Lessons from the Sidelines – How Athletes Teach Us About Customer Success

By Andreas Breimyr

As we head into overtime, let’s dive deeper into key lessons athletes offer us for customer success: endurance, teamwork, and adaptability.

Endurance: Playing the Long Game

Success isn’t a sprint but a marathon. Endurance is more than physical stamina, it’s mental toughness and consistency. In customer success, it’s about the long haul, nurturing relationships, and ensuring clients thrive over time. Athletes train to stay in top form year-round, and in business, this translates to staying proactive, constantly engaging with clients, and anticipating their needs before they ask. Building a long-term partnership requires ongoing effort, just like running that extra mile. A long-term focus fosters client loyalty and sustainable success.

Teamwork: Passing the Ball

Even the best athletes can’t win alone. Success on the field comes from collaboration, communication, and trust among team members. The same holds true in business. Customer success requires smooth collaboration across departments: sales, support, product, and marketing all need to be in sync to deliver seamless experiences for clients. Everyone’s contributions are essential to create a seamless journey for the customer.

Adaptability: Changing the Play

Athletes constantly adjust their strategies based on how the game unfolds, and the same applies in customer success. Clients’ needs evolve and sometimes what worked last year won’t cut it today. Customer success professionals must be agile, ready to switch gears when needed. Whether it’s adjusting processes, upgrading service offerings, or providing new solutions, adaptability keeps you ahead of the competition and ensures your clients’ continued success. Anticipating these changes means you’ll always have the right play ready to execute.

In the end, customer success is a team sport, and playing to win means focusing on endurance, collaboration, and adaptability. So, next time you’re in the field with a customer, remember it’s not just about scoring quick points, it’s about staying in the game for the long haul and playing as a team to achieve the win.

Andreas Breimyr

Customer success manager

Andreas is a versatile guy working as a customer success manager at Foodback. He has a background in sports, with over ten years of experience as a professional footballer. His career as an athlete at a high level has allowed him to foster a truly unique skillset not many people have. His insights are highly applicable in his work for us at Foodback. 

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