The winning continued over the next few games and I was sporting a batting average in the .600s. I was feeling on top of the baseball world…that’s when the interview happened.

A local newspaper reporter asked me for some time at the end of my last game. He wanted to know what was going on with my swing and why I was on such a terror at the plate. My response: “I’m just seeing the ball well. It looks like a beachball coming in.” Call it fate, call it karma, or a giant serving of humble pie. After the interview, I entered the longest slump of my life. I could barely hit a ball off a tee. It finally culminated with my coach saying “Benny, I’m doing this to get you out of your own head.”- I got benched for the first time in my life. 

It never feels bad to have praise lavished upon you, but here’s where I went wrong; I became bigger than my team. Leaders are masters at deflecting credit. What I demonstrated wasn’t leadership, I internalized my success and forgot about everyone else’s role in my performance. Recognition is often well-deserved; the difficulty lies in seeing beyond it and recognizing that a lot of other people on your team or in your life have contributed to your success and deserve just as much credit as you do.

When you take all the credit, you immediately gain a target on your back. Teammates resent you, and instead of sharing in your success, they try to find a way to bring you down. Ultimately, this hurts the entire team and everyone’s performance. When you are so good you don’t need all the credit, your teammates, employees, and staff work harder for you because they understand that your success is also their success. There’s less conflict in the clubhouse and the office, results come easier, and goals are reached faster and with less effort.

No matter where you are in your life or career, there’s always someone else deserving of praise. Great coaches, great managers, and great leaders understand the importance of this concept with every interaction they have.  Be bigger and better than yourself, extend a hand and bring others in on the credit.

Ben Freeman is a keynote speaker with over 20 years of experience in developing one-on-one customer relationships. He is an expert in helping businesses genuinely connect with their customers to create lifelong retention. Ben also inspires greatness in employees, teams, and organizations by providing the tools to achieve maximal performance. Having conducted over 50,000 interviews with elite-level athletes, high achieving individuals, and corporate leaders, Ben clearly differentiates the habits, processes, and mindsets separating elite performers from average, in both sports and business.

In a recent interview, I asked one of my recently retired, and very successful clients to think back 25 years ago when he started, and describe to me what he did to grow his financial planning business from the ground up.  His response; “We started giving our clients the Gatorade treatment.” He told me how several years ago, one of his employees was attending a meeting in New York City and staying at the Ritz-Carlton. The meeting was in another location, so he had a driver from the hotel drop him off. After the gentleman exited the car, the driver noticed he had been drinking a Gatorade, and left a half-full bottle in the cup holder.  After the gentleman’s meeting concluded, the same Ritz-Carlton driver picked him up, and to his surprise, there was a fresh, ice-cold Gatorade, of the same flavor, waiting for him as he got back in the car.

The bottle of Gatorade was $1.50, at most, but the impact of the driver’s attention to detail was worth a fortune.  From that moment forward, he instructed all of his employees to constantly be aware of the little details in their quarterly meetings with clients.  When they heard about upcoming vacations, anniversaries, birthdays, etc., they took notes, and more importantly, they remembered. 

He told me a story of how a client of his had booked a Carribean cruise in the upcoming months. Through actively listening and casual questioning during their meeting, he was able to deduce the dates of the cruise, the ship, and which islands they were touring.  Two months later, when his client and spouse boarded the ship, a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and a note saying, “Have a wonderful, and relaxing vacation!’, were waiting in their room; courtesy of their financial planner.  

Customers for life?  I think so. Referrals to a whole bunch of prospective clients?  Definitely. The Gatorade treatment is so simple, but so rarely done that it creates such surprise in the recipient.  It costs nothing to listen intently to your customers and pick up on their subtle preferences. Being so interested in what your clients have to say, and caring enough to share in the excitement of their lives, creates truly genuine relationships that last for many years, both personally, and professionally.  

As you prepare for your next client, don’t forget to notice their “Gatorade”, it may be the most profitable part of your meeting.

Your average canned response comes off as unremarkable and predictable. It’s commonplace, completely expected, and blends into the norm of everyone’s day. If you’re trying to make a lasting impression on a customer or client, your initial interaction must be memorable, not average. 

Rule 1: Never respond to a client or prospective customer with, “I’m alright”, or worse yet, “not so good”

While many are empathetic to others throughout a given day, nobody wants to be part of your bad day. Put yourself in their shoes, it drags you down, depresses your mood, and carries on for hours after the encounter. If this is your standard reply, (ego-check coming) you are the person nobody wants to be around. Save those responses only for your close friends and family, not your clients; they’re killing your customer experiences.

Rule 2: Don’t be average!

Not bad = Not much better. What does “not bad” convey?  Logically, this statement also means . . . not good. Yep, another average response that most people don’t consciously read into, but it does nothing for your customer experience. If your client heads back to the office and his or her boss asks how the meeting went and their response was, “not bad” or “fine”, I hate to break it to you, but your encounter was ordinary and unexceptional. Who’s going to race to schedule another coffee with you? Not them.

Rule 3: Be bold, be positive, be memorable

Try this next time someone asks how you’re doing. Tell them you’re fantastic, or outstanding, you’ll be amazed at how your response comes off. Anyone can say “good”, but very few people walk around having a fantastic day. If you happen to be one of them, I guarantee others want to be part of it. Not only will you catch customers off-guard, it’s human nature to want to associate with people who make their day better. And, last I checked, you want customers to want to interact with you.

People always remember how you make them feel, so make them feel better (not worse) with your initial response. By choosing to respond with excellent, phenomenal, or any other non-average adjective, you make their day better and brighter, and they will return again and again for the same experience. One last, selfish, fringe benefit…your day becomes exceptional, as well.

Music has a way of eliciting a response, positive or negative.  I prefer listening to something with a driving beat and a faster tempo if I’m working out or going for a run. Country music will be my choice if I’m doing yard work or fixing things around the house.  If I’m relaxing with a glass of wine, Sinatra or Nat King Cole makes the experience that much better. The point is, different music pairs well with different experiences.  

At my office, the first time I meet a new client, right off the bat, I usually ask what type of music they listen to.  This serves a few purposes. First, most people are aware of ambient music around them throughout the day. When they’re in the car, they get to choose their genre, when they’re at someone’s office, they usually don’t.  If you tell me you love country music and I immediately change the station to SiriusXM’s ‘The Highway’, I start our first interaction with you feeling like the focus is completely about you. Before I even ask what your pain is, or why you’re wearing a knee brace, I’ve given you the chance to answer a, non-intimidating, personal question and we start the session with an immediate connection.  It may sound too simplistic, but it’s not.

Even though you’ve just met me, I’m no longer perceived as threatening, because we’ve agreed on something you like to listen to. The result of establishing this common ground causes your heart rate and blood pressure go down. You can take a breath and start letting your guard down, which lowers your pain response, and allows me to solve your physical problem faster.  

There are also times when I make the music choice for you.  For example, if you come to see me because of a raging headache that hasn’t gone away for a week, I’m not going to keep playing classic rock.  I’ll turn to a quieter acoustic or smooth jazz station so I don’t continue to overwhelm your nervous system with a lot of stimulus. I’m setting you up for success by controlling the environment.  The next time you come in, I will have your favorite music playing as soon as you walk in. Guess what? You’re primed and ready for a great appointment. 

This doesn’t only work because it’s music, it works because of personal connection and recognizing the background experience for each and every client.  Start looking for ways to relate to your clients as soon as you meet them. Put them at ease and connect early, and you’ll find it becomes a breeze to establish the two things every great business relationship possesses; trust and credibility.   

Now go start relating!