Sales Savvy has recently been running a project to learn how events and salespeople differ across generations. They spoke to two Gen Z professionals in the events industry to figure out whether they work differently than millennials.
There have been major changes over the past 20 years, and Gen Z is growing differently. Once they enter the events industry, their thinking is inevitable in their different set of development and priorities. SAVVY’s Gen Z Project sales explore how this generation is restructuring its sales strategy and shed light on communication preferences and workplace expectations.
Event Coordinator Iulia Zorzoana and sales and event manager Sian Hayward explain the differences in how they approach the event industry.
Iulia Zorzoana
Could you give me a brief overview of your role?
I am the event coordinator for Step (The Society and Trust and Estate Practitioners), a global specialized agency consisting of lawyers, accountants, councillors and other practitioners who help families plan for their future. is. As an event coordinator, I lead, support and manage a mix of UK and international events, serving up to 500 representatives.
How easy is networking at events to you? Do you see that this process is too “organized”?
Networking isn’t something I find particularly easy and I’m sure it can relate to many people of my generation and beyond. For some, networking feels like a second nature, but for more introverts it doesn’t always come naturally. Personally, networking becomes much easier when you have some familiar faces at an event. This is to provide a comfortable starting point for introductions and connection formation. Team building activities before meetings are extremely useful in breaking the ice and creating a more relaxed environment for everyone.
That said, the importance of networking depends on the purpose of the event. For example, in a meeting, content may take priority over network elements. In reality, it depends on what. For me, meetings are a valuable source of education and inspiration, so I think someone has a badge that shows whether they are open a network or a great way to navigate their interactions. Masu.
Note: By selling Savvy’s Gen Z Project, we have investigated how young professionals prefer a more organic networking environment.
When you navigate the “small stories” specific to the industry, do you think this will naturally come to you? Do you spend time creating personalized touches to your emails and make sure you come across them as friendly and authentic, or will you fire them immediately with too much effort? ?
I think that small talk is often dependent on the type of relationship you have with that person and what you have in common. For example, I think it’s easier to navigate small talk with people in the industry, as it’s not too difficult to find topics for discussion. However, when speaking from new people or completely different fields, it can be more challenging.
When forming connections, I think it’s much easier to connect with people you come across as authentic and authentic than people who appear to be wearing a mask to conform to certain norms.
In my professional life, I prioritize being authentic and being loyal to myself. I aim to communicate clearly and openly while being as kind and responding as possible. I found this approach to be both effective and easy. Also, I don’t believe in overly reflecting things. If the email is friendly, professional and effectively conveys my message, I think it’s enough. One of the values of Step is collaboration. This fits well with my approach.
Note: The Gen Z Project study emphasizes that young sales professionals prioritize reliability over forms of communication and assess the true connection to overly sophisticated messaging.
Is ChatGpt completely positive in drafting email/written communications? Do you think it’s possible to overrely rely on ChatGpt for communication?
I think ChatGpt is a great tool for drafting written communications, but it’s important to ensure that the text generated by AI matches the writing style of your personal or company’s tone and style. This can be done with “AI Training.” That is, submit examples of written works to be used as inspiration. This way, the new text will better reflect the same style and tone
That said, it’s a really useful tool, but I don’t think you should rely too much on creating daily emails. What makes us unique as humans is how different we are. Even in writing, we can know better when someone comes from another part of the world, or when English is not their primary language. I think it’s very interesting and beautiful, and I think it’s something we should accept and continue writing.
When booking a venue, do you prefer to watch video footage of the location, or are the photos sufficient? Are you more likely to choose a venue with plenty of video footage?
I prefer video footage and virtual tours because video footage and virtual tours better understand the space and its atmosphere. Photos can limit how you view the possibilities of a space, making it difficult for organizers to visualize or creatively think about how they use it.
Personally, I think venue sales should focus on selling experiences, not just space. This space is merely a tool to create memorable experiences for guests, and that’s what the venue really offers to organizers. As an organizer, I am drawn to venues where I can clearly convey the experience I can provide to my guests through images, text and videos.
Do you expect or demand specific technical features when looking at venues and suppliers? Is the lack of high-speed wi-fi a contract breaker?
Personally, I don’t tend to think about Wi-Fi right away, as I consider it to be available at any venue in the world today. I’ve been lucky enough to have not come across any issues so far, but I understand that high-speed Wi-Fi can cost the organizer extra. I think this is an important factor that should always be included in the perks of the package and should not be charged for extra costs. Excellent Wi-Fi is essential to running smooth events and ensuring that it is available.
My search at venues expects the venue to be completely transparent about which types of A/V equipment are included, and if you are signing up for technical features, you should be familiar with the venue. Please guide to your local supplier.
Are you actively looking for sustainable venues and suppliers? If so, are you encouraged by senior management to do so?
Yes, like many organizations and individuals around the world, Steps are on their journey to sustainability as part of their work on equality, diversity and inclusion. Senior management is actively encouraging planners to consider venues with strong sustainability policies, and we also provide our own policies to select venues and organize events. We are working internally to develop it. It is our common responsibility to contribute as much as possible to sustainability efforts and support our global journey to net zero.
Cyan Hayward
Could you give me a brief overview of your role?
As a sales and event manager for Foxhills Club and Resort, we implement sales and revenue strategies across various market segments, optimize functional space and room inventory, and create on-site sales and event teams to achieve budgets and goals. Leading and developing. Monitor and refine processes for enquiries handling, event planning and payment completion to ensure data accuracy and efficient financial management.
My role provides detailed reports on trends, lead times and query transformations from teams and other venues to help with forecasts wherever possible, and collaborates with the operations department to carry out seamless events. He is responsible for identifying new business opportunities, contributing to marketing materials, and managing general office operations. Occasionally non-routine tasks.
For example, are you confident in selling to clients in their 40s or 50s who are close to their age?
I also like the conversational elements, so I feel more comfortable selling them to someone older than me. I don’t think I’ve received many inquiries about my age range.
Generation Z has been reported to experience higher levels of burnout than other generations. How do you maximize your efficiency without leading to burnout in the world of high strength sales?
I manage my diary and time. I also guarantee that I have items that can wait for another day, as other liability usually arises. I support the team and the events of the day, and I need it for other things.
Note: The Gen Z project has discovered that work-life balance and efficiency are important concerns for Gen Z experts, who often prioritize time management to avoid burnout.
Ultimately, do you think the gap between Millennials and Gen Z is exaggerated? Is that really the difference between you and your millennial colleagues quite small?
I feel that the differences between Gen Z and Millennials are very diverse. There is no difference in the way that work relationships and both jobs are very different. But being part of General Zi makes me feel like the millennials are very productive and working like a very open attitude.
Is high-tech savvy a major asset in your key life as a sales person? Is social media familiarity beneficial to your work or is it really relevant only to leisure purposes?
Being familiar with high tech is a professional for my job. This is a great link to communication for these methods and for all the teams who speak to each other in my team. Social media keeps trends up to date, but we feel LinkedIn is a more beneficial option for our business. Many venues are very honest and are extremely helpful and informative in that they learn about the rates and trends they follow.
Note: Savvy’s research sales suggest that Gen Z is highly digital, but not purely social channels, but favors professional platforms like LinkedIn for industry networking.
How do you think the sales process will change over the next few years?
Hmm… interesting! As mentioned in the call, even if you think the call is very beneficial, everyone is very busy and spending 10 minutes for a tracking call is not possible unless scheduled.
Therefore, I think email is the future path. We believe that clients will come to places where they don’t have a quote until they come to visit the site. Hopefully we can get a faster turnover.
If you’d like to learn more about how Gen Z is changing the way they approach sales, check out Sals Savvy’s Gen Z Project: How Gen Z Redefines Sales Communications.
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