Podcasts about ruhlin group

John Ruhlin (1980–2024) was an American entrepreneur, speaker, and author best known for pioneering the concept of strategic gifting in business. He founded The Ruhlin Group, a firm specializing in personalized corporate gift strategies, and authored the best-selling book Giftology, which emphasizes the power of generosity to build lasting relationships. John began his career as a top sales representative for Cutco Cutlery, where he developed innovative approaches to client engagement. He passed away suddenly in August 2024 at 44, leaving a legacy of kindness and a transformative approach to business relationships.​ In this episode… Standing out in business is more challenging than ever. With overflowing inboxes, advertising fatigue, and increasingly transactional relationships, how can you break through the noise and cultivate genuine, lasting connections with clients and partners? John Ruhlin, author and expert on strategic gifting, shares how intentional, personalized gift-giving can become a powerful business development tool. He explains that gifting is often done wrong — too promotional, poorly timed, or lacking personal relevance. He offers actionable strategies, like making the gift about the recipient (not your brand), targeting the recipient's inner circle, and sending gifts during off-peak times to avoid holiday clutter. John also emphasizes using thoughtful research to personalize gifts and create memorable touchpoints that turn business relationships into emotional connections. In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz interviews John Ruhlin, Founder of The Ruhlin Group, about the art and science of strategic gifting. John shares how meaningful gifting builds loyalty and generates referrals. He also discusses why timing matters more than cost, how to win over executive gatekeepers, and what happens when a gift goes hilariously wrong.

Dave is back with another episode from the archives. In this episode, Dave has a chat with John Ruhlin, who has unfortunately passed away.   John Ruhlin, master gift-giver, owner of Ruhlin Group, and author of “Giftology,” teaches gifting strategies to drive sales growth. John discusses 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's greatest seller in history and how Proven Process can take business relationships to the next level.

John Ruhlin is the late founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar's Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. John's unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 Million reps). Prior to his passing, he spoke widely about strategic gifting and relationship building and helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision-makers. I'm so honored to share my conversation with the late John Ruhlin with you this week; our discussion is all about the importance of generosity and relationship-building in business. John started by sharing his experiences growing up in a small town, how he came to pursue entrepreneurship, and shares stories of a mentor he had as a young man who taught him the value of building genuine relationships with clients, employees, and their families, and how it led to his business success. He also dives into the importance of giving without expectations and being thoughtful and intentional to foster meaningful connections.  “Show up generously in all areas.” - John Ruhlin “A physical gift is a representation of the value you place on a relationship.” - John Ruhlin  “It's so unusual for somebody to send something to another person, not because they wanted something needed something did something but just to based upon the relationship.” -  John Ruhlin This Week on The Wow Factor: How John learned that generosity and relationship-building are key to success in business Why John used Cutco knives to build relationships and generate leads to become the number one rep in the company's history How John's unique approach of combining thoughtful gifts and personalized notes helped him secure meetings with CEOs at the beginning of his career The mentor that John had as a young man who modeled generosity and thoughtfulness The concept of Giftology and how you can serve businesses of all sizes by modeling generosity and thoughtfulness towards employees, spouses, and suppliers Why it's important to show gratitude and appreciation in business relationships rather than tying it to specific transactions or milestones The methodology John used for surprising and delighting clients and employees through planned random acts of kindness Why the worst gifts to give include logoed clothing and gift cards because they lack emotional connection and depth John emphasizes the value of creating positive experiences for clients' inner circles The importance of understanding human needs and desires when giving gifts, especially when you're giving at scale John Ruhlin's Words of Wisdom: Always give more than is reasonable without the expectation of receiving anything in return. Connect with John Ruhlin's team:  Giftology Group  “Referals Without Asking” (A premier, NO COST mini-course. Learn our pillar methods.) Connect with The WOW Factor: The WOW Factor Website Connect with Brad Formsma via email Brad Formsma on LinkedIn Brad Formsma on Instagram Brad Formsma on Facebook Brad Formsma on Twitter  

