Lessons from my Mother: Charm, Trust & Customer First

On this Mother’s Day, when we’re given time to reflect on our mothers, the impact of motherhood on us, or the lack of both, I find myself thinking about how my mother influenced my career and business life.?

Mom parlayed a stint as a tour guide for Atlanta conventioneers into becoming an independent media escort for VIPs. These hotshots were mostly authors, who visited my home town of Atlanta on their book tours for signings and to be interviewed by CNN, which is located there.?

The role brought all kinds of people into her Lincoln. She “escorted” Smokey Robinson and John McCain. Buzz Aldredge and Annie Leibvotz for their book releases. She once called me at work from her car phone, roaring down I-85 South, because her client Christiane Amanpour had someone to set me up with. She was beloved by all who sat in her front seat. Garrison Keilor interviewed her on Prairie Home Companion. Rick Riordan included her in a novel. Andrei Codrescu rhapsodized about her on NPR. Gary Shteyngart wrote a love letter to her in The New Yorker.?

From watching my mother schlep, cater to, and service all of these bold faced names, I learned a few things about being in business.?

Charm Offensive: Mom and I are small, smart, sassy women who could in no way use our physical presence to our advantage. We have to get the job done in other ways. Mom got to know every media booker, every news agency front of house staff, every concierge at top hotels, and all the doormen at the Ritz Carlton, whom she gifted homemade fruitcakes to after they’d secreted this or that dignitary from her car into the hotel discreetly. Knowing and charming the people on the bottom of the totem pole often unlocked the most successful engagements. Mom knows this, and uses it to her advantage. Her charm is one part GSD (get shit done), one part genuine affection for humanity, and one part old-fashioned Southern etiquette, and it made her job go smoothly almost all of the time, even with the most difficult guests.

Engender Trust: Many people close to star making machinery make telling all a lovely little side hustle. Except for her most intimate family members, mom remained mum about every quirk and odd request she was asked to do for the Rich and Famous. Like the time the internationally famous vegetarian asked mom to bring her to a classic Southern restaurant for meat and three. Or the time a famous chef and her rival were at a news station on the same day and had to be entered and exited via two different doors so they wouldn’t clash. Or the time Annie Liebovitz took a nap on our kitchen sofa. Discretion is valued in all businesses. Not in a Stormy Daniels way, but in a “ you can depend on me to get the job done without any noise” way.?

Customer First: With her charm and her trustworthy nature, publishers understood that mom would always put the customer first. These were no ordinary customers, mind you, they were the Too-Busy Class of hotshots who never in their wildest dreams imagined they’d have a great day in Atlanta, of all places, with a personable, charming trustworthy escort. With her ninja knowledge of Atlanta’s roadways and history, she could seamlessly deliver Mo Willems to his speaking engagement and then take him used record shopping, if that was his thing. Her customer focus and resourcefulness showed how willing she was to create a win-win for the publisher, the author, and the paid engagement she was hired to get the author to.?

So on this Mother’s Day-- thank you mom! For modeling exemplary behaviors that I have learned and used throughout my career.?

What did your mom teach you about being in business? Let me know via a comment to this essay.

Author's note: I would love to help you engage your customers so deeply that their relationship with your brand transcends the transactional. Hit me up to brainstorm ways I can impact your customer relationships.