The mad bean man

Strolling through a market one Sunday afternoon, I was approached by a short, podgy, shiny-headed man. He stopped me with a gentle tug on my shirt and a big warm smile. He had large glowing white teeth — which had to be false — and he beamed infectiously.

He asked me how my day was, I responded, “Fine, thanks. Yours?” With a thick accent he responded, “Always a good, my young friend, always a good!” He guided me back to his tiny stall which consisted of a small table covered in punnets of baked beans. He then proudly revealed the story behind his baked beans, how much he loved baking, why he prepared them a certain way and how he hadn’t missed a Sunday market in over 10 years. His passion was intoxicating and you could almost see it steaming up into the air after every word.

Now, I’m no connoisseur of baked beans, nor do I eat them very often, but guess what I did? I happily handed over my hard-earned cash for his beans. Such is the power of passion and conviction. What’s more, I’ve told a lot of people about the bean man, including my friends. I’ve gone bean mad, and I enjoy doing it, because this story and what “the bean man” represents is meaningful and memorable to me.

This is how game changing companies are born. The Virgins, Nikes and Amazons of this world – all have to start somewhere. They begin in Sunday markets, lounge rooms or garages. It doesn’t really matter where. What does is that from the beginning the business is uncompromisingly about doing what you love and captivating and serving your customers. Not huge profits, accolades, or what you think success may bring you.

Does buying a punnet of baked beans validate who someone is and provide them with a profound sense of meaning? Not in itself, no. But if you plan to set up a company that’s going up against my bald-headed friend – you sure as heck better have meaning and passion! Otherwise, you’re dead in the water. The mad bean man will outsell you 10 to one.

Whether home-grown, Grandma’s secret sauce, or hand-baked fresh every weekend – take pride in what you do and make sure your beans are unique and better than everyone else’s. Even the smallest and simplest business idea can grow into an unfathomable success story, but it takes thinking and selling it differently, lots of passion and knowing what you stand for.

When you get this right, your customers will not only make efforts to seek you out, they will move from being mere customers to mad and loyal salespeople.

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Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales! a leading sales training and sales development specialist. He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.