Apparently Wiggos are all the rage for men at the moment. It’s a style of side burns made famous by Bradley Wiggins the Tour de France winner in 2012 and subsequent Olympic gold medallist.
We’ve heard all about it and much more but let me share with you the three main reasons why Team GB did so well in the cycling during the summer. And more importantly the lessons for salespeople and their sales managers.
- The team had some science behind them – they trained at altitude, in the heat and on volcanoes in Tenerife – to acclimatise themselves. When you train, do you make it as real as possible, intensively using actors for role-players, making the practice real and train on the job where it is authentic..
- The team had some psychology with them – their sports psychologist, Steve Peters, helped them conquer their emotional “Inner Chimp” and focus instead on the process of winning. Again do you handle your gremlin, the significant voice on your shoulder that has nothing good to say about you, thinks the worst of you, criticises you 24/7 and destroys your self esteem. Have you conquered your gremlin, to allow you to focus on your techniques and sales process.
- The team improved in little steps or “marginal gains”. Added together, these tiny gains made a distinct improvement to their performance. Do you focus on small improvements in your techniques, your skills? Do little and often to self develop and train rather than set massive improvement goals to be achieved overnight.
I asked by wife if I could have a Wiggo…she just laughed. I think I’d look quite smart don’t you think?
Are you getting excited, it’s only 20 days to Christmas.
