Eating Dirt, part II

GROWTH TIPS: This is It! Make no mistake about It… "Iowa, Here I Come!"

[ If you have no idea what “It” is, check out my last blog ‘Tip’ or Ragbrai bike tour link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut_rJfDoOa8 ]

In answer to readers’ questions, here are my ideas to create your selling or training plan. Thanks for your input!

1. EFFECTIVENESS In sales and sports, it is 100% possible to become more efficient. My bicycle training ride time went from 3 to 2.4 hours. How?? After my first outing, I did the following: Rode the route in the correct direction, didn’t get lost (as often), had more second-time-around familiarity, experienced fewer distractions, applied better skills, made faster course corrections (make them!), and took a short-cut at the home stretch. Recall my last blog installment's inspirational note: "Got Vacation’?"

2. OVERCOMING Philosophy: When you’re out riding the road, answers to all yesterday’s challenges come together. Sitting at your computer - trying to figure out what to do next - is like a watched pot... Stay in motion, go make a call or get out and exercise, instead. Get Boiling!

3. PERSISTENCE If this year feels like a tougher selling climate than past years, just recall a big physical challenge you’ve faced down. My bike ride took place in the heat of July. When I couldn’t get motivated to train hard in April, May or June, I recalled a friend who rode 90 miles from 7am-6pm, 50 miles in snowfall, and uphill 12,000 vertical feet. Visualizing his pain was my instant motivator. (Cautionary Tip: Sales managers beware if ALL you’re hearing are complaints.)

4. BREAKDOWNS If you've ever had a bicycle chain drop off your crankset, you know stuff happens out in the hinterlands. Selling is similar. You must count on it. ‘Nuff said. Same advice for my kid who was once studying abroad in the summer months: “Everything is fixable. If at first you don’t see a relevant way, choose a fresh mindset, go back and make good. It’s okay to say, ‘Can we try out this idea, instead?’ Then, start again.”

5. BEST PRACTICES Classroom sales training mirrors gym conditioning - just like field selling does road riding.

   There’s a time and place for each; they support one another, too. For over 15 years, performance consulting has been my profession, while indoor cycling instruction is my complementary avocation of choice. Coincidence? I feel privileged to do the hard work I love in both Spinning and Leader Trends.

   
   

When you're not busy pedaling into headwinds, here's a reading recommendation Spark: Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. It's a book that proves links between riding and selling and succeeding.

“Forget fish oil and Sudoku, it's exercise that makes you brainier. Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.” - from Spark book

Good reading, riding and closing business!