{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"John Ruhlin: Giftology","description":"John Ruhlin, master gift-giver, owner of Ruhlin Group, and author of \u201cGiftology,\u201d teaches gifting strategies to drive sales growth. Today on the EO Podcast, John discusses how showing gratitude and appreciation (and knowing how and when!) will open doors, build relationships, and skyrocket your business to heights you never thought possible. Tune-in to learn how an Ohio farm boy became Cutco\u2019s greatest seller in history and now uses his Proven Process to take business relationships to the next level. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:33 \u2013 John is an \u201cOhio farm boy\u201d who became the greatest seller in Cutco\u2019s 68-year history by understanding the value of gift-giving and relationships 01:22 \u2013 John\u2019s \u201cBrooks Brothers experience\u201d opened more doors than $10M in advertising could ever do, and his principles of generosity led him to sell the largest deals of Cutco history out of 1.5 million reps and distributors 02:30 \u2013 He was gifting knives but also speaking around the country to sales and marketing teams about how to sell and build relationships in unconventional ways 02:39 \u2013 He teaches about focusing care on executive spouse, assistant, and kids 02:44 \u2013 Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and broadened gifting and strategy; how and what to give as gifts 03:09 \u2013 His team has created gift packages for large companies and pro teams; they serve and help mid-sized privately-owned companies to take them to the next level 03:20 \u2013 They have a proven process 04:13 \u2013 Everyone wants to be \u201cgreen,\u201d but putting your logo on a bunch of stuff from China that\u2019ll end up in a landfill isn\u2019t very green 04:45 \u2013 The book Giftology 05:20 \u2013 Story about John\u2019s engagement 06:08 \u2013 John had a rough spot in 2007-2008; he got engaged to his girlfriend at that time 06:30 \u2013 He decided to recreate The Notebook; she was living in St. Louis, he was in Ohio 07:11 \u2013 The Notebook summary 07:45 \u2013 He wanted to recreate The Notebook; he dressed as an old man and knew her flight so he\u2019d be on it while she was reading his recreated notebook on the plane 08:37 \u2013 She was supposed to get the notebook from his brother, who was also going to film the whole thing, everything was going as planned until John collapsed 08:47 \u2013 There was blood everywhere, they thought he was acting, FBI showed up because he was in disguise, he was unconscious, his girlfriend was watching 09:20 \u2013 They couldn\u2019t stabilize him; they shocked him and took him to the ICU, he wakes up the next day 09:58 \u2013 He got a low blood sugar seizure because he had cut out carbs; 4 years ago he realized that his wife doesn\u2019t like surprises and his \u201cawesome\u201d engagement story was more for himself than for her 11:18 \u2013 Moral: Most people give gifts how they\u2019d like to receive them, not the way the other person would like to get them 11:25 \u2013 How did Cutco put their best salesman onstage? 11:38 \u2013 Cutco is more of a sales training company with a culture and personal development component 11:58 \u2013 Top performers are put onstage to extract knowledge and learn; personal development training and growing took Cutco to another level 12:22 \u2013 At first, Cutco thought his success was fraud and he was getting audited; once they saw it was real they thought \u201cWhat if we could have 100 John Ruhlins?\u201d 13:04 \u2013 They still own a distributorship and move massive amounts of Cutco; he\u2019s still directly related with Cutco despite running Giftology 13:31 \u2013 They (Giftology) use product to drive revenue, sales, and loyalty 13:40 \u2013 In college, he was doing 1000 times more than the average Cutco rep; he went to companies that bought large amounts of product 14:38 \u2013 What triggered the idea to go to businesses? 14:50 \u2013 His mentor (his girlfriend\u2019s dad) was an attorney, connector, and very generous; he had his hands in everything in the community 15:32 \u2013 He pitched him to buy knives and dropped $2,000-3,000, and wanted to buy paring knives for all his clients 15:58 \u2013 Why paring knives? 