Building a list has long been a focus for businesses. Whether the Sears Roebuck catalogue, Publisher’s Clearing House, United Way or the local Chamber of Commerce, the idea has always been: the more people you send a message to, the more people will buy what you’re selling.
What happens if we do not talk from one to many but instead enable people to talk to one another? This is when growth multiplies exponentially and it only happens when people share a room.
Fill a Room with Trust and Shared Purpose
Two elements are needed to fill a room: trust and shared purpose.
Trust is essential to fill a room because the people you invite will only come if they know it’s worth their time.
Shared purpose is required to fill a room because we support the activities we believe in.
When we trust that an event will be worth our time and it pertains to something we care about, we attend. When we are unsure if we’ll like it or if it relates to a topic we care about, we don’t attend.
Misfit Con Fills the Room
Last week I had the pleasure of attending Misfit Con. As I shared last year, this conference is unique in that no one knows who the speakers are, what the schedule is or who else will be attending. Instead, everyone attends because of trust in the conference creators and the shared mission of living a life of purpose.
AJ and Melissa Leon, the conference organizers, could not just start a conference and expect others to take a giant leap of faith. Instead they’ve spent years building trust.
From free articles on living a life of purpose to humanitarian work and artistic magazines to a crowdfunded book, AJ and Melissa have slowly created trust with their readers and followers. Those that have worked with them or enjoyed their art know that they create work with purpose.
This reputation of quality and passion is what the conference attendees could trust in before attending. They didn’t need to know who they were going to meet because they trusted it would be a life-changing experience.
Trusting the Misfits is not enough. The trust of a quality product is combined with a shared purpose of living a life as a “Misfit,” one who blazes their own trail and makes a dent in the universe.
This mission is woven throughout AJ and Melissa’s work. Those who identify with it immediately are sucked in, while those it does not resonate with quickly are turned away. By wearing their heart on their sleeves, AJ and Melissa attract others who believe what they believe. When it comes time to invite their Misfit cohorts to a conference, everyone knows it will be about their shared purpose and are immediately interested in attending.
1 Million Cups in Brookings
Last week two colleagues and I hosted the first-ever 1 Million Cups in Brookings (1MC) following in the footsteps of my brother who hosts in Sioux Falls. 1MC is a weekly gathering on Wednesday morning where entrepreneurs, creators, artists, community leaders and business experts listen to one idea someone in their community is working on and help them improve it.
To promote the first event I sent a message to about 200 people. Most of these people have known me the vast majority of my life, many watching me grow up from a young age. They trusted me because they knew who I was and likely attended other events I hosted in the past.
With this trust, over 40 people attended the first event, even though most of them had no idea what it was going to be about.
This trust, however, was not enough to bring people to 1MC. We also had to articulate the purpose of the event.
Many people in town know and trust me, but not all of them care about building community and sharing ideas. That is why I asked people to attend that I knew were interested in community development and business. Had another 40 people attended who did not share this purpose, it would not have made the event better.
Exponential Energy in a Room
Filling a room is more challenging than building a list but also more rewarding.
As we build and communicate with a list, we are one person sending one message to everyone on the list. If 10% of people we send a letter to buy a product, we know we can make an additional sale by signing up 10 more people.
As we fill a room, the output grows exponentially because everyone is a participant. When people talk to one another, they improve on one another’s ideas and share their excitement. Suddenly there is not one message, but a new message in each conversation. If we are a business trying to make a sale, we are not one person asking everyone to make a purchase. Instead, we are a room of people convincing one another to make the purchase, start the project or get involved.
Adding Trust and Shared Purpose to the Room
For a room to create this exponential output, there again needs to be trust and shared purpose.
If the people in the room trust the organizer but do not trust one another, they’ll never share their ideas. Similarly, if people are unable to share their purpose with others in the room, they will miss the connections and excitement that comes with finding others who believe what you believe.
Trust and Purpose Among the Misfits
My wife was able to attend the Misfit Con with me and noted how much she enjoyed it because people were willing to talk about their failures, fears and questions. At many events, it is a contest to show how successful and confident you are. This facade is easy to understand because we don’t want to share vulnerabilities with people we do not trust. Attending a conference where people open up knowing it is a safe space quickly shows the amount of learning that can take place when people trust one another.
Attendees also were given time and space to share their purpose and passion with one another. Instead of having everyone looking at the stage consuming content from a speaker, the conference built in time for interaction and collaboration among attendees. What’s more, it encouraged this interaction with shared art projects, communal meals and personal touches that created multiple opportunities to meet one another.
Build Your Event Around Trust and Purpose
Businesses and organizations should structure their rooms around trust and purpose. How can you not only attract a crowd but also invite them to work together?
At 1MC we offer free coffee, a simple way to start conversations as people gather around the coffee pot. We start the event at 9 a.m., but it actually starts at 9:15 a.m., so attendees have time to meet and chat. Additionally we set a few basic ground rules, namely that feedback is in the spirit of building the community and helping the speaker improve their idea.
In your event, find a way to build trust among the people in the room and a way to get them to share their purpose. When your room is filled with trust and purpose, the results will surpass every expectation.
Think of the Room, Not the List
Too often as businesses we think first of building the list. How many people on that list would actually go somewhere, share something and be a part of something bigger than themselves?
Focusing on the room means focusing on the people who count. Those who trust what you do and believe what you believe. These supporters are the ones that matter because they are the ones who will support you time and time again.
Photos: 1 Million Cups photos are courtesy of Scott Meier. The Misfit Con photos are courtesy of CC Chapman. Read his reflections on Misfit Con.
