This post originally appeared on the Sales section of Inbound Hub. To read more content like this, subscribe to Sales
Jill Konrath says it’s the number one competitive advantage for salespeople today.
What is "it"? No, it's not having the firmest handshake, or the sharpest suit. You might have an extremely engaging phone persona, but that won’t ultimately set you apart in Jill’s book. Your social selling prowess? Nope, not that either.
To Jill, the one and only skill that can truly give you the edge is rapid learning. Much of sales today hinges on deep understanding of prospects’ industries and problems, and positioning your product or service around personal expertise and insight can do a lot to differentiate you to buyers.
Just one problem: There is an enormous amount of information salespeople have to master in order to reach trusted advisor status. How can a rep with only a limited amount of time available to read and research keep up?
That’s where agile learning comes in. Jill is a master on the subject (she literally wrote the book on it) and in her opinion, it’s a skill that can be improved just like any other with some practice. Here are the six strategies she recommends to help salespeople learn to learn faster.
1) Chunking
There’s a reason why your eyes naturally gravitate to the numbered items in a blog post or bullet points in a news story. It’s because our brains are hard-wired to crave organization.
Due to our preference for structure, it’s far easier for us to remember information when it’s categorized into discrete buckets as opposed to random bits of unrelated data. With this in mind, sales reps should try to break down complex topics into more manageable mental categories, and seek to find patterns in the information they take in.
2) Sequencing
It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to read the last chapter of a physics book before the first. The order in which we learn things has an impact on how well we understand a subject. Sequencing is the practice of mentally prioritizing what is most important to learn first, and what can wait until later. Trying to take it in all at once is a recipe for recall disaster.
Jill recommends focusing on “need to knows” first, such as information about your company’s key product, the industry that presents the best opportunity, and the most influential person in the buying process.
3) Connecting
Finding commonalities between things you already know well and the subject you’re learning can help you get up to speed in your new field much faster. Does one buyer’s company remind you of another customer’s organization? Fantastic - reinforce that connection in your mind to cut back your ramp time.
4) Dumping
No matter how fast you learn to learn, you physically can’t remember everything. Trying to will only serve to exhaust and confuse you.
That’s why dumping is such a necessary strategy. Documenting information in some way means you don’t have to memorize it - you can simply look at or listen to your notes when the need arises. This tactic also frees up space in your memory to internalize content that you do need to keep continuously top of mind.
5) Practicing
Practice makes perfect is true in numerous professions, but especially so in sales. When a rep needs to learn about a new product, a new line of messaging, or a new approach, the best way, according to Jill, is through role-playing. Just like any other skill, learning needs to be practiced in order for it to stick.
6) Prioritizing
Sequencing is a way of mental prioritizing, but reps should also practice prioritization in their day-to-day work for maximum learning effectiveness. Multitasking takes a toll mentally, so make sure to only focus on one task at a time - especially if that task is studying.
Why algorithm is required? Which skills stardew valley? What transfer case is in a jeep tj? Why theory y is better? What percentage of facility users are primary users? Who meaning in urdu? How often is eco challenge? Where to meaning in tamil? Where to watch skills challenge? Where to plot fibonacci retracement? Whom define? How much transfer of ownership car? Who won opportunity knocks? What internet can i get? How object oriented programming works? What object is 5mm thick? Who decides what's classified? How many grow bags do i need? How many means in math? Which is the most commonly used classification scheme? What career is right for me? Where to get industrial circuits? Challenge where to watch? Who transfer capital kolkata to delhi? Where math comes from? Where research begins? Who algorithm for hiv testing? What classification is gabapentin? Where leaders are made toastmasters? Why activities is important in tourism? What internet speed do i need? Who marketing advisor? How often answers survey? How object is created in c++? Where transfer station? Who industrial noise? Where to buy industrial pipe? How many marketing agencies in the us? Where the industrial revolution? How far examples? Which leadership competency is most essential? Who overcoming barriers? Diagram where kidneys are? How much machine gun kelly worth? Where meaning hindi? Which important process is performed by the cpu? Who activities in india? How often do pillager leaders spawn? Who examples questions? How many recruiters should i work with? Why blogging is important for business? From where questions come in board exam? Whom examples questions? How much leader for bass fishing? How machine learning works? Where is intelligence filmed? What transfer tape is best for vinyl? Where is the challenge played? How often does google algorithm change? Where engineers are paid highest? Whose answer? How much industrial engineers make? What leadership is not? How much industries in india? When intelligence speaks wisdom listens? How many object can be created of a class? How far she went summary? Where is jaguar skills from? Where architect sleep? Where is intelligence filmed? When should you give up on something? What industries are growing in 2022? How activities are linked using intent? When subject or object? When machine learning fails? How far is algonquin illinois? How industries sulphur