Mango with section on a white background

He looked at me with a big grin and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “I have a very unique sales strategy.”, he proudly declared.

I could tell this man was a character. I could tell he was outside of the norm. I was already anticipating what he was going to tell me, and he didn’t disappoint…

He came from the Philippines. He now lived in Canada, but wanted to share how he sold while in the Philippines. He was a corporate sales agent for a fairly significant firm in a competitive industry. He sold to businesses – B2B, not B2C. (Business to business, not business to consumer.)

I leaned in as he paused before he began his tale…

“In the Philippines we have many typhoons. When a typhoon warning is issued, businesses tend to send their employees home. However, the owners of the businesses stay to watch over things and to mitigate any potential damages.”, he began.

“I have discovered that at this time all my competitors go home as well. Who would be crazy enough to try to do business during a typhoon? Well, I am!”, he declared with his warm grin now filling his face.

“I show up at the business and inevitably it is the owner I connect with because everyone else has been sent home. I spend time with them during the typhoon helping them deal with whatever may arise. This builds rapport and relationship quickly because we basically survive a disaster together. When they see how I was there for them in the ‘storm’, they know that I will be committed to continue to serve their needs in fair weather as well.”

And there endeth his lesson.

Brilliant.

He has effectively differentiated himself from his competition in the midst of one of the most demanding times a business owner can face. What a phenomenal way to build trust and relationship. I have no doubt that his potential clients look at him and wonder,

“Who is this guy?! What kind of person would fight through this much opposition to win my business? I want to work with a rep and a company that is willing to press on through the storms to take care of our needs.”

He has determined he doesn’t want to be perceived in the same light as his competitors. You’ve heard the expression, “Compare apples to apples.” Well, this man doesn’t want to be an apple – he wants to be a mango.

One of my clients boldly declared to me that they have determined to be a mango. They want to be so different it is immediately apparent to a prospective client they are not like their competitors – they are so different you cannot compare “apples to apples”.

They are a mango.

So how do you become a mango?

Well, there are countless ways to differentiate yourself. The key is to differentiate yourself in a fashion that is meaningful to your customers, and your potential customers. Attitude, process, product packaging, service standards, communication mechanisms, payment process, sales strategies, marketing strategies – myriad elements of your business can be designed in such a way as to leave your unique fingerprints on the process, the product and the people with whom you want to connect.

And, there are two audiences with whom you want to become a mango: your external customers and your internal ‘customers’. If you want to be able to attract great employees who want to make a long-term commitment to your team, then you have to become a mango in the eyes of your internal customers as well.

Once again, there are countless ways you can become a mango in the eyes of your employees: vision, cause, mission, corporate culture, leadership style, benefits, flex time, team building creativity, team relationships – you are limited only by your creativity.

In order to become a mango you have to be willing to do the creative heavy-lifting to ideate through potential options. Who would ever have thought of cold calling owners during typhoons? Well, one successful mango certainly did.

So, are you an apple, or a mango? And what are you willing to do to become a mango?