If you happen to come across Malcolm Gladwell's first book Tipping Point, you will find it an excellent introspective into why things go from a great idea among a very few people into a movement of the masses. The second chapter in the book is called Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. It's about the people that make it happen. If you haven't read it, your in luck, I'm going to give you a brief overview along with some practical applications to turning the group of people around you into something much more effective. A way tip the scales in your favor. Now I'm not one to put people into boxes and I most certainly put myself at the top of that list but I think what Malcolm has uncovered is important.
Although I read the book, I derived most of my information from the following blogs.
Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen - Mary Jacsch
Connectors, Mavens and Salesman: The Secret to your Success - Pam Slim
Connectors are people specialists.
“These people who link us up with the world, who bridge Omaha and Sharon, who introduce us to our social circles – these people on whom we rely on more heavily than we realize – are Connectors, people with a very special gift of bringing people together.”
Connectors are fantastic at expanding your network. They say things like:
“Oh you should talk to …”
“Have you heard about…”
“Let me introduce you to ..”
They think in nodes, not individuals, and like nothing more than to help you. They see people first, then money.
Think of five common last names, Carter, Gardner, Johnson, Nelson, Smith, for example. Now survey your friends and those around you. Ask them to quickly put a number to the number of people they know with those last names. The one who has the highest number is probably a good bet to being a connector!
Mavens are information specialists.
“A Maven is a person who has information on a lot of different products or prices or places. This person likes to initiate discussions with consumers and respond to requests … they like to be helpers in the marketplace. They distribute coupons. They take you shopping. They go shopping for you … This is the person who connects people to the marketplace and has the inside scoop on the marketplace.”
Mavens will dig deeply into your product and give very specific, detailed and relevant information on how it can fit within the marketplace.They will say things like:
“I was researching that last month, and I noticed a slight discrepancy in ….”
“Your work fits right in the xxx part of yyy’s essay on the zzz topic.”
“You could add videos to this to bring the lessons alive! And you could expand on the content in Chapter 3, Section 2, by listing …”
Think to yourself, who always seems to have an answer? Who do you go to when you need a recommendation or advice? Who do you know that just loves playing Trivial Pursuit, Millionaire or Jeopardy and is good at it? These are probably people to consider as Mavens.
Salesmen are charismatic.
Salesmen: “Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. But there is also a select group of people – Salesmen – with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing, and they are as critical to the tipping of word-of-mouth epidemics as the other two groups.”
Salesmen will take the idea that you have been working on for years and help you package it, price it and sell it. They say things like:
“But if you do that, you won’t make any money!”
“Here is how you should position it, and here is the upsell…”
“You have to have an offer. Traffic means nothing if it doesn’t lead to a sale.”
“What is your pricing structure?”
“What specific value will this have to your market? How much is that worth?”
Who do you know that just seems to know how to talk people into anything? Do they have a energetic and charismatic personality? These are certainly possible salesmen.
When you identify your primary “Tipping Point archetype,” you know how to leverage your strengths, and most importantly, you identify the archetypes you lack in spreading your message.
Understanding this with the proper preparation and discussion will lead you and those around you to conclude:
A) They should celebrate who they really are, and ignore advice to change into something they are not.
B) By surrounding themselves with other archetypes, their business will grow to a whole other level.
Translation: We need to work together! We need to know what our greatest assets are to others... and what qualities in others can help us get where we want to go. And finally, we need to celebrate and reinforce the strengths we have and those in others! There might just be more than three!
Do you see the tipping point in the following video?
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