When I was 20 years old, I was on track to become a commodity trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

As part of the evaluation program, I was required to intern at a grain silo where I learned how to grade and buy corn and soybeans directly from farmers. I learned a lot from that experience, but one lesson stands out that I use every single day:

Meaningful experiences are for every customer, in every industry. If you want to win the customer, you better have superior experiences wrapped around your product or service.

Yes, at our firm, we often work in luxury spaces, but we also work with a wide variety of visionary clients – all of whom know and value the power of an amazing experience to attract and retain their clients.

The farmers that I served placed a high value on the exact same principles we see in the luxury world - like curated personalized hospitality, first-class manners, five-star service, and unique experiences that feel special and memorable. Those principles are expressed and designed differently for a farmer in Havana, IL than for a luxury guest in Dubai, but the quality of the experience will be exceptional in both cases.

My farming clients could always count on me for the best experience every single time they were ready to sell their crops - and during my internship, I had one of the highest new client conversion percentages in the US. Why?

Because great experiences make people feel great, word spreads, and you earn a reputation for delivering something so much better than everyone else. That draws in curiosity from potential clients and gives you a chance to compete and win their business, too. It also keeps your current clients coming back.

Sounds simple, right? But it’s incredibly rare in any industry these days. Most companies think good enough is, well, good enough to get the job done. And that’s often where their pursuit of excellence ends.

Legendary companies never stop pursuing the best possible experiences for their customers. Never resting, never settling, and never following the pack!