In this unique episode of the Second in Command podcast, Cameron is joined by Rod Neuenschwander, co-founder of Gift·Ology with the late John Ruhlin, author of “Giftology.”During the conversation, Rod shares key lessons learned from years of experience in leadership and organizational growth. You'll discover the value of preparing successors early on to ensure the longevity of a company's vision and culture. Cameron and Rod explore how documenting personal operating systems and thought processes can enhance team collaboration and ensure others understand leadership decisions. You'll hear how Rod, early in his career, created a "ruling way" to clarify his decision-making style, allowing others to better align with his approach.This episode offers a more dynamic approach to business, combining steady leadership with bold creativity, a blend that's essential to navigating complex business environments.If you've enjoyed this episode of the Second in Command podcast, be sure to leave a review and subscribe today!Enjoy!In This Episode You'll Learn:How Rod met John Ruhlin (the late co-founder) and their initial business ventures. (11:39)Rod's role as the brains behind Gift·Ology, which allowed John Ruhlin (the late co-founder) to focus on his strengths. (19:10)The initial emotional impact of John's passing and the need for a logical plan. (24:32)The concept of "The Ruling Way" and how it helped Rod document his thought process. (35:00)And much more...Resources:Subscribe, Rate & ReviewI'd love you to subscribe to the podcast and leave an honest rating & review. This will encourage others to listen and grow as a community.YouTube - Second In Command Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@secondincommandpodcast YouTube - Cameron Herold Leadership - https://www.youtube.com/@CameronHerold COO Alliance - https://cooalliance.com/ Cameron's newest book - The Second In Command - Unleash The Power Of Your COOCameron's Online Leadership Course - https://investinyourleaders.com/ch Cameron's Website - https://cameronherold.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cameron_herold_cooalliance/ Paul Graham article ‘Founder Mode'Connect with Cameron: Website | LinkedInConnect with Rod: Website | LinkedIn

Earlier this week, the world lost a kind and generous soul--John Ruhlin, who died suddenly while on vacation with his family. John was best known as the gifting guru; his company, The Ruhlin Group, helps some of the world's largest companies design thoughtful, impactful strategies for using gifting to forge relationships with clients and partners. He was also the author of Giftology which shared his philosophy of radical generosity, which shaped his interaction with everyone in his personal and professional life. John was also a friend of the show--he was one of the first Elevate Podcast guests, and one of its first repeat guests. We are honoring John's legacy by republishing one of his previous appearances on the show, recorded back in 2020. You'll hear John's remarkable gifting philosophy and quickly understand why he made such an extraordinary impact on others in his tragically short life. More About John The Ruhlin Group Giftology by John Ruhlin Friday Forward - Giving Legacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Ruhlin is the Co-founder of Giftology Group and Ruhlin Group, which are gift strategy and logistics companies. He is also the author of Giftology and the #1 all-time distributor of Cutco Knives in its 65-plus year history. As a master gift-giver, John forges lifetime relationships while generating enormous returns for his clients. His impressive list of clients includes the Chicago Cubs, Orlando Magic, the Chicago Bears, and many top entrepreneurs, including Darren Hardy and Cameron Hould.  In this episode: Sending thoughtfully chosen gifts can profoundly impact your business relationships. Consider the lasting impression you can create with your clients and network. How can you ensure these gestures authentically resonate with the receiver rather than coming off as clichéd? Gifting strategist John Ruhlin has developed a proven gift-giving process that strengthens relationships with clients and referral partners. Instead of sending gifts for momentous occasions, John emphasizes giving gifts during unexpected times to showcase genuine care beyond obligation. He also advises against branding the gifts with your logo to ensure they capture the recipients' enjoyment rather than serve your marketing strategy. Personalized gifts tailored to your recipients' preferences enhances the relationship-building process and creates loyal customers and partners. In today's Systems Simplified episode, Adi Klevit welcomes John Ruhlin, the Co-founder of Giftology Group, who talks about leveraging customized gifting as a powerful business-building tool. John provides actionable insights into developing a giving philosophy that can systematize and maximize referrals, deepen client loyalty, and foster robust business networks.

Are the gifts you are giving to people just turning them off? John Ruhlin joins the show today to teach us about good, and bad, gift giving. In the business world, gifts can be a great way to build and maintain important relationships. But they can backfire if you have not invested the intentionality that the process deserves. John's new book, “Giftology,” breaks it all down.John Ruhlin got his start selling Cutco knives in order to pay for med school. There, he developed his own strategy and rose to be Cutco's #1 knifes sales representative. Now, as the founder of the Ruhlin Group, John advises companies and entrepreneurs on gift giving. He has worked with the Chicago Cubs, Morgan Stanley, Keller Williams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Shell, Caesars Palace and many more organizations and individuals looking to build meaningful relationships through giving gifts.Tune into this episode to learn concrete tips on how to pick good gifts, including ones that are scalable and will not break the bank. You will also learn about how to put together a proactive strategy, including the timing of gifts and how much to invest in them. Gift giving is a powerful relationship-building tool; learn how to use it skillfully.Check out John Ruhlin's book, "Giftology," today. Through poignant personal stories and data-backed evidence, Ruhlin breaks down how you can master the magic of Giftology.To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods.We talk about:Making sure your gift is personalized and meaningfulGifts as expressions of gratitude, not expected reciprocation Common gift giving mistakes to watch out forLinks & Tools from This Episode:Read John Ruhlin's Book, “Giftology”Learn more at GiftologyGroup.comFollow John on Instagram: @JohnRuhlinFree ResourcesWant to be a guest or share feedback? Email podcast@the1thing.com***Looking to start your next big thing?One of the first steps to take when building your brand or business is creating a website. But if you're no web developer or can't hire one, don't worry–Hostinger is here to help. They offer affordable hosting solutions, emphasizing technological innovation and accessibility. They make it easy to establish an online presence using cutting-edge technologies like an AI assistant aimed at enhancing the user experience.If you're ready to take your business online, visit Hostinger.com/onething and use code ONETHING for 10% off.***Produced by NOVA MediaMentioned in this episode:Green ChefGo to greenchef.com/60onepod and use code 60onepod to get 60% off, plus 20% off your next two months.

