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• Gen Z students have spent years working with AI in their classes, and they know how to harness and deploy this tool to its best advantage.
• These students are adept communicators who would rather make phone calls and set up in-person meetings than rely on emails, text, and Zoom calls.
• Students in this generation want to prove to friends, families, and themselves that they can be the next great generation of sales and business leaders.

 
Generation Z students are graduating from today’s college classrooms with a formidable set of advantages: a deep understanding of artificial intelligence (AI); the interpersonal skills to connect with clients; and the appetite to prove to themselves, their families, and their friends that they are the new Greatest Generation. They’re about to step up to the plate in the workforce and lead sales teams to game-winning performances that benefit not only their organizations, but society at large.

Members of Generation Z, which generally consists of between the late 1990s and early 2010s, currently make up the largest generation alive. Bloomberg  that by 2019, they would account for a third of the world’s population. And many of them are now finishing up their studies in today’s business school classrooms.

I’ve spent seven years teaching sales and strategic account management to hundreds of Gen Z students at the Villanova School of Business at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. During this time, I have found them to be incredible in the field of sales—talented, prepared, and eager for their chance to prove themselves.

They remind me of the , a performative baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia, who have taken the game of baseball and shredded the playbook, smiling the whole time. Confident and entertaining, the Savannah Bananas dress in yellow kilts, perform choreographed dances mid-inning, and celebrate enthusiastically every time they score. They’re so popular that they have sold out stadiums with more than 80,000 seats.

My Gen Z students are just like the Savannah Bananas. They take the basic recipe for their particular fields and make it work better because of the tools available today. They do it their way, and they win every encounter.

That claim might seem counterintuitive, because we have heard so many about this generation. Critics say students in this generation are are glued to their phones—that they only communicate through text and don’t want to work hard.

But other observers take a different view, seeing them as hard-working, ambitious, and purpose-driven individuals deeply focused on their careers. And the traits they have and the skills they have mastered have given them the edge in the workforce. In fact, I can list three reasons that Gen Z graduates, particularly those in sales, will soon be running the team—and then the company.

1. Gen Z Has Embraced AI

Like it or not, artificial intelligence is the path forward for business and society. AI technologies are getting better and better second by second. Gen Z students are sprinting from graduation with bachelor’s degrees in one hand and doctorates of AI technologies in the other. They’ve spent years working with AI—not just in sales programs, but in every class, whenever and wherever possible. My students are the ones who taught me about the power of ChatGPT and how to use it as a tool for success.

According to a from Intelligent.com, 94 percent of business leaders avoid hiring Gen Z grads, in large part because they feel these students lack preparedness. But that’s definitely not true when it comes to using AI. Members of Gen Z know how to deploy this technology to its best advantage, turning graphs into graphics and simple presentations into persuasive demonstrations.

Gen Z students are sprinting from graduation with bachelor’s degrees in one hand and doctorates of AI technologies in the other.

Remember when we first criticized Gen Z’s dependence on technology? Then everyone else discovered the benefits—Gen Xers began creating Reels on social media, and baby boomers ditched fax machines in favor of DocuSign. Who’s laughing now?

I can offer a specific real-world example of the technological skills of Gen Z students. In my Strategic Account Management class last spring, I assigned 24 students the task of securing a meeting with a real-world client—in this case, Amazon. Student teams assumed the roles of Amazon Ads sales leaders and led a strategic marketing and advertising campaign pitch for an existing Amazon customer, Hydro Flask. Real team members from Amazon, as well as a Villanova alum working for Amazon Ads, role-played as buyers from Hydro Flask.

The objectives for each team were to confirm the existing partnership was exceeding customer expectations and identify upselling opportunities. Teams met both in person and over Zoom to develop, present, and close the deal to extend the contract with the client.

Each team hit a home run. Students came armed with convincing presentations that incorporated AI-developed images of target consumers, co-branded products, and precise data. If other potential vendors were playing with lightweight wiffle ball bats, my Villanova students were playing with —the baseball innovation revolutionizing the sport.