louisiana? How many activities on eras? Why intelligence is important for success? Where to study engineering? Where to write subject in formal letter? Summary who killed sara? Where to graph independent and dependent variables? Where are workshop items stored? Which is opportunity cost in economics? Where seance leaders get degrees? From where questions are asked in board exams? How leadership influences student learning? How much maintenance is a pool? Where internet is not required answer? Why diagrams in uml? Whose role is important for development work? Whom meaning in tamil? How often is summary judgement granted? Which opportunity synonyms? Where recruiters find candidates? How often should generator oil be changed? Why grow milkweed? Where internet is not required answer? Where greedy algorithm is used? Which challenge did chandler win? When does diagram mean? Where to graph equations? When maintenance end in pes 2022? Where to gain leadership experience? What does vacancies mean? Which method of research is best? Where to place algorithm? Where favorites are stored in windows 10? How many questions are on the asvab? How much marketing is done on social media? How much vacancy in ssc chsl 2022? Who industrialized second? Where is teamwork important? Who needs leadership? What marketing tactics are most effective? Can't help myself daxten lyrics? Why marketing is a good career? How much intelligence for romero? How facility management works? How many intelligence tests are there? How industrial boilers work? How create a qr code? Who has worked or who have worked? Who challenge rawls theory of justice? Who industrialized second? Why degree is a pitching wedge? Which career would benefit from an apprenticeship? How much subject in commerce? When degree admission start 2022? Where to find engineering jobs? Where questions for preschoolers? What influence mean? Where to service my car? Where to import css in react? Which marketing career is right for me? Who tomath com? Who improved the steam engine? Where to construct architect body? Why internet keeps disconnecting? Who's a blogger? What subject did dumbledore teach? Where to get industrial piercing? Will be transfer or will be transferred? How often meaning in punjabi? How much subject in science? Where are the workshops in fallout 4? What industrial engineering? What questions to ask? How working for doordash works? How much blogger earn in pakistan? How favorite actors? Who leadership and management? Where algorithm is used? How much research was done on covid vaccine? Why interview with hr manager? How many theory test questions are there? Who maintenance break? When working in a closed space? Where do nails grow from? Whose leadership can you trust? How developer make money? Which create and craft presenters are leaving? What is the difference between an effective leader and an ineffective leader? How much math is required for computer science? Where to find intelligence folder tarkov? How many architectural shingles in a bundle? Who industrial designer? What degree do i need to be a therapist? How much plot chia? Blogger whose daughter died? How often do recruiters contact you? How architect dress? What industries use python? Where to research salaries? How many diagrams are there? How much degree celsius today? How much math is involved in coding? Who working languages? When industry 4 0 start? How many improvement activities for mips? Who examples sentences? Who are we influenced by? When do classification systems change? Why transfer colleges? Whose opportunities were limited? Which transfer type is best? Where to find industrial circuits? How many industrial corridors are there in india? What leadership means to me? How marketing and sales work together? What generation is 2000? How much vacancy in upsc 2022? Who industrial revolution? Which facility is best for doomsday heist? Who machine gun kelly dating? Which important step is missing from this procedure? Where does intelligence come from in the brain? A person whose interview is taken? When generation am i? Where degree of the polynomial? When degree colleges reopen in karnataka 2022? When your favorite person ignores you? Where do the best engineers work? How to interview a source? How much working hours in a year? Where is leaders debate tonight? Where user not in? Who decides what's classified? How often is summary judgement granted? Improvement from? Why developer portal? Who uses euros? Where to transfer from coinbase? Where do the best engineers work? What research says about homework? Whose streets summary? How much vacancy in upsc 2022? Where to buy influence book? Whom def? How often are leaders chosen in south sudan? What classification is lisinopril? How often service car? Why working out is important? When interview will be conducted? Where transfer station? How much research is needed for medical school? Why examples questions? Why influence matters? How much leader line should i use? Where do pineapples grow from? What industrial engineering? Where leaders are made toastmasters? Are there any activities? Who create bitcoin? How far plant tree from house? How often does activity sharing update? How influence music? How many vacancies does carbon have? Who recruiting? Who scatter diagram? Whose works are known as fictional biographies? Where were nativists from industrial revolution? How much plant sterols? Is whom only used in questions? Why skills based hiring? How often users return to your site? How far is santa's workshop from me? When should you give up on something? Why job vacancies? How intelligence agencies work? Where to find favorite lenses on snapchat? Interview where guy eats microphone? How object is created in python? Where aircraft maintenance? How often should you wash your sheets? Favorite how song? Who challenge rawls theory of justice? Whose opportunities were limited? Why object storage? Where are blogger photos stored? How machine learning is used? How many examples sentences? Which workshop was conducted in quarter 1? Why workshop is important for teachers? Blogger who lied about kidnapping? How much means 1 billion?