In Australia, the average age of a professional sales representative stands at around 42 years old, a figure reflecting the broader national labour force trends (median age in the workforce is roughly 38, but sales reps skew a little older). While we lack robust, freely accessible historical data tracking this exact metric over time in Australia, a similar upward drift has likely occurred over the past decade, mirroring global patterns of an ageing sales profession.
On the buying side, younger generations are increasingly dominant. In the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, 72 percent of B2B business buyers are Millennials and Gen Z (born after 1980). Globally, Millennials alone now account for 73 percent of all B2B buyers and about 44 percent of final purchasing decision-makers, per LinkedIn’s 2025 B2B Buyer Report.
An age gap of six years between the average sales representative at 42 and the typical Millennial buyer in their mid-thirties might appear slight, yet in practice it signals a profound divide. The cultural and digital revolutions that reshaped Australia in the early 2000s defined the expectations of Millennials as they entered the workforce. They grew up fluent in technology, collaboration and transparency, and now carry those instincts into their purchasing decisions. Gen Z, who are fast entering procurement roles, push those tendencies further with sharper demands for immediacy, personalisation and purpose.
This doesn’t mean you have to age-match. Gen Z and Millennials will certainly engage with and buy from more seasoned salespeople. What it does mean is that you have to style-match. In other words, you need to sell the way they want to buy. While this seems intuitive, it means that some salespeople accustomed to different methods of selling and different buyer expectations must adapt to stay relevant.
1. Younger buyers flip the relationship-building script
The conventional way to build relationships with buyers was simple. You’d walk into the office, look around for family pictures, hobby pictures or other clues to the buyer’s personal life, and then you’d start a conversation based upon those interests. Salespeople have been starting conversations about personal issues that they didn’t really care about for millennia. That’s because, for generations, you had to find the personal connection first, bond over it, and then you had earned the right to talk business.
Younger buyers flip that script completely, prioritising business as the first call of action. They aren’t going to schedule an appointment to talk footy for 30 minutes. Instead, you get the appointment by telling them how you can help them do their jobs better. Then, when you get in the door, you get to the point with great business-focused questions and show them you can help them do business better. If you can solve their business needs, then they are open to lunch, drinks, golf or personal conversations.
Brad Horan, executive business analyst and advisor at Lucrature, agrees: “In my experience, the biggest difference is how fast they expect you to respond and understand their needs. They’ve usually done their homework before you walk in the door. By the time you meet, they already know the basics, what they want to see is: do you understand what’s important to me, can you show me value without the waffle, and are you trustworthy?”
2. Younger buyers demand versatility in communication
“All these younger buyers want to do is text! They don’t want to have phone calls!” That’s a common complaint from older buyers. The solution? Get good at texting. Learn how to send a persuasive, grammatically correct message in 240 characters or fewer. That’s hard for salespeople who are used to lengthy phone conversations and meetings, or for that matter, who write long emails. The good news is that tools are available to help you with this. ChatGPT and Claude.ai are great assistants for distilling longer communications down to their essence while retaining persuasive ability, but be aware that you only get out as good as you put in. This means you must be able to write good AI prompts and edit the results when necessary.
Texting isn’t the complete picture. Younger buyers have a variety of preferred platforms and ways of communicating, and what works well for one might not work well for another. Video conferencing ability is mandatory, and not just on one platform. Become conversant with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. If your buyer says, “I want to talk on WhatsApp”, don’t be the salesperson who has to say, “What’s that?” Younger buyers respect adaptability, especially when it’s coupled with experience and expertise.
Horan highlights how this plays out for service providers: “Younger buyers live in a world of texts, apps and short emails. They don’t like phone calls. What works best is digital first, quick follow-ups by email or even WhatsApp instead of long phone tag. They also want visual proof, whether that’s photos, videos, checklists or dashboards that show service delivered, not just words.”
3. Younger buyers are social media savvy, so should you
Buyers today have a variety of ways of learning about you and your company, social media being one of their primary tools. If you leave a prospecting message for a younger buyer, be aware that there is roughly a one-in-three chance that the buyer will look you up on LinkedIn before that buyer thinks about calling you back. If you don’t look legitimate on LinkedIn, you’re not going to get that call (or email or text). Looking legitimate is more than just having a profile on LinkedIn. You need a good professional headshot, ‘about me’ verbiage, a complete professional history and regular posting and commenting. Recommendations and a strong network are a definite plus. If you aren’t using LinkedIn as a professional tool, you won’t be taken seriously.
But LinkedIn isn’t enough. You also need to be aware of other ways buyers can research you. Do you know what your company’s Google reviews say? Your buyer probably will, and you’d better have explanations for recent bad reviews.
As Horan points out, credibility today is crowdsourced. “Google reviews are often the first stop. A steady flow of genuine reviews from happy clients builds confidence before you’ve even had a conversation. LinkedIn isn’t just for job seekers anymore. Younger buyers check profiles to see if you look like a professional partner or just ‘another cleaner’. Social proof in general matters more than polished brochures. If others in their industry vouch for you, that’s a shortcut to trust.”
A version of this article first appeared in CMM.
