Being a good salesman has nothing to do with being thinner. I'm reading a great book right now called the Tipping Point, which is about social epidemics and 'how little things can make a big difference'. He breaks down our society into different types of people - Mavens, Connectors, Salesmen... Either you are or you aren't a salesman: here's a blog post about it. In short - I would work on your own confidence and your knowledge/ability in the area you need to give your presentation, not losing weight quickly. Good luck!
Ever wondered how on earth that video of the man who danced all over the world
(“Where the Hell is Matt?”) ended up in your e-mail inbox or why all those girls are wearing UGG boots even when it’s 70 degrees outside? You’ve probably already heard of or read Malcolm Gladwell’s fascinating “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference,” a book that studies how an idea turns into a social epidemic.
If you haven’t, the main idea is that there are 3 major types of things that can converge to bring about explosive and speedy changes in society. These are:
- the context of the situation or environment
- the stickiness of the idea or how memorable it is,
- and the people who are involved, especially those with a particular and rare set of social gifts.
According to Gladwell, tipping points follow
the 80/20 Principle or the Pareto Principle, which states that “in any situation roughly 80 percent of the ‘work’ will be done by 20 percent of the participants.” Gladwell categorizes these special people in three groups, the connectors, the mavens, and the salesmen.
Are you one of these special people?
Connector
Connectors are the people who know everyone. We are all linked to each other by
6 degrees of separation, but not all degrees are equal. A small number of people are linked to a large number of people within a few steps, while everyone else is linked to the world through these special people. While the rest of us might prefer to keep acquaintances at arm’s length, Connectors try to keep up with them. They like to cultivate weak ties, people who are outside of their usual social networks, and they manage to occupy different niches and subcultures fluidly.
Here is a simple test that Gladwell came up with to see if you are a connector. In sum, connectors spread ideas and bring about change simply through the sheer number of people they know.
Maven
Mavens are obsessive information collectors who are socially motivated and have a strong desire to be of service and influence. They love to initiate discussions to gather information on different products, prices, places, etc., and they genuinely enjoy sharing this wealth of information with other people. They are the type of people who know where the bathroom is in a given retail store or which hotel to stay at when you are vacationing in Barcelona. While a connector might tell 20 people about the fabulous hotel they stayed at, probably only half will take their suggestion. On the other hand, while a maven might only tell 5 people about the hotel, all five of those people will very likely take his advice. In sum, mavens spread ideas and bring about change by giving expert advice.
Salesman
Salesmen are those people who somehow convinced you to bring home that $450 blender that you pull out to make orange juice once every 6 months to ease your guilty conscience. They are extremely energetic, enthusiastic, charming and happy. They are the masters of non-verbal cues, and they intuitively tune in to the phyisical and conversational harmony of others. They are the ones who conduct the conversations and have plenty of quality answers to combat objections commonly raised by their listeners or potential clients. In sum, salesmen spread ideas and bring about change through their ability to persuade other people.
Don’t fit any of the three profiles?
That’s okay. Even though Gladwell describes these people as naturally talented, some of these skill sets can be developed through hard work and persistence. And even if you are sure you’re going to pretty much remain an average joe, you can always try to meet and acquire friends or acquaintences who fit these profiles. These people will ultimately be the game changers for you and the people around them. They offer a powerful arsenal of knowledge, people networks, and have the uncanny ability to get things moving. See my blog entries about networking and start meeting influencers:
“Fun Ways to Network, Meet New Friends, and Diversify / Expand Your Social Circle &
“Networking and Approaching New People with ‘Magic Bullets.’”
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