What provokes change? When and where is that turning point and how do you get there? And how do you get customers there faster? Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘The Tipping Point*’ has us talking here at the CALIBER offices. It delves into that moment when a product, brand or idea catches on – from a personal level to mass social acceptance causing popularity and social epidemic; in other words, the holy grail of brand land product launches!
Gladwell states, "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts*" and defines 3 agents of change:
• The Connectors who have that enchanting quality that “bring the world together*”
• The Mavens who are the go-to’s for information; the people who are experts on new products and idea’s
• The Salesmen – those charismatic persuaders with the gift of the gab who could sell ice to eskimos!
What we do here at CALIBER is identify that X-factor when we interview, and recruit those with the intrinsic and mysterious ability to make meaningful connections, charismatically sell and have that trustworthy ‘fountain of knowledge’ quality. It also drives how we select staff for different jobs – their natural giftings and predisposition toward a particular ‘agent’ make them highly tailored to particular jobs.
So need a good seller at a conference? Need a great party host to make guests feel welcome? Need a brand ambassador to spread the good word? Yes you do! These people are invaluable when it comes to bringing consumers to that illusive tipping point!
To all the CALIBER hosts and models – which do you think you are? How does this affect which jobs you accept and how you work? Think about it – that’s our hot tip!
*Gladwell, M., The Tipping Point, Back Bay Books, 2002
