Why most sales training doesn't stick.
Schema Theory & Learning
The Core Idea
My PhD work in cognitive science was all about how people actually learn — and it turns out most organizations train in ways that directly contradict the research. Learning happens when new information connects to existing mental models (schemas). When you dump a 200-slide deck on a new rep without first understanding what they already know about selling, you're building on sand. The most effective learning designs activate existing schemas first, then strategically create cognitive conflict that forces genuine restructuring — not just surface-level memorization.
Components
Schema Activation
Before introducing new information, you have to access what the learner already knows. This primes the neural pathways that new knowledge needs to attach to. Skip this step and you get reps who can pass a quiz on Friday but can't apply anything on Monday's call.
Before teaching MEDDPICC, I ask reps to walk me through their last lost deal and explain why they think it stalled. Their answer tells me which schemas are already in place and which ones need building.
Accommodation vs. Assimilation
Piaget's core distinction that most enablement teams ignore. Assimilation is fitting new information into existing mental models — easy and comfortable but often superficial. Accommodation is restructuring the model itself — harder, often uncomfortable, but where real learning lives.
A rep who's always sold on features hears 'sell on outcomes' and assimilates it as 'talk about outcomes after I show features.' True accommodation means they restructure their entire discovery approach — and that requires more than a training session.
Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky's concept of the sweet spot between what someone can do independently and what they can't do at all. The magic zone is what they can do with guidance. Push too far beyond it and you get anxiety and shutdown. Stay too far inside it and you get boredom and no growth.
A new AE who's never run a multi-threaded enterprise deal shouldn't be thrown into a 12-stakeholder negotiation. But they also shouldn't still be running single-threaded mid-market deals six months in. The job of a good coach is finding the next stretch.
Deliberate Practice
Ericsson's research is clear: repetition alone doesn't build expertise. You need targeted effort at the edge of your ability with immediate, specific feedback. Most role-plays in sales training fail because they're unfocused repetition, not deliberate practice.
Instead of generic role-play, I have reps practice one specific micro-skill: articulating the business impact of inaction in under 30 seconds. Record it, review it, do it again. Ten focused reps beat an hour of unstructured practice.
In Practice
When I redesigned onboarding at Salesloft, the first thing I did was throw out the standard 'Week 1: Product, Week 2: Process, Week 3: Methodology' template. Instead, I built an assessment that mapped each new rep's existing selling schema — their mental models around discovery, qualification, and negotiation. Reps coming from transactional SaaS sales had strong closing schemas but weak multi-threading schemas. Reps from consulting had great discovery schemas but weak urgency-creation schemas. The curriculum branched based on what they already knew, so every hour of training was spent in their Zone of Proximal Development rather than rehashing things they'd done for years.