Here’s the best part. The student teams secured the orders. “Yes, I’m buying, and can you please send me a contract today?” These students proved to the world’s leading technology, data, and logistics company that they can sell products, harness AI, and lead their teams. And they are only 22 years old.

2. Gen Z Has Great Communication Skills

Forget everything that’s been said about Gen Zers only knowing how to interact through their iPhones. Yes, they pull out their phones frequently—but in my classes, they only do so to make cold calls so they can set up in-person meetings with customers.

Gen Z students are experts at interpersonal communication, and they favor direct contact. Do they use emails, text, and Zoom? Sure, but only to arrange in-person meetings where they can really sell themselves, their products, and their services.

In my Professional Selling and Strategic Account Management classes, I train students to make phone calls whenever they’re setting up meetings with new or existing clients. And if clients say they’re busy, students learn to respond with, “Great, I am too, because my other customers trust me and need me. What’s your cell number? I’ll follow up by text to confirm our meeting or to let you know when the invoice is sitting in your mailbox.”

Gen Z students are experts at interpersonal communication. Do they use emails, text, and Zoom? Sure, but only to arrange in-person meetings.

According to the Intelligent.com survey referenced above, 70 percent of business leaders think Gen Z college graduates don’t have the right communication skills. They are wrong. On a single day, I watched one group of students make persuasive strategic marketing campaign presentations to a team of five Vanguard executives, and another class make a successful sales pitch to Amazon.

Let me be specific: These students convinced seasoned Vanguard and Amazon executives to buy today, not tomorrow. They successfully used their communication skills to sell themselves.

Gen Z was forced to retreat for two years during the pandemic. But like relief pitchers waiting to close out a baseball game, they were just warming up in the bullpen waiting for their chance to play. Now they are sprinting out onto the diamond, ready to use their fresh arms to close out the deal. Soon they’ll be unleashing their natural and honed skills in the field with real-world customers.

3. Gen Z Is Eager to Prove Itself

Gen Z students are aware of the stereotype that says they expect to go from being seniors in college to being senior leaders on the management team. They’ve heard people say that—because they are positioned to inherit the greatest transfer of wealth in U.S. history—they aren’t career-driven, ambitious, or hard-working.

To which they respond, “Game on.” They’re hungry to prove to friends, families, and themselves that they can be the greatest generation of sales and business leaders. A from Deloitte finds students in this group “focused on growth and learning as they pursue money, meaning, and well-being.” Their drive to prove everyone else wrong—and more importantly, to prove themselves right—provides them with a powerful motivation to play the game.

I’ve seen this focus and determination among the students in my courses. They only miss a class on campus when they physically can’t get there—because they’re interviewing in New York with Morgan Stanley or in Chicago with McKinsey. In those situations, they join virtually when they can, even if it means they have to Zoom in from a flight. In fact, I’ve had students attend class remotely when they were in Florida for a conference—which they were attending because Big Four firms had offered them jobs that will start when they graduate in 2027.

I got hired after I graduated. These students get hired before they can (legally) buy a beer!

For students in this generation, it’s also important that they take jobs that align with their values. Another Deloitte notes that 86 percent of Gen Zers believe “having a sense of purpose is important to their overall job satisfaction and well-being.” Furthermore, 75 percent consider a company’s community engagement and societal impact before they accept an offer. These graduates want to be able do the right thing, the right way, at the right time.

At Villanova, we expect 100 percent of our students to refuse to compromise their moral values. We teach them that the game of sales is worth playing only if it’s played the right way. When they enter the workforce, we want them to embody the Villanova spirit and mission of Veritas, Unitas, and Caritas (truth, unity, and love). Successful selling requires being truthful with customers, displaying unity in partnerships, and feeling love for others when they are thriving and happy.

New and Better

Like the Savannah Bananas, Gen Zers are remaking a history-rich and beloved game in their way and on their terms. When it comes to sales, they are new and better players.

Combine their technological savvy, their ability to communicate, and their drive to succeed, and they become a dangerous team that I would never bet against. And this team is finally getting its first chance to play in the biggest games that matter most—their lives and their careers.