Socialites – The most maligned sales archetype

In the womb, Socialites would be having fun, admiring the cool space they’re in, appreciating the relaxed vibe, and maybe even doing a few somersaults and yanking on the umbilical cord!

At the same time, they’re dead set on getting out and getting on with exploring the world… 

Having wriggled free from the womb, Socialites are wide eyed. They’re looking around and ready to engage with the first people they meet.

Socialites, at their core, exhibit a tremendous amount of energy for people and relationships. 

Unlike the Ambition and Drive or Competents archetypes, we’ve previously covered, 

Socialites can handle a lot of social interaction before they get fatigued and need a little lie down. 

While they sometimes are labelled with some negative stereotypes, Socialites are a key archetype in business development. In contrast to Harmonisers,  Ambition and Drive or Competents, Socialites get their energy from direct engagement with the external world and people, and this unique trait allows them to be able to meaningfully connect with quite a broad cross section of people.

Spotting a Socialite

Socialites, as you would expect, are great at networking – and they have the energy for it.

Not only do they love getting out and meeting new people, but they also come across well.

They’re also generally quite good at managing disappointment. Compared to the other archetypes, they tend to bounce back that bit better when things don’t work out quite as well as they may have liked.

Stereotypes

Unfortunately, Socialites do attract some criticism, including that they talk too much, don’t handle their paperwork, sometimes run late, and frequently don’t pay enough attention to detail. 

These may be areas for Socialites to improve on, in some cases, but not all of them fit this mould. There are many more moderate Socialites about, who still possess the same instinct and drive to connect with people, but have also developed the professional skills necessary to thrive in business development and be accountable.

Why Socialites Matter 

Sales, it’s often said, is a numbers game and, in some senses, that’s accurate.

From a Socialite’s perspective, the broader the number of people you can connect with, the more meaningful conversations you can have about what they need and want. And, the more conversations you can have, the more likely you are to get a proposal in front of more people. And, the more proposals you can push out, the more likely you are to close more deals.

Given this, Socialites can add quite a bit to depth to the pipeline of opportunities in front of a business. This makes them particularly important for companies needing and wanting to get outside of a known client base and into a new segment.

Socialites, over time, will have had many more meaningful conversations with more people than Ambition and Drive, Competents, and Harmonisers – and this gives them quite a significant advantage in business development.

Not all businesses have a need for Socialites, though. For those organisations that have an established client base and the key strategy is to retain and grow that existing base, Harmonisers and Competents may do just fine on their own.

However, Socialites can be considered critical for companies with an expanding client base, where there are more people and relationships that need to be maintained and managed. This is because Socialites are better at maintaining far more relationships than the other archetypes.

Socialites Summed Up

While they’re often maligned, misunderstood, and simply not managed very well (or appreciated) by their colleagues (except perhaps Harmonisers because they also prioritise people and relationships), Socialites are:

  • Great at forming relationships
  • Good at networking, and 
  • Great at opening new doors.

It’s easy to see Socialites have the potential to bring much upside to most businesses, especially those chasing growth, if they’re viewed through the right lens.

The take home message, then, is to ensure these high-energy team members feel valued and are given tailored, effective support that fits their view of the world. By doing this, businesses can help Socialites deliver their best for themselves and the company.

This concludes our 4-part blog on Workplace Archetypes.

Stay tuned for a new series soon.