When giving gifts, the gift must match your relationship with your recipient or your brand. In this episode, John Rulin talks about the power of gift-giving in building strong relationships in business and in life and that the outcomes we want in business, such as referrals, deal flow, access, retention, and loyalty, are driven by how we show up for people.He also talks about how showing up for families in uncommon ways can lead to being liked, loved, trusted, and top of mind, which also leads to referrals. Listen in as John shares his book ‘Giftology' and how it's helping people to learn the systems and process of the uncommon ways to show up for your most valuable relationships. Catch us now to know more about how to add value with both the gifts you give and the doors of opportunity you open!Key Points from This Episode:John shares a little bit of a backstory about who he is.John talks about his book, Giftology, and how it's helping people to show up in uncommon ways for their most-valued relationships.How do relationships change your business, bring capital, and open pocket deal doors nobody has access to?The importance of showing up in your business.Cameron Harold's gift-giving strategy.Thoughtful gift-giving is essential in building and maintaining business relationships.John's opinion about Chet Holmes' "Lumpy mail" strategy.What prompted John to write the book Giftology?The unique artifact mugs John and his wife use for gifts.Step two after designing an intentional and uncommon gift for Cameron Harold.Selling training versus selling products.The power of intentionality in business.Links MentionedGiftology Book by John RuhlinMiracle Morning BookGiftology Group WebsiteAbout John RuhlinJohn will tell you, “how you love and treat people will open more doors than you can imagine.” In fact, one gifting experience (Brooks Brother experiment) has opened more doors than $10 Million in advertising could ever do.After applying principles of generosity learned from “Attorney Paul,” John started selling the largest deals in Cutco history out of 1.5 million other reps and distributors. Yes. 1.5 million. Not only was he gifting knives but he was being asked to speak on stages around the country to teach sales and marketing teams how to build relationships in unconventional ways. Simple but powerful things like focusing your care on the executive's spouse, the assistant, and kids.Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and quickly broadened gifting options and strategies, but many of the original principles never changed. Knowing how and when to give gifts is just as important as what to gift. These “minor” details and expert knowledge have been tested and proven over a decade to bring a guaranteed “wow” to any industry from financial services to manufacturing widgets.Today John and his team have created gift packages for some of the largest companies and pro sports teams in the world, but their mission and heart is to serve and take relationships for mid-sized, privately owned businesses to a new level using their Proven Process.After spending a long time deliberating on things like is self-publishing a book a good idea, John decided to write a book that would share his ideology and the way he works in his industry to reach new levels of success. 

Put away the pumpkin spice and bust out that peppermint syrup because it's time for a special holiday gifting edition of the Rainmaker Multiplier On-Demand podcast, Coffee Break with C2P. Dave Alison, CFP®️, EA, BPC, hosts with guest baristas: John Ruhlin, Founder of Ruhlin Group and author of Giftology, and Julie Manning, RICP, Founder and CEO of Keystone Financial Planning, LLC.

John Ruhlin will tell you, “how you love and treat people will open more doors than you can imagine.” In fact, one gifting experience (Brooks Brother experiment) has opened more doors than $10 Million in advertising could ever do. After applying principles of generosity learned from “Attorney Paul,” John started selling the largest deals in Cutco history out of 1.5 million other reps and distributors. Yes. 1.5 million. Not only was he gifting knives but he was being asked to speak on stages around the country to teach sales and marketing teams how to build relationships in unconventional ways. Simple but powerful things like focusing your care on the executive's spouse, the assistant, and kids. Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and quickly broadened gifting options and strategies, but many of the original principles never changed. Knowing how and when to give gifts is just as important as what to gift. These “minor” details and expert knowledge have been tested and proven over a decade to bring a guaranteed “wow” to any industry from financial services to manufacturing widgets. Today John and his team have created gift packages for some of the largest companies and pro sports teams in the world, but their mission and heart is to serve and take relationships for mid-sized, privately owned businesses to a new level using their Proven Process. After spending a long time deliberating on things like is self publishing a book a good idea, John decided to write a book that would share his ideology and the way he works in his industry to reach new levels of success. But sure to check out John's new book, Giftology here: giftologybook.com