16:17 \u2013 He said the reason is because, \u201cIf you take care of the family, everything else in business seems to take care of itself\u201d 16:27 \u2013 Paul was a master relationship builder and John realized he could use knives\/gifting as a unique way to stand out and build relationships and drive revenue 17:05 \u2013 Use gratitude as a competitive advantage in business 17:12 \u2013 John is a true farm-boy; he milked goats, split wood, baled hay, etc. 18:05 \u2013 John\u2019s parents got divorced when he was young, his mother got remarried when he was 7, and his step-dad helped on the farm 18:22 \u2013 His step-dad was a water engineer, tree trimmer, and ran the farm 18:45 \u2013 John\u2019s relationship with his real father 18:50 \u2013 He\u2019s been in the hospital for 4 years, his father worked for him for about a decade selling Cutco; he especially loved working with the Amish 20:13 \u2013 What drives John? 20:16 \u2013 Dad wounds, fear\/pain or opportunity; there are definitely some deep rooted things that have caused him to double-down or go the extra mile 20:52 \u2013 What is the Proven Process? 20:58 \u2013 A repeatable process year-round and establishing who you want to appreciate in your business 21:40 \u2013 Grow relationships by knowing who you are sending gifts to and the value of those people; gift accordingly 22:32 \u2013 He met with someone in banking who manages $50 billion dollars in relationships and they gave their clients a box of chocolates; the gift didn\u2019t match the value of the relationship 23:23 \u2013 Boiling down the Proven Process 23:23 \u2013 Identify the value of your relationships as strategically as you do any other part of your business; it\u2019s all about people and showing them that they matter 23:43 \u2013 As leaders, one of the most important things we can do is engage people with gratitude and appreciation; in gift form, it\u2019s a tangible reminder of that appreciation 24:08 \u2013 You need to tap into that emotion; we all make decisions emotionally then back it up with data and logic 24:35 \u2013 Don\u2019t send generic gifts 25:08 \u2013 How to do it 25:10 \u2013 Take your top 20% and determine what to reinvest (5% of net profit); concentrate your effort to do one really nice thing 26:24 \u2013 Tie in something that is important to them and connects to their circle (family\/assistant\/pets\/spouse); the paring knife example 26:48 \u2013 Know your people and their circles; sometimes pleasing the wife is a better way to leverage a \u201ccommon hot button\u201d 27:40 \u2013 Last year he spent $300,000 in gifts and $200,000 of it was knives; he sent knives to wives knowing that if he gets the wife, he has the husband, too 28:20 \u2013 Something original, thoughtful, and strategic creates a deeper impact; it acts as a trigger 29:15 \u2013 Gifts that aren\u2019t thought out can even have a negative consequence 29:54 \u2013 Gift for listeners: 10 Worst Gifts to Never Give 30:16 \u2013 In the Giftology book, he goes over great gift ideas like knives, leather portfolios; it doesn\u2019t have to be the sexiest gift, but it can be crazy-thoughtful 31:38 \u2013 It\u2019s not about the spending or the gift, but the thought behind it 32:10 \u2013 If you are interested in a story mug or making an order, contact John directly at john@ruhlingroup.com 32:42 \u2013 Cameron Herald\u2019s Brooks Brothers experience 33:08 \u2013 John offered Cameron dinner and a basketball game; Cameron wanted to shop at Brooks Brothers while he was in town 33:54 \u2013 His flight was delayed so he couldn\u2019t go shopping; John ordered one of everything at Brooks Brothers to have in Cameron\u2019s hotel room when he arrived, a $7,000 tab 34:32 \u2013 He went to the Ritz and they merchandised his whole room; he didn\u2019t want to go to dinner or the game at first, but after seeing it he was ready to talk\/do anything 35:25 \u2013 He got John his first $15,000 keynote and is John\u2019s advisor, friend, and mentor 36:10 \u2013 He connected the dots and figured out what John had done for him; it was silly, ballsy, and crazy...but it worked 36:50 \u2013 Cameron appreciated the experience and the thoughtfulness but didn\u2019t want John to buy it; the entire experience ended up costing $0 37:35 \u2013 Boxers or Briefs Key Points   Gift-giving correctly can lead to increased sales, profit, and loyalty. As leaders, one of the most important things we can do is engage people with gratitude and appreciation. We all act on emotion and follow it up with facts and data; use thoughtful and strategic gifts to tap into people\u2019s emotion while simultaneously expressing your gratitude. Resources Mentioned: John\u2019s book - Giftology John\u2019s email \u2013 john@ruhlingroup.com John\u2019s giveaway - 10 Worst Gifts to Never Give John\u2019s company \u2013 Ruhlin Group ","author_name":"EO 360\u00b0: A podcast by the Entrepreneurs\u2019 Organization","author_url":"https:\/\/entrepreneursorg.libsyn.com\/","html":"