Biography

Cam Marston is an author, advisor, radio talk show host, and top-rated keynote speaker on the trends shaping the workplace and marketplace. His presentations are informative, engaging, humorous, and full of concrete research that is tailored to his audience. Cam enlivens the data with anecdotes, tales from the real business world, attention-grabbing visuals, and quips that make the messages and actionable strategies memorable.

His original focus was on generational differences and their impact on the workplace and marketplace. Cam and his firm, Generational Insights, have provided research and consultation to hundreds of organizations, ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations, as well as to major professional associations. Cam’s four books and countless articles describe and analyze the major generations of our time, explaining how generational workplace and marketplace preferences affect every aspect of business, including recruiting and retention, management and motivation, and sales and marketing.

In 2018 Cam began a podcast called What’s Working with Cam Marston that was soon picked up by an FM radio station in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama. Cam interviews guests to understand the trends influencing their workplace, workforce and marketplace to help listeners adjust their own organizations to face similar changes. Today, with well over 225 shows behind him, the show is now broadcast in Huntsville, Birmingham, and Montgomery, as well as Mobile. In the spring of 2022 he released a book called What Works: The Ten Best Ideas from the First 200 Episodes.

Cam also records commentaries for Alabama Public Radio called Keepin’ It Real. They’re his humorous and inspirational observations of the world around him and have won both statewide and national awards. You can find both his radio show and his commentaries on your favorite podcast app. The commentaries have recently been converted into short, subscription-based videos to be used as inspirational and motivational weekly training content for the workplace.

Cam’s expertise and acumen are the products of over 20 years of research and consultation across a wide range of industries. He has provided insight and advice to leadership at the some of the world’s most prominent corporations, including Kaiser Permanente, Charles Schwab, BASF, Nestle, Schlumberger, Fidelity, Warner Brothers, ESPN, Qualcomm, RE/MAX and Eli Lilly. He has also offered presentations and consultations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Internal Revenue Service, NASA and the U.S. Army, as well as for major professional associations such as the American Bankers Association, the Health Care Compliance Association, FMI/The Food Industry Association, the Financial Services Roundtable, and the Million Dollar Round Table.

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SELLING ACROSS THE GENERATIONS

CAVEAT VENDITOR (SELLER BEWARE)

The first rule of selling remains steadfast: Know your customer. With five distinct generations playing active roles in the buying decisions of companies worldwide, that tenet is increasingly difficult to fulfill. It is no longer enough to be personable with your customer and knowledgeable about your product.

Changing dynamics require changing strategies.

To succeed in today’s business climate, you need to approach each buyer with an informed generational perspective — recognizing the underlying biases, values and expectations that pave the way to “Yes.”

An expert on selling to millennials, speaker Cam Marston shows you how to create fast and genuine connections with new customers, sell to your customer’s expectations, build trust between generations, and avoid communication pitfalls.

Throughout the presentation you will learn how companies are effectively engaging generational sales techniques to appeal to the unique decision-making traits of each generation and how to develop a solid sales process based on generational biases and business preferences.

THE RE-ARCHITECTING OF BUSINESS: SPOTLIGHT ON FINANCIAL SERVICES

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the job category of Financial Managers will have significant growth between today and 2026, adding nearly 110,000 new jobs. At the same time, predictions for that job suggest that much of the job’s daily tedium will be given over to machine intelligence – artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, and natural language processing. This begs the questions: What will the financial services professionals of the future do? What will their days look like? How will they serve clients?

To further complicate the matter, how will client demands change in the future? Will they want more or less of their financial services professional’s time? Will they expect financial management to be automated? If so, what services will they expect from their financial professional? What will clients be willing to pay for?

Perhaps a good metaphor for Financial Services is the evolution of the tollway. Early on, the driver stopped and handed the attendant money, took their change, and continued on. Then came the toll basket where the driver slowed enough to toss in the correct change. There was an attendant for those who needed specific help. Then the bar code on the car window or the remote device allowed drivers to hardly slow down yet one lane was still manned for those who needed help. Today many tollways photograph the car’s license plate and send a bill to the driver. No attendants. No lines. No reason to tap the brakes.

THE GEN-SAVVY FINANCIAL ADVISOR

For decades, financial services professionals have focused on demographic groups that are now moving into and past retirement. The Matures (born 1945 and prior) and the Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964) are the generations that the financial services industry grew up with and their client relationships were defined by traditional business models. Now, new generations who have different economic and cultural experiences are moving into age ranges that make them prime markets for investments, retirement planning, insurance, and other financial products.

