Help me, help you!

Many of my clients have heard me refer to an all time favorite movie clip from the movie Jerry McGuire starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGt5f70K02Q

This is the scene in the locker room where Jerry is simply at his wits end trying to support his client! He is pleading with him to “help me, help you – after many weeks of hard knocks, rejection, and failed attempts to negotiate contracts on behalf of Cuba’s character! Of course, we all know what happens after this breakthrough. They develop a strong, trusted partnership which evolves into massive success for both parties.

How many times have we been there? Where the slope is slippery and we simply don’t know where to go or how to get there to support our clients. We are frustrated beyond words. What can we learn from this example?

By opening the seemingly vulnerable conversation with our clients, customers, and constituents with the “Help me, help you”  question, we can build trust in each other, open authentic dialogue about what we need to fully support and provide superior service for our customers, and most importantly acknowledge that we are all in this together.

Try it! In my experience, I have never met a response from this approach other than ‘of course – let me help you and tell you what I need’ and from there the trajectory of our relationship is always ‘up and to the right.’