Book Review: “5 Voices” by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram
Distinguishing voice and how you communicate
I used to be a an avid listener to Donald Miller’s Building a Story Brand podcast (which he’s rebranded to his new business line, Business Made Simple, inspired by his and JJ Peterson’s second book in the series, Marketing Made Simple). After reading Building a Story Brand, I started listening to his podcast on my daily walks. I enjoyed them so much, and even had JJ Peterson on my podcast.
Anything related to self-examination, professional growth or greater self-understanding has always been attractive to me. The interview with Steve Cockram was one of my favorites (link to it below), and since communication is my wheelhouse, I had to get the book.
It was a time in my business when I really hit my stride implementing the product model and refining how I offered my products inspired by Pia Silva’s Badass Your Brand. But there was still something missing in how I communicated with my clients. I wanted to feel greater connection and understanding and not be triggered by some clients’ responses to how I presented my value.
Here’s an example.
I had this one client who was dragging out the discussions around what I could do, how I would do it and what it would yield. He asked me probing questions about my KISS Marketing Map, the implementation phase, why it would go in certain order, what tactics would I do and how I would help him grow his business and by how much.
First of all, it was frustrating because he was asking questions about things I didn’t have a precise answer for. Marketing, rebranding and communications are generally subjective and it’s difficult to create quantitative expectations. You can be general, based on experience and the work you’ve done in the past, but nothing is a guarantee or sure thing. Especially when the diagnosing hadn’t even happened yet—I had no clue where his issues were nor did I really understand his market yet.
It felt like an interrogation. It triggered defensive thinking in me and abrupt responses because I felt like he was challenging my experience, my talent, my ability to get him results. All before we even started working together!
But what he was doing was his due diligence. He was trying to get to the truth of what I offered, to make sure I wasn’t another consultant who would charge him a lot of money and not get him results. Someone who had values that melded with his. Someone who basically knew what they were doing. What’s wrong with that?
But I took offense to it. Until I understood his foundational voice. He was a Guardian.
From 5 Voices: “Guardians guard, protect and defend…They are wired to question change and have an innate ability to understand why something won’t work, which can cause them to appear negative.”
Once I understood that he was using his Guardian voice to communicate with me, I relaxed. I answered all of his questions, I helped him probe to the point of satisfaction, and we ended up working together.
Understanding how voice works in relationships and business
When I read the book and integrated the model into my business, things changed. I felt more comfortable talking with clients and meeting them at their strongest, loudest and most often used voice, which Steve Cockram calls your “Foundational Voice.”
What was also important is that I understood my voice order (after doing the 5 Voices Assessment), which is also how I listen and communicate.
My voice order is:
Creative
Nurturer
Guardian
Pioneer
Connector
I had the biggest aha moment when I realized that the reason most of my prospects and clients didn’t “get” my vision for their business was because I have a foundational voice of Creative. Creatives speak in the future and in abstract ways that most people often don’t follow or agree with because they can’t see that vision.
Once I started adjusting how I spoke into my clients’ futures, they started seeing it. I worked at bridging the gap between my vision—which was easy and natural for me—and how they were viewing “what is” in their life at the current moment. They were “in the shit,” and they just wanted out. It was more difficult for them to see the future because they were too focused on how they would get there.
Super important for me to know!
So now every time I start working with a new client I have them do the 5 Voices Assessment. I write on their client folder their voice order and I review it with them and share my order. We understand one another and they can understand their clients better as well.
Here’s a video introduction by the authors from the publisher, Wiley, the year they released the book:
For you:
Do the 5 Voices assessment found on the GiANT Worldwide website here: https://5voices.com/. Leave a comment of what your voice order is and I’m happy to talk about how you can leverage your voice more strongly in your business.
Steve Cockram with Donald Miller
I first found out about 5 Voices when I was avidly listening to Donald Miller’s Building a Story Brand podcast. Here’s the very episode that got me hooked. You may want to scrub into it a bit to get to the meat and potatoes, but the entire episode is great.