The next generation of financial services client has arrived. They will not tolerate being treated the same way their parents were treated. Learn what they want in this exciting and impactful presentation.

YOU’LL LEARN:
• The attitudes and expectations of the upcoming generations and what they expect from financial services providers.
• How each generation values different types of information.
• What each generation’s definition of “expert” is and how they apply it to financial professionals.
• How different generations perceive money.
• What the younger generations want financial professionals to teach them.
• Each generation’s preferred communication preferences.
• Which sales tools to use, and how to use them effectively.

FIVE GENERATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE

For the first time in history, five distinct generations — Matures, Boomers, Xers, Millennials and iGen (aka, Gen Z) — are employed side by side in the workplace. With differing values and seemingly incompatible views on how the workplace should function, these generations have stirred conflict in the business world. Witness the turnover, the lack of engagement, and management incomprehension and frustration. Knowledge of and effective management of this generational divide is vital to longevity and success. In fact, it is one of the most relevant and important demands your company can make of its leaders.

In this engaging presentation, expert on managing millennials, speaker Cam Marston teaches how each generation developed its core values, how these values manifest in the workplace daily as workplace preferences, and why they can all not only operate alongside each other but do so with extraordinary success. This program provides the detailed insight, concrete examples, and specific approaches to help frustrated managers build the personal connections needed to boost employee performance and retention. Audiences will learn that success results from increased awareness and incremental change.

Amongst the generations, the only common ground is the intensity with which each generation holds fast to its value systems and preferences. Understanding and respecting these value systems and preferences are critical to bringing out the best in every employee.

This presentation can be highly customized to:
• Focus on one or two generations
• Feature recent census data (where appropriate)
• Highlight company initiatives, company demographics, etc.,
• Include brief workshop components using worksheets and interactive exercises

RECRUITING AND RETENTION IN A MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORKPLACE

We hear it all the time: “Our people are our greatest asset.” But finding good talent is hard to find and even harder to keep. How do you build your people assets? What do today’s employees want?
In today’s multigenerational workforce, Millennials want meaning in their work, the freedom to do it in their own time and, maybe, a ping-pong table.

Generation X wants openness, flexibility, and the space to do their work without “meaningless” interruptions.

Boomers want recognition, authority, accountability and colleagues who mirror their own definition of team: “If you need me, I’m there. And I expect the same from you.”

Matures, increasingly rare in today’s workplace, like rules and respect.
And the iGen (aka Gen Z) the generation following the Millennials? Much remains unknown but early indications suggest they want even more freedom, more attention, and a deep focus on who will teach and train them, when will it be done, and what will those skills lead to?

Each generation has something valuable to offer so every business needs to tailor their offers when recruiting Millenials, Xers, Boomers or Matures.
Retaining employees is far more cost-effective than recruiting and training new ones. This presentation profiles each generation of employee – what will get them on the clock and what will keep them ticking. Cam Marston will help you adapt your recruiting and retention program to suit the ambitions and goals of each generation, choose from the best that each has to offer and realize the full return on investment in your workforce.
Recruiting, training, experience, and institutional memory make your employees your most valuable assets. Effective multi-generational hiring and retention efforts will help ensure that those assets keep working for you and not for someone else.

• This presentation can be customized to focus on one or two specific generations.
• Worksheets are available for a quick 5-minute exercise to ensure take-away ideas and behaviors.
• This workshop can be customized to use census data for recruiting purposes where available and appropriate.

RECRUITING AND RETENTION IN A MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORKPLACE

We hear it all the time: “Our people are our greatest asset.” But finding good talent is hard to find and even harder to keep. How do you build your people assets? What do today’s employees want?

In today’s multigenerational workforce, Millennials want meaning in their work, the freedom to do it in their own time and, maybe, a ping-pong table.

Generation X wants openness, flexibility, and the space to do their work without “meaningless” interruptions.

Boomers want recognition, authority, accountability and colleagues who mirror their own definition of team: “If you need me, I’m there. And I expect the same from you.”

Matures, increasingly rare in today’s workplace, like rules and respect.
And the iGen (aka Gen Z) the generation following the Millennials? Much remains unknown but early indications suggest they want even more freedom, more attention, and a deep focus on who will teach and train them, when will it be done, and what will those skills lead to?

