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You may have heard that Sabastian Sawe became the first human to break the fabled 2-hour marathon mark in London last Sunday.
That’s false.
Nearly seven years ago, Eliud Kipchoge “broke two.”
But he cheated.
In every possible way.
Closed course.
Perfect weather.
A pace car projecting laser splits.
Rotating pacers blocking the wind.
Nutrition delivered in stride, on-demand.
Prototype shoes no one else could buy.
That’s the short list.
Here’s the engineering specs behind it all . . .
It started with the course itself, a closed road in a park in Austria. The trees lining the road cut the wind. The rotating formation of six elite pacemakers at a time, running in front of the Kenyan in a geese-like V-formation, cut the wind even further.
A Tesla Model S was out front, projecting a constant laser on the road to hold perfect pace— and served as yet another windbreak.
The entire setup was engineered to eliminate resistance.
Sugars and carbs were hand-delivered by bicycle, eliminating the need to slow down for aid stations.
And the shoes: 8-ounce, unapproved, commercially unavailable racers with a carbon fiber plate running the full length—designed to maximize energy return with every stride.
But not everything was beyond the rules.
There was the personalized hydration program and sweat-loss testing in a NASA-grade, climate-controlled lab.
Also, a head-to-toe outfit—from beanie to socks—customized through body scans to optimize temperature, aerodynamics, and yes, prevent the infamous bleeding nipples.
(If you didn’t see that coming, sorry. It’s real.)
Kipchoge and Nike didn’t chase a breakthrough as much they built it.
They didn’t wait for perfect conditions. They simply removed the speed bumps—one by one, stacking a series of 1 percent improvements on top of one another.
That’s a fancy way to say they focused on the aggregation of marginal gains.
On October 12, 2019, in Vienna, Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40.
In LBM sales, most teams are waiting.
Keeping busy until things improve.
For mortgage rates to ease.
For housing starts to pick up.
For the orders to start rolling in.
Well, it’s time to quit waiting.
Begin engineering the result you want now.
Here’s a short list of marginal gains across the four sales fundamentals. These are the small improvements you can begin executing, stacking them consistently:
Goal Setting & Accountability (Weekly)
• Monday: Set a weekly revenue target
• Identify the #1 deal to advance
• Review your top 10 accounts
• Track your closing ratio
• Demand to learn from every lost deal
• Ask for one referral every other week
• Friday: Review the week’s execution
Time Management (Daily)
• Make one prospecting call before opening email
• Use a call list—no random dialing
• Decline agenda-less meetings
•Send agendas for every meeting you lead
• End every meeting by scheduling next steps
• Track ALL your time for just one week
• Plan tomorrow before you leave today
Pipeline Management (Weekly)
• Quantify your pipeline • Follow up on quotes within 48 hours
• Keep a written list of your top 10 dream clients
• Send one handwritten thank-you note
• Revisit 5 dormant accounts (15 minutes)
Prospecting (Daily)
• Call one non-customer
• Track touches per prospect (cap at 12)
• Send same-day recap via emails after conversation
• Spend five minutes a day studying one competitor
• Listen to one sales podcast while driving
(And yes, you should listen to the Craft of LBM Sales!)
Now, none of these marginal gains are likely to land you a monster deal on their own.
But if you stack them consistently?
That’s how $3M reps become $6M reps.
Sabastian Sawe engineered his own marginal gains.
Running the same race.
Using the same principle.
He partnered with the Swedish firm, Maurten Nutrition, and consumed 230 grams of carbs per race, spending over a year training his gut to handle such a quantity while running 13.16 miles per hour.
His shoes weighed 3.4 ounces—nearly 60 percent lighter than Kipchoge’s—built for speed, efficiency, and maximum energy return.
Same race.
Unique advantages.
Don’t wait for the market to turn.
Don’t hope for better conditions.
Change how you’re running your race.
Find a few small ways to do it better—and have the discipline to stick with them.
That’s how marginal gains become a durable competitive advantage. And as for the shoes Sawe was wearing? Adidas.
Thanks for reading.
I’ll see you back here next week.
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Bradley Hartmann & Co.
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