In South Africa, national parks have a "shoot to kill" order for anyone caught poaching a rhinoceros. Last year, nearly 10% of the black rhinos in the world were killed for their horns.

On the first day of our safari, we didn't see one. Hoping to catch a glimpse of these nocturnal and increasingly rare beasts, we took a night ride. After searching for 2.5 hours to no avail, we finally headed back to the lodge.

 When we took a sharp turn in the hills, we found ourselves right on the tail of a black rhino. He trotted down the road in front of our jeep for a few seconds before veering off into the darkness.

The next day we bumped into a white rhino momma and her little baby who was practically glued to her side. Upon seeing us, they quickly moved out of sight accompanied by their bird friends. Our guide explained that these red-billed oxpeckers had a special symbiotic relationship with the rhinos.

What's a symbiotic relationship? It's one where all parties involved benefit from being together. Ticks and parasites can drive a rhinoceros crazy, but oxpeckers love to eat them. So, essentially, when they're together it's a relationship made in heaven.

So what can we learn about relationships from the rhino? Find other sales species who like to feed off the same kind of prospects that you do.

Okay. I know that sounds stupid. But what I'm trying to say is if you're calling on Sales VPs, establish relationships with other vendors who contact the same decision maker.

If you're calling on architects or engineers, who else is calling on them? If you're meeting with clinic managers or general managers, who else do they meet with?

Do you see where I'm going with this? Think about the possibilities of pulling together your own group of sellers who call on the same decision makers that you do.

You could share insider information about targeted accounts, giving you a leg up over your competition.

You could bring each other in to work on complementary parts of a larger project, giving you more opportunities with less effort.

You could put on joint events, giving you maximum exposure by leveraging each others' connections and resources.

You could create new revenue streams (e.g., referral fees, affiliate programs) that weren't possible without the collaboration.

In short, you could get more business -- if you chose to go this relationship route.

The truth is, I've had symbiotic partners for years. They've helped me when my company was small and floundering -- and I've helped them. As I've grown, my partners have changed. But they've always contributed to my top line sales -- and I've contributed to theirs.

So be a rhinoceros. Go find yourself a symbiotic partner --  or three or five. It's the easiest way to grow your business exponentially and have fun doing it.