Each generation has something valuable to offer so every business needs to tailor their offers when recruiting Millenials, Xers, Boomers or Matures.
Retaining employees is far more cost-effective than recruiting and training new ones. This presentation profiles each generation of employee – what will get them on the clock and what will keep them ticking. Cam Marston will help you adapt your recruiting and retention program to suit the ambitions and goals of each generation, choose from the best that each has to offer and realize the full return on investment in your workforce.
Recruiting, training, experience, and institutional memory make your employees your most valuable assets. Effective multi-generational hiring and retention efforts will help ensure that those assets keep working for you and not for someone else.

• This presentation can be customized to focus on one or two specific generations.
• Worksheets are available for a quick 5-minute exercise to ensure take-away ideas and behaviors.
• This workshop can be customized to use census data for recruiting purposes where available and appropriate.

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

Not only is Cam Marston a powerful speaker but he is also an exceptional Master of Ceremonies.

Not only is Cam Marston a powerful speaker but he is also an exceptional Master of Ceremonies. A meeting planner’s dream, Cam’s emcee skills rival those of any comedian or other professional host:

QUICK ON HIS FEET
– Cam’s wit inspires his audiences to laugh with him as he uses humor to make observations about the speakers and their content. Never making fun of anyone, only having fun with everyone.

Cam Marston, acclaimed author, columnist, blogger, and lecturer, is the leading expert on the impact of generational change and its effect on the marketplace.

WELL READ
– Cam’s passion is current events. He’ll tie conversations he has with audience members in with current news topics and industry-related content. Not political. Not polarizing. Just observant and insightful.

STICK TO THE PLAN
– Cam keeps the meeting on track.
On schedule. On topic. He is skilled at redirecting the dialogue in a panel to drive the subject at hand. He has no problem shutting down a Q & A session that has gone too long. He is comfortable tactfully approaching the speaker who was scheduled to wrap up 10 minutes ago but is still talking.

YET FLEXIBLE
– A speaker is late. What to do? Cam can fill in with a timely presentation or discussion as long as needed. Need to put the morning speaker in the afternoon? A simple change of lineup is no problem. Food for the break is early, not here. No problem. He’ll give directions.

PREPARED
– Cam contacts all of the speakers prior to the event to learn about their presentations and how he can support them. Are there questions the speaker wants to plant? Are there topics the speaker needs to avoid? Cam will know and react as needed.

CONFIDENT
– After giving hundreds of presentations, there are but a few things Cam has not seen in his twenty years at client events. You’ll find him ready to step forward and do whatever it takes to keep the event on track. And he will blend into the background when he’s not needed. All for the success of the event. Whatever the client needs.

Bear in mind, Cam is an in-demand expert on generational trends in the workplace and marketplace and can offer special rate packages that combine his emcee work and a keynote.

Testimonials

Delightful, informative, hilarious, and very useful. Not to be missed by anyone dealing with the modern workplace in any form.
– John Ruark, MD , Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine
Cam Marston put the exclamation point on our Annual Meeting program that resulted in my members walking away with smiles on their faces and valuable information in their notebooks. Cam provided the CEOs and senior executive of my member financial services organizations with a unique insight into the factors that impact the cultural DNA of Boomers, Gen X’ers, and Millennials, and offered them tangible and practical suggestions on ways to communicate effective marketing messages to each of these distinctive groups. And he delivered his medicine with a healthy spoonful of humor, which made it all the more enjoyable for my members to digest. I’d book him again in a heartbeat.
– Joe Annotti, President/CEO, American Fraternal Alliance
Loved the humor; laughed because it was so true. Engaging, Relevant, Informative. Tons of positive feedback from other attendees. It was very easy to relate to and visualize the generations as Cam described them. I will be using his strategies and insights in my next employee meeting and in future training with managers. He came across as an expert because of his research and fact based conclusions but also just like the rest of us because he faces the same challenges we do.
– Bill Gibson, Franchisee, Culver’s Restaurants
Find your way to wherever he is and listen. Cam delivered as our keynote speaker at our national HR meeting. His insights touched everyone and simply gave all who attended a better understanding of generational differences and nuances. Find your way to wherever he is and listen. You will be better for it.
– Steve Talbott, Talent Manager, Enterprise Holdings, Inc
We have found that Generational Insights has been an incredibly valuable tool in helping us understand how to create a more cohesive and productive workforce. I highly recommend Cam’s work for any organization looking to unlock the inevitable generational barriers that exist in today’s work place.
– Lee Rivas, General Manager , LexisNexis

Booksby Cam Marston

hat Works: The Ten Best Ideas from the First 200 Episodes

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Blog Posts

 

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