The Second Dimension of Learning Goals for Sales Training Initiatives

In my last post, I suggested using Bloom’s Taxonomy with 6 levels of learner’s sophistication to define Learning Goals.  I also mentioned that formulating Learning Goals at sophistication levels three (apply) and higher is necessary but not sufficient for Sales Training Initiatives having a sustainable impact on sellers’ performance. The Scale of Learners’ ProficiencyThe second dimension, to be considered, is the scale of learners’ proficiency from Gloria J. Gary (Gary 1991).  There are six levels of skill outcomes where Familiarization is the lowest level, followed by Comprehension, Conscious Effort, Conscious Action, Proficiency and Unconscious Competence as the highest level. I consider that the first two levels of the proficiency scale are passive and will not lead to actions. The level of Unconscious Competence is not a level to strive for if we want sellers to remain reflective about their actions and to continue learning. Very often, you find sellers who