I love this quote, “Expectation is the breeding ground for success.” I wish I knew who to give the credit to. It goes along with “You get what you expect.”

Your success is directly related to the expectations that you have for yourself. When you have high expectations, you most often will get high results. But when you have low expectations, you get lower results.

Elaine is a successful senior vice president, well regarded and respected within her industry. She sits on the boards of several regional and national organizations. Recently, at one of these board meetings, Elaine made a suggestion that went unheard by the chairman. She repeated herself, but again he acted as though he didn’t hear her. Frustrated and embarrassed, Elaine didn’t try a third time.

A short while later, a male colleague made a very similar suggestion. The chairman responded immediately, commending him for his thoughtful contribution.

It may sound hard to believe, but I hear stories like this all too often. In fact, I’ve experienced it myself.

I often hear owners, presidents and CEOs complain that they cannot remember the last time their company signed up a new customer or client.  They claim the sales team seems to call on the same accounts over and over again, but can’t or won’t find new clients.

In other conversations, I hear the opposite.  The sales team keeps bringing in new accounts, but the attrition rate for new customers is sky high. After the first order or two, the new client goes into the “witness protection program” and the salesperson can’t or won’t find the time to search out the missing account.

There is a difference between greeting a customer and engaging your customer. Greetings can be robotic and scripted, which means they are probably not sincere. You’re just doing it out of habit or because it’s required by your company.

But some companies have what I call “rules of engagement.” These companies are looking to establish long-term relationships, and they realize that it begins in the first one to three seconds. Whether it’s on the phone or face-to-face, the engagement is conversational and creative, personable and enthusiastic, as well as genuine and sincere.

Below are some ingredients for engaging your customer, developed in a group brainstorming session: