Within this small circle of influential people, Gladwell identifies three types of people that sway  others to action. They are Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen.

Connectors are people who know many people in many different circles. You may know lots of people in your industry, but do you know people outside of your industry? Where do they work and what do they do? Connectors know lots of people and what they do, who those people know and so on.

Mavens are people who love to pass on information. They become a library of great information. If you want to know where to go to eat, ask a Maven. They will probably tell you what dish is the best at a certain restaurant and give you a coupon for it. Mavens connect people with new information. They love to stay up to date just so they can pass on this information to other people.

Unlike the Connector and the Maven who simply pass on information, Salesmen are persuaders. Their actions and words are significant in helping others believe a product or service is credible and needed. Gladwell talks about three ways that Salesmen are effective in doing this. First, little things can make a huge impact. If a Salesman casts doubt on a certain product, people will be less inclined to use it. People are charismatically drawn to the opinion of a Salesman, so his opinion is deemed reliable. Secondly, non-verbal cues are critical in communication. If you and I are talking about your new car I might ask you how you like it. If you respond by raising an eyebrow and smiling, I will interpret that as being a positive or negative answer to my question. You have not said a word; you just reacted to my question with a facial expression. Salesmen sway people’s opinions in non-verbal ways. Thirdly, neither the listeners nor the Salesmen realize these persuasion techniques are having any impact, but they are. Some are subtle (like raising an eyebrow when a product’s name is spoken) and some are not so subtle (like laughing at an advertisement for a product), but they have a great deal to do with what we find credible and what we reject as junk.

To illustrate the point, Gladwell talks about a famous event in American history. On the evening of April 18, 1775, two men left Boston on horseback to spread the word concerning military movements in the Massachusetts Bay. One was William Dawes and the other was Paul Revere. Both men traveled through the night, knocking on doors to alert the citizens of the area that "the British were coming.” They had new, pertinent information for the people of New England. Paul Revere roused people from sleep and convinced them to take to the streets. They rang church bells and organized a defense against the advancing British Army. The next morning, this culminated into the battles of Lexington and Concord; the beginning of the American Revolution. However, Dawes was unsuccessful in persuading people to move to arms. He had the same message as Revere and covered as many towns and knocked on the same amount of doors. Why was Revere successful when Dawes was not? Revere was a Connector. He knew many people in the small towns of Massachusetts. He was a Maven. He frequently passed on information to others. He was an influential Salesman. His frantic ride throughout the night spoke volumes to the ordinary citizens of New England.