John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar's Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. John's unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 Million reps). He now speaks widely about strategic gifting and relationship building and helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision makers. John is an author of the book "Giftology," how you can reach relationship retention and growth through constant gratitude. Today on the show, Eric and John get into several different topics, including: (2:30-11:05) - Career journey. John's pivot into the business world (11:05-13:20) - Take care of the family (13:20-19:45) - Keep showing up (19:45-24:25) - How to approach big business. Gift giving from professional sports franchises (24:25-32:15) - Personalized gift ideas (32:15-39:10) - Family gift expectations. Morning routine. And much more. Rate, review and subscribe to the show today! Preorder Eric's new book "Tackle What's Next" today: https://ericwoodmedia.com/book/ For more information about out sponsors today: https://papsjerky.com/

There is no denying that music has the power to transform us. We often listen to music that matches our emotional state, but can we also leverage music to alter our state to the level of happiness we seek?   For episode five of our seven-episode series on The Leader's Playlist, I am thrilled to welcome John Ruhlin, founder of the Ruhlin Group and author of Giftology, to talk about how and why music can heal us, and even make us a more generous leader as well.   Music directly connects with your brain and your memories. It helps us recall and relive particular emotions, connects both sides of our brains, and inspires us to move our bodies. This is why the new playlist we create allows us to shift our actions and our reactions.   Music really does have the power to make you a better leader. Tune into this episode to learn more.

It all started with a knife… After applying the principles of generosity he learned from “Attorney Paul”, John became one of Cutco's most successful sales representatives with the largest deals in the history of the company. This success led him to be asked to speak on stages to teach sales and marketing teams across the country how to build relationships in unconventional ways. In 2000, the Ruhlin Group began to offer clients gifting options and strategies so they could take their businesses to the next level using his Proven Process. In this episode, John and I discuss that process and how he came to work with some of the largest companies and pro sports teams in the world. To learn more about John, take one of his courses, or book him to speak at your next event, visit https://johnruhlin.com/ To purchase John Ruhlin's book “Giftology”: https://giftologygroup.com/giftologybook/

Ruhlin started the Ruhlin Group in 2000. On this episode of Circuit of Success, Brett welcomes expert salesman and author John Ruhlin (johnruhlin.com). John tells us about his company setting new standards in the world of gifting and logistics, authoring the New York Times bestseller Giftology, and how giving gifts can change your professional life. Join us for... The post John Ruhlin Joins the Show! appeared first on The Circuit of Success with Brett Gilliland.

In today's episode, we cover the art of gift giving with John Ruhlin. John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of Ruhlin Group, the master of building businesses by giving gifts, and the author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention. Giving the right gift can radically strengthen any personal or business relationship, but what questions should you ask when thinking about the right gift for someone, what gifts should you avoid at all cost, and when is the right time to give a gift? What to Listen For Introduction – 0:00 Who do people often overlook when it comes to building and maintaining relationships? What can you do to make gift giving feel less like a transaction and more like a natural part of relationship building? How can you make gift giving a game changer for all of your personal and professional relationships? The secret to giving gifts that change your life – 13:17 How much money should you set aside for giving gifts every year and why do you need to plan for it? What is the ultimate recipe for gift giving and what should you think about when giving gifts? Examples of business changing gifts – 26:23 What crucial questions should you think about when personalizing a gift for someone? How should you start giving gifts if it's not something you're used to doing? What types of gifts should you never send? Tips for personal gift giving – 45:36 What gifts can you give to deepen your personal relationships? The right gift can change someone's life and create a memory that will last forever. But how can you figure out what that gift might be? For one, it must be meaningful to the receiver, and what things in a person's life are likely to be the most meaningful? In many cases, it's our values and our families, so think about how you might personalize an item that person uses or sees everyday and incorporate something related to their values or family. An example? How about a knife set in which each knife is engraved with a different favorite quote of theirs. A Word From Our Sponsors Do you LOVE the toolbox episodes? Did you know that every week we give a LIVE mini-toolbox lesson inside our Private Facebook Group? Best of all it is FREE to join. Join today and get access to all of our live training and level up your communication, leadership, influence and persuasion skills. With 14,000 members it's a great place to network, learn and overcome any obstacle that's in your way. Did you know that you can get the whole Art of Charm catalogue when you subscribe to Stitcher Premium using our link? That's 15 years of podcasts featuring expert guests and toolbox episodes! Sign up today and use Code “CHARM” to get a free month! Resources from this Episode The Top 10 Gifts You Should NEVER Give John Ruhlin's website Giftology website Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention by Josh Ruhlin Check in with AJ and Johnny! AJ on Instagram Johnny on Instagram The Art of Charm on Instagram The Art of Charm on YouTube

Corporate gifting is nothing new. For years, businesses have been branding coffee mugs, hats, and koozies and giving them away to potential clients. But John Ruhlin goes next level when it comes to gifting. In this episode, Tricia and LZ chat with Ruhlin, a gifted speaker, author of Giftology, and founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift strategy, and logistics company. He'll talk about how he uses high-end gifts customized to his clients to cut through the noise, increase referrals, and strengthen retention. He tells you how to give, what to give, when is the best time to give, and how to make a giving strategy that has the most impact on your clients. Welcome to episode 59 of One Next Step.

Guest Bio:John will tell you, “how you love and treat people will open more doors than you can imagine.” In fact, one gifting experience (Brooks Brother experiment) has opened more doors than $10 Million in advertising could ever do.After applying principles of generosity learned from “Attorney Paul,” John started selling the largest deals in Cutco history out of 1.5 million other reps and distributors. Yes. 1.5 million. Not only was he gifting knives but he was being asked to speak on stages around the country to teach sales and marketing teams how to build relationships in unconventional ways. Simple but powerful things like focusing your care on the executive's spouse, the assistant, and kids.Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and quickly broadened gifting options and strategies, but many of the original principles never changed. Knowing how and when to give gifts is just as important as what to gift. These “minor” details and expert knowledge have been tested and proven over a decade to bring a guaranteed “wow” to any industry from financial services to manufacturing widgets.Today John and his team have created gift packages for some of the largest companies and pro sports teams in the world, but their mission and heart is to serve and take relationships for mid-sized, privately owned businesses to a new level using their Proven Process.After spending a long time deliberating on things like is self publishing a book a good idea, John decided to write a book that would share his ideology and the way he works in his industry to reach new levels of success. But sure to check out John's new book, Giftology here: giftologybook.com

This man has completely REWROTE my concept of gift giving with his philosophy of Radical Generosity. It's time to stop giving underwhelming gifts that cost us money and actually damage our relationships with clients, customers, and employees. John Ruhlin is the creator of Gift·ology, the strategy of maximizing customer loyalty and turning clients into active referral machines. It's about getting out of the transaction business and getting into the relationship business. It's about going all in on PEOPLE! If you want to stop wasting money and start dropping love bombs, click play! About The Guest:John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar's Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. John's unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 Million reps). He now speaks widely about strategic gifting and relationship building and helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision makers. Finding John Ruhlin:Website: https://giftologygroup.com/ John's website: https://johnruhlin.com/ For the Gift·ology Playbook: Giftologysystem.com For an Artifact Mug: https://artifactmug.com/ Read Giftology Contact John at john@giftologygroup.com Twitter: @ruhlin To inquire about my coaching program opportunity visit https://mentorship.heathermonahan.com/ Review this podcast on Apple Podcast using this LINK and when you DM me the screen shot, I buy you my $299 video course as a thank you! My book Confidence Creator is available now! get it right HERE If you are looking for more tips you can download my free E-book at my website and thank you! https://heathermonahan.com *If you'd like to ask a question and be featured during the wrap up segment of Creating Confidence, contact Heather Monahan directly through her website and don't forget to subscribe to the mailing list so you don't skip a beat to all things Confidence Creating! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview John Ruhlin. John is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company. He's also the author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Client Retention.

In this episode, John talks with John Ruhlin - an international keynote speaker, advisor, author of the book Giftology, co-founder of Ruhlin Group and Giftology Group, husband and dad. John has been featured in Huffington Post, Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur. His book Giftology teaches the message of inspiring people to be generous as leaders. Listen to this episode to learn more: [02:08] - John’s backstory [03:15] - One of the best books on relationships [09:16] - The core of sales [10:08] - The ripple effect of paying attention to people [15:08] - About his book Giftology [17:43] - What is appealing to a potential client [23:07] - Why men struggle in their careers [27:15] - The most important you’ll ever have [29:00] - Why most people can’t keep their clients [30:48] - How John improves his relationships at home [34:25] - The biggest gift for your significant other [38:20] - Involve your kids in household chores [39:00] - The era when both men and women were at home [40:34] - How to become expert gift-givers [43:44] - What John does to be a better person QUOTES: “We all crave love.” “Most people speak the language that they like to receive.” “Life is determined by relationships. Relationships with clients, employees, friends, mentors, advisors.” “Scale your thoughtfulness.” “Gifting works!” “Often a handwritten note is just as powerful as the gift because it provides the thoughtfulness, the meaning, and the context from one human to another.” “How we show up for these relationships is what determines whether or not the relationship is successful or not … and that goes for business and personal.” “Selling is serving.” “When you are taking care of people, when you are interested in people, selling takes care of itself.” “I love coming up with crazy stuff for my wife. Sometimes I strike out, even as the Giftologist. You want to talk about high expectations?!” “Being unique is not a bad thing. It’s a very desirable thing.” “As human beings, when somebody does something nice for us, we often want to reciprocate and come back to that person.” “Look for opportunities to serve without fanfare.” “My purpose is to inspire generosity.” USEFUL RESOURCES:   https://johnruhlin.com/  https://giftologygroup.com/  https://www.instagram.com/johnruhlin  https://www.facebook.com/johnruhlinjr  https://twitter.com/ruhlin  https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruhlin  https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@johnruhlin   https://tinyurl.com/TheWayoftheSuperiorManBook  https://tinyurl.com/TheWimHoffMethodBook  CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://thejohnhulen.com  Clubhouse - https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@johnhulen  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen  Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen  EPISODE CREDITS Intro music provided by Tony Palacios - https://www.instagram.com/tonytonedog/  Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/ 

John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group, a gift strategy and logistics company that helps their clients send world-class gifts that stand out, increase referrals, and strengthen retention with their clients, employees and prospects. It all started when John began applying the principles of generosity at Cutco and started making the largest deals out of all of their 1.5 million reps and distributors. Suddenly he wasn't just selling knives, people were asking him to speak on stage and teach their sales and marketing teams. John took those principles of giving that made him so successful at Cutco and used them to build the Ruhlin Group and write his own book, Giftology. In this episode, John discusses the path that led him to where he is now and how to put the methods of generosity that he lays out in Giftology to work for you. Timestamps:0:47: Introduction 3:21: John and Nick discuss their upbringing and the driving factors for becoming an entrepreneur 11:06: John talks about his experience with Cutco and how it has helped him as an entrepreneur 14:59: John talks about learning to work through the hard things to reach success 18:04: John recounts a pivotal moment in his career and a lesson in giving 27:34: John and Nick discuss the importance of giving without expectations in business 31:23: John and Nick talk about practical luxuries and buying top-of-class no matter what your budget is 37:42: John discusses the connection in his book between the bible and giving 42:50: Why it's hard to ask employees to provide a first-class experience if they've never had one themselves and John's solution to this problem 48:46: John explains how to begin to use his methods laid out in his book "Giftology" Resources:https://johnruhlin.com/ (https://johnruhlin.com/) https://twitter.com/ruhlin (John on Twitter) Connect With Nick Nanton:http://www.nicknanton.com/ (Website) https://www.facebook.com/Nicknanton (Facebook) http://twitter.com/nicknanton (Twitter) https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicknanton (LinkedIn) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWOvnpNMTX4pKVIi234pOTg (YouTube)

John Ruhlin has turned giving gifts into an art form. From humble beginnings as a Cutco knife salesman, he launched The Ruhlin Group - an elite business relationship building program disguised as a gifting service. Now a globally renowned speaker with his best-selling book, Giftology, John Ruhlin wants to teach the world not only how and when to give gifts, but why.Today, John shares his inspiring story that took from Ohio farm boy to hugely successful founder. Plus, we get to the bottom of why slapping your logo on a coffee mug is just about the worst gift John can think of!What's in This Episode: Who is John Ruhlin? How John become the best seller in Cutco's history Which company made a mistake when giving out Rolexes? The ROR: what is return on relationship? Giftology for attorneys: which clients you should really nurture Reminders on relationship building for 2020 and beyond Double your success: gifting around the recipient What should you NEVER give your employees

This episode of the #RockstarsRocking podcast features my friend and mentor from a far, John Ruhlin, Co-Founder of Ruhlin Group and Giftology Group, out of the greater St. Louis area. I first met John at an annual industrywide conference, where John was the marquee speaker hired to rock the room, and boy did he rock the room! His keynote was ...

Giftology My interview with John Ruhlin discussing the power of giving. Enjoy! Guest Bio. John went from farm boy to the greatest sellers in Cutco’s 68-year history by understanding the value of gift-giving and relationships. John will tell you, “how you love and treat people will open more doors than you can imagine.” John learnt the principles of generosity from “Attorney Paul,” and started selling the largest deals in Cutco’s history. Not only was he gifting knives but he was being asked to speak on stages around the country to teach sales and marketing teams how to build relationships in unconventional ways. Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and quickly broadened gifting options and strategies, but many of the original principles never changed. Knowing how and when to give gifts is just as important as what to gift. These minor details have been tested and proven over a decade to bring a guaranteed “wow” to any industry from financial services to manufacturing widgets. John and his company work with many large companies across a vast array of fields teaching them how to incorporate a gift-giving strategy into their business to grow their success. In this interview, John shares the principles and ideas behind gift-giving.

In this panel, Ellis is joined by several CEO's who have been leading and building businesses for decades. There is well over 100+ years of experience represented. Guests include: Vinnie Fisher, CEO of Fully AccountableJohn Ruhlin, CEO of The Ruhlin Group and author of "Giftology"Jeff Heck, CEO of Monday Night BrewingMike Sharrow, CEO of the C12 GroupNoah Elias, CEO of Noah Studios IncPam Jordan, Profit First ProfessionalJoey Gilkey, CEO of Tribe Outbound You can purchase the full recordings of the KC Summit at kcsummit2020.com

We have a special episode for you today as we close out the decade. A best of 10 podcast episodes from the Scaling Up Podcast that our listeners and production crew have loved over the years! Happy New Year!   Stacy Bare is a veteran of the Iraq war and is the Founder of Bare LLC, a consulting firm working to grow healthy organizations, people, and places through health and adventure. He is also the Founder of Adventure Not War, which aims to climb, ski, and adventure in places veterans have fought in.   Brian Solis is a digital analyst and anthropologist, where he studies disruptive technology and how it impacts the market, society, and individuals. He is also a keynote speaker and the author of eight books. Brian became a digital anthropologist in the late ’90s to study how emerging technologies are changing our society and our behaviors. The goal was to understand these changes so that new technology would have a positive impact on us and not a negative one.   Nick Nanton is a four-time Emmy Award Winning Director, Producer, and Filmmaker. A master storyteller, Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and is the author of StorySelling. On today’s podcast, Nick and I dive right into the art of storytelling and how to tell your story in a compelling and engaging way.   John Ruhlin is the author of GIFTOLOGY: The Art & Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through The Noise & Drive Referrals and founder of the Ruhlin Group. There are an art and science to using gifts to cut through the noise and drive real referrals to your business. In this episode, John discusses how to use gifts to scale your business and increase referrals.   John Ratliff first applied The Scaling Up Rockefeller Habits when he was the Founder/CEO of Appletree Answers. He grew it from a relatively small company in 1995 to 700 employees, before selling it in 2012. Today, he is the Managing Director of STS Capital Partners and sits down with Bill to discuss our overall mental health and how to combat depression when you’re sitting at the top.   Verne Harnish is the author of Scaling Up, Founder and CEO of Gazelles. He is also co-founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and the Birthing of Giants.   Morra Aarons-Mele is the founder of award-winning digital agency Women Online and its database of women influencers, The Mission List. She is an internet marketer who has helped launched online campaigns for world leaders and organizations including the United Nations, Malala Fund, Hillary Clinton for President, President Obama, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Morra is also the author of Hiding in the Bathroom.   Ron Lovett is an author, entrepreneur, and leader with a passion for change. He is the Founder of Connolly Owens, where he and his team build companies with a purpose. They teach companies how to create accountability so that their entire team is focused on the same company goals.   Lara Hodgson is the co-founder, president, and CEO of NOW Corp. She also serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School. NOW Corp is the company she co-founded to free small businesses from the burden of funding trade credit and to enable small business growth. The concept for NOW Corp’s NOWaccount payment system stems from the challenges Lara faced when growing her manufacturing business, Nourish.   Carl Gould is an entrepreneur and business growth expert. Carl has built three multi-million dollar businesses by the age of 40, has mentored the launch of over 5,000 businesses and has trained and certified over 7,000 business coaches in 35 countries.   Interview Links: “Stacy Bare — Adventure Not War” “Brian Solis — Live a Happier, More Productive Life” “Nick Nanton — ‘Storyselling’ – How to Tell Your Personal Story” “John Ruhlin — The Strategic Way to Use Gifting” “John Ratliff — It’s Lonely at the Top: Your Work and Your Mental Health” “Verne Harnish — The Biggest Mistakes in Scaling Up” “Morra Aarons-Mele — How to Network and Show up While Being An Introverted Leader” “Ron Lovett — Remove Mid-Level Management Through Task Mapping” “Lara Hodgson — How Lacking Resources Generates Innovation” “Carl Gould — Get More Customers Without Compromising on Price”   Resources: Scaling Up Workshop: Interested in attending one of our workshops? We have a few $100 discounts for our loyal podcast listeners!Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshop: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops. Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then head over to iTunes and leave a review. Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Gazelles Coaching, on how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. My name is Bill Gallagher, host of the Scaling Up Business Podcast and a leading Gazelles Coach. Gazelles is the term we use for fast-growing companies.   We help leadership teams with 4 Decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth success. Scaling Up for Gazelles companies is based on the Rockefeller Habits 2.0 (from Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits).  

John Ruhlin is THE gifting guy. He’s the author of Giftology, speaker and founder of Ruhlin Group where he consults companies on how to level up their gifting. John understands the value of relationships, and he emphasizes how a personalized gift can create meaningful connections with people in your network. Not all of us can afford to buy a personalized gift for every person that has helped along the way and that’s okay. But we can all write a letter. “It’s not about spending the most money…I’ll spend $9 on handwritten notes that people never forget,” said John. After listening, I challenge you to write a handwritten note to someone in your life and take thirty minutes to express your appreciation. These connections will be the links to your passion career. Download my podcast interview with John Ruhlin here on iTunes!  Once you’re inspired by John’s story we would love to read your review.http://bit.ly/AmandaNachmanPodcast  

Connect with us! Facebook: www.facebook.com/advanceyourreach Website: advanceyourreach.com Email: info@insidethegreenroompodcast.com  Welcome, John Ruhlin, Inside the Greenroom!  John’s unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 million reps). He now helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision-makers through gifting – small gestures that make a BIG impact.  In this episode, we discuss the best practices for creating wins for both the meeting planner and the speaker. John Ruhlin, not only produces his events but is also a featured keynote speaker at other major events, commanding fees of $25,000 domestically to over $50,000 internationally! We also discuss prospecting strategies, bartering fees, building relationships with clients, and small “ninja tips” that ultimately make a big difference.  John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Bulls, Wells Fargo, Caesars Entertainment, the Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies.    P.S. - Want a free copy of John’s AMAZING Giftology book? Tell us what your dream stage is! Simply go to Advance Your Reach’s Facebook Page, tag me @PeteVargas and say “Pete, I heard you on John Ruhlin’s podcast and my dream stage is ___.” We’re going to give away a FREE copy of Giftology for the first 10 people who tag me and share their dream stage. I’ve given away hundreds of copies of this book before, and I want to give away 10 more, because it’s just that amazing!   We also cover: The positive traits John Ruhlin looks for in the speakers he selects for his events The “red flags” to look out for that cause John to say, “I never want to be part of that event again!”  Ninja tips for meeting planners on how to serve as a “matchmaker” and be able to orchestrate a seemingly serendipitous relationship among the attendees  Why you should never “nickel and dime” your speakers when it comes to travel fees, hotel rooms, and other types of accommodations How to make a lasting impression on the speakers you invite to your events (note: John admits he’d be willing to cut his speaking fee in half if meeting planners follow these principles!) Where the GOLDMINE is for featured speakers at events and how meeting planners can assist in facilitating the best possible results When you should barter your entire fee as a speaker  How to create a “triple win” among the meeting planner, yourself, and the audience The “Proverbs mentality” that helped John Ruhlin command keynote fees of $25,000 domestically, and $50,000 internationally A lesser-known, but highly-effective place you can redirect your marketing budget to, so that you can make a HUGE impact on your clients and customers Packaging matters! Why John sends clients $100 books The percentage of revenue John invests BACK into his relationships, and how this affects his business And much more!  Mentioned Resources: Giftology book  Giftologyplan.com Free Resource: giftologygroup.com/giftologyplan Facebook johnruhlin.com giftologygroup.com Connect with John Ruhlin: Guest Contact Info:  Website: http://halelrod.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MyTMMCommunity/ Email: halelrod@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hal_elrod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HalElrod   Speakers That have Impacted John’s Life: - Tom Searcy(Close the deal like warren buffet) believed in me before I believed in myself. - Jeff Piken (who wrote the forward for gift logy Events that have made an Impact on Johns Life:  - Advisors Excel - Baby Bathwater   Up and Coming Events that People Need to know about:  - Genius Network - War Room - Mastermind Talks   Quick Episode Summary:  0.02 What's happening in the greenroom today 2.22 Welcome John inside the green room! 3:24 Why John does what he does 5:51 The most valuable asset speakers have 6:07 John's favorite events to speak at 11:01 Setting up your speakers for success 13:52 What makes an event bad 22:59 The Proverbs 8:16 mentality 27:09 How to get John's book for free 27:59 John's advice to new speakers 30:43 Speed round 31:15 The speakers that have impacted John the most 32:38 The event that has impacted John the most 33:19 Events everyone needs to know about 34:07 Why live events are still important 35:14 John's favorite moment inside a greenroom 36:53 Practical advice for speakers and event planners 39:57 John's BHAG 41:52 My biggest takeaways

Encore: Gift-ology: The Beauty & Strength of Gift-Giving in Business   Gift-ology is a unique, generous approach to initiating and strengthening relationships. In today’s interview with John Ruhlin, author of Gift-ology, you’ll learn how to use gift giving to bless others while growing your coaching business. Tune in this episode to learn how to: Boost referrals, retention rates, and ROIs so you can become an influencer who reaps the rewards of fruitful relationships Skip the standard big-budget marketing efforts and focus on highly personalized efforts that won’t break your budget Maximize follow-ups by giving the best kinds of gifts and the best ways to give them! About John Ruhlin John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group. John’s company is trusted by the leaders of fast-growing companies to develop relationship-building strategies and VIP gifting programs to increase referrals and strengthen retention with their most important clients, employees, and prospects. Their clients include the