Have you read The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell?

In the Tipping Point, Mr Gladwell talks about mavens, connectors, and sales people.

The connector is the person who knows everyone.  He or she is the person who has a thick address book.  They can remember names and faces of all the people they’ve met.  If you needed to ask for a referral you’d ask them because they always know someone.  I have a friend named Al who has 3 businesses.  He grew up in the area and he always seems to “know a guy”.  If I need someone to do some work on my house, he knows a guy.  If I need to get my car repaired, he knows a guy.  Al’s a connector.

Maven’s are people who are willing to freely give advice.  They’ll meet a stranger and share a tip with them.  They’re the person you meet when you are on vacation and they recommend a great little local restaurant to you.  They aren’t looking for anything in return they just genuinely enjoy giving free advice and recommendations to others.

I haven’t been to BNI. (The largest business networking organization)  I build mostly on the internet and find that I don’t have a lot of local leads to share with other members of BNI.  Yet I’m beginning to build locally and I wonder if I am missing out by not participating in BNI.  These are people who have agreed to help share leads with other members of their BNI group.  These are mavens and connectors.

I think I’ve been missing out by not being a part of BNI!

Do you have experience with BNI or LeTip or another business networking group?

I’d love to hear from you!

- Ben Fitts

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