent and one of their core values is survival of the fittest.\u00a0 In his view, Gen Xers are self-focused, individualistic and want everyone to skip the nonsense and get to the point.\u00a0 They have no real interest in getting to know you or playing a round of golf.<\/span><\/p>\n

Working with Millennials<\/b><\/p>\n

Millennials spent their formative years in the 1980s and early 90s.\u00a0 They are a very optimistic and tech savvy generation.\u00a0 They are also the most classroom educated generation in history.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is also very important to note that Millennials are the most adult supervised generation in history.\u00a0 So-called \u201chelicopter parents\u201d who work to protect their children from setbacks are the norm.\u00a0 Employers find that Millennials are entering adulthood, but are still relying upon their parents to help them make decisions and even career choices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where Gen Xers are distrustful of the \u201cwisdom of their elders,\u201d Millennials actively seek out such advice.\u00a0 Likewise, Millennials tend to volunteer a good deal and look for ways to solve the world\u2019s largest problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

You will find that Millennials will enjoy building a relationship with you.\u00a0 Keep in mind these individuals tend to be quite socially conscious and they may very well expect you to agree with their views.\u00a0 Additionally, there is a chance that they will have their parents involved in their business dealings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that the de facto tech addiction, or at the very least acute overreliance on technology, has led to issues with Millennials\u2019 soft skills.\u00a0 They can often lack the ability to read another person\u2019s body language and adjust accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, regardless of what generation you are working with, it is important that you continually adapt.\u00a0 This will greatly increase the odds of cementing a successful deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.<\/a><\/p>\n

Mangostar\/BigStock.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The post Considering Generational Strategies<\/a> appeared first on Deal Studio – Automate, accelerate and elevate your deal making<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you are buying or selling a business, you might very well end up making a deal with someone from another generation.\u00a0 Therefore, it only makes sense to take the time to understand that individual\u2019s background and how that might cause behavioral differences.\u00a0 It is important to understand and reflect upon where many of them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-560726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buyer-articles","category-seller-articles"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrbusinessbrokers.com\/vrbbgreenbay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}