Last week was "have lunch with your kid" day at my daughter "Lil Red's" school.  Keep in mind, she's 13....  And in the 8th grade... And a red head.  She can be a smidgen.....hmm, let's call it vivacious!  So to keep the peace, I ALWAYS ask if she wants me to participate, understanding that she may not want her mama potentially embarrassing her in front of her peers.  I was a teenager once too although Lil Red really can't understand that I might relate to her on this.   She thinks I was teenager when dinosaurs walked the earth and everything was in black and white. It was the 80's!!  The time of big hair, shoulder pads and ugly shoes!  Not a single black and white dino in sight...

Thankfully, she once again said YES! I know the sad day will come when she says no.  I eagerly drove off to the school, got my "I ate lunch with my kid" sticker at the office and headed to the gym.  The 8th graders eat earlier than the other students so the gym was mostly empty.  I sat down on the bleachers and waited for some of the other parents to show.  And waited...  No one else showed up... 

The galloping herd of plaid clad 8th graders arrived and lined up for their hot lunches.  A few cold lunch kids wandered over to where I was sitting and joined me.  Then a few more.  Lil Red and her bff's came with their hot lunches, running over shouting "MAMA J!!" and giving me a hugs.  I was the de facto mother of nine teenage girls!  

One of the girls said to Lil Red, "You're lucky, my parents NEVER come to these!" Another said to me, "We always sit with you Mama J, because you are the only one that shows up!"  Lil Red beamed the entire time.  

Now, don't get me wrong,  I understand not every parent has the luxury of rearranging their schedule to do this.  Also, I'm not self congratulating here.  I'm never going to win Mother of the Year.  NEVER.  I do a lot wrong.  A helluva lot wrong.  I sometimes lose my temper.  Sometimes I curse.  (Gasp!)  I'm not always a good example to follow (yes, that is popcorn for dinner, whatofit?) and my numerous other flaws are obvious to the most casual of observers. 

But, 

I.   show.    up.  

And by simply showing up.

 I WIN!  

I was treated to the most enjoyable, albeit gossipy, lunch with my very most precious peep, as well as 8 other extra special peeps.  But more importantly, I was able to convey to my favorite red headed peep that she is worth showing up for.  

In business, we are always searching for ways to expedite the sales process.  We are continually seeking ways to utilize technology to bring in more traffic to our websites and to our stores, restaurants and offices.  

We devise.  

We advertise.  

We strategize.  

But sometimes we can overlook the value of simply showing up.  Person to Person.  Peep to Peep.  

In my past life of selling advertising, I could easily email someone information, leave voice mail and occasionally someone would buy but the VAST majority of my long term, loyal and frequent advertisers were with people in which I had developed a personal relationship.  The only way to create that type of relationship is by showing up.  

The same is true of most industries.  I can always buy shoes online or from strangers but if I know someone who has a shoe store, how much more likely am I to buy from them and buy repeatedly?   You are also much more likely to refer business to someone you know personally, not a business you saw advertise that you've never experienced.  The inverse is true, if I buy shoes online due to a lack of relationships but then get to know the business personally, if they acknowledge me, thank me, or follow up with me peep to peep, the more likely I am to buy from them again.  If they use my name, whoa, that's huge to me!  

As business owners and sales professionals, the best way to show your customers you care about them and their ongoing support of your company is by deepening the relationship. Let your customers know they are worth showing up for.

Get offline, get out of your office and get Peep to Peep.  

If you would like more information about growing your business through peep to peep relationship selling, contact me here!