There is a common misconception that a visionary leader is the preferred and most necessary type of leader. Hybels refutes that as shallow thinking and states that there are at least 10 types of leadership styles that are vital. The key is that each style is needed at different times in the history of a ministry/organization and in different ways. (i.e. overall leader, specific ministry leader, etc.) He makes the case for leaders to understand their dominant style and to discern whether a given leadership opportunity needs that style.
- Visionary – Able to see and articulate a preferred future.
- Directional – Able to make the right decision at the key times. They have the intuition to discern which way the team should turn at crucial crossroads.
- Strategic – When the vision is cast, this person intuitively sees and knows each step necessary to see the vision realized.
- Managerial – Able to coordinate and keep all the vital systems and processes flowing together in excellence.
- Motivational – Able to discern and know what people need and give it to them. Able to inspire people to keep on keeping on, as well as when to encourage them to take a rest.
- Shepherding – Loving people and nurturing them forward. Investing in them through a pastoral style that makes people feel secure thus enabling them to move ahead.
- Team-Building – Knows the vision and develops the right mix of people to fulfill the vision. “Puts the right puzzle pieces together to accomplish the goal.” Hybels says this is his dominant style.
- Entrepreneurial – They have a need to launch new things continually. Wherever they are, they will create new things.
- Re-engineering – This is a leader who loves to work a turnaround in a ministry that has lost its way.
- Bridge-Building – Likes working at bringing complex levels of leadership and organizational systems together. Likes finding ways of keeping diverse and varied groups linked together and flowing in unity. Draws people together at the table to listen, understand, and find pathways of collaboration.
One of the biggest hurdles (and most frustrating) to making a sale is getting the right person to call you back. As ancient as voicemail seems to be these days, it’s often the primary tool you have to persuade someone to talk to you. Here are 7 great tips for leaving good voicemails.
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Explain the benefit of the call, not the service - Don’t try to sell your service in a voicemail message (you won’t have enough time), just sell the conversation. Tell them what will they get by calling you back? A free assessment, advice, peace of mind…what will motivate them to want to talk to you?
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Understand unconscious language triggers #1 - Don’t start out your message with “Hi, (customer’s name) my name is (your name)…” because most telemarketers and strangers start that way, it often evokes a negatively conditioned Pavlovian response. Try using “Hi (their name) it’s (your name)” this is the language a friend or acquaintance might use, and usually accesses a positive unconscious trigger.
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Understand unconscious language triggers #2 - Robert Cialdini describes how the word “because” is an unconscious trigger that increased the likelihood someone will comply with your request. If you use the word “because” when you describe why someone should call you back, you might be surprised at your increased response rate. Click here if you’d like to understand why.
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Create curiosity - If all the information you want to convey is already in the voicemail, why would they call you back? Create curiosity. Tell them you have information that is really valuable to them, but they have to call you back to get it.
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Express urgency - Why do they need to call you back right now? How can you create an emergency? What will happen if they don’t call you back right away? But don’t just focus on content. The urgency you create will be largely based on the tone of voice you use. If your family was being held hostage and their life depended on this person calling you back…what tone of voice might you use?
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Use good VM etiquette - No one likes a really long VM, keep it as short as possible. And say your number in the beginning of the message and at the end – not everyone has an iPhone. If the person misses your number the first time they hear the message, and they have to playback the entire message to retrieve it, it’s less likely they’ll call you back. Just use common sense.
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Sell your message second by second - Just like any written sales copy, realize that if the first part of your message sucks, they’re likely to press delete right way. Make your first 5 seconds compelling so they’ll listen to the second 5 seconds, and make those 5 seconds make them want to listen to the next 5 seconds and so on.
