Why salespeople are the best intentional learners?

Learning is seen as the most significant competitive advantage for the business and professionals for their career development.  

As I explained in <a href="http://<!– wp:paragraph –> <p>As I explained in my article about intentional learners, (<a href="https://evatansever.wordpress.com/2021/08/02/intentional-learners-who-are-they/">https://evatansever.wordpress.com/2021/08/02/intentional-learners-who-are-they/</a>) intentional learning goes beyond traditional structural learning experiences.  It is about considering all interactions and life experiences as learning.  It requires a clear mindset about being curious and looking for continuous growth.  Additionally, it requires setting clear goals, focusing on what really matters, looking for actionable feedback, and using the new learning in real situations.  This is how intentional learners make a difference in reaching their peak performance in any field.</p> my article about intentional learners*, intentional learning goes beyond traditional structural learning experiences.  It is about considering all interactions and life experiences as learning.  It requires a clear mindset about being curious and looking for continuous growth.  Additionally, it requires setting clear goals, focusing on what really matters, looking for actionable feedback, and using the new learning in real situations.  This is how intentional learners make a difference in reaching their peak performance in any field.

Moreover, from my point of view, it is a perfect fit for sales more than any other profession.  Here is why…

Sales is a field where everyone is looking for constant improvement.  Think about the cold call experience of a salesperson.  In each conversation, there are takeaways to use on the next call.  Words to avoid, tone of the voice to improve, introduction to repeat (in case it works) and so on.  Same is valid for customer meetings.

Conversion rates and sales productivity are key indicators to improve for all salespeople.

Additionally, it is in sales that we look for constant progress on results.  Reaching the quota each month is a never-ending game, and looking for growth from one year to another is very natural for any salesperson.  

In short, salespeople rely on becoming the best version of themselves every day, month, year…  Their career and income depend on it.

Therefore they need to be open and take any interaction with their customers, any experience (good or bad), as a learning opportunity to keep developing themselves.  That is why I consider salespeople as the best candidate to become intentional learners.

But, how to become an intentional learner?

According to an article* published by Lisa Christensen, Jake Gittleson, and Matthew Smith, from McKinsey, there are three steps to practice intentional learning. They call it 3X3X3 method:

1 – Setting three development goals (Max. 3 goals)

2- Setting the process and timeline (Max. 3 months)

3- Engaging people to monitor the progress (Max 3 people)

Those steps will help you precisely know what you need to learn, how, and with which outcome. They will make intentional learning deliberate and focused so that your curiosity will not distract you.

*( https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/intentional-learning-in-practice-a-3x3x3-approach)

*(https://evatansever.wordpress.com/2021/08/02/intentional-learners-who-are-they/)