Salespeople are getting older. Buyers are getting younger. You have a disconnect.

In raw terms, the average age of a professional business-to-business (B2B) salesperson in the United States is 47.1 years old. Fifteen years ago that number was 42. So, the sales profession is graying. Meanwhile, the average age of a B2B purchasing agent right now is 36. In fact, according to a 2024 survey, millennials (aged 29 to 44) make up to 73% of B2B buying decisions.

While an 11-year age gap doesn’t sound like much, it can be a chasm as wide as the Grand Canyon. Society underwent significant cultural and technological changes between the tail end of Generation X and the leading edge of the millennial generation, and those changes greatly affect what millennials want and expect from salespeople and from the companies that employ them. Generation Z, which is coming behind the millennials, has the same tendencies—just amplified. In this case, “younger buyers” refers primarily to millennials and Generation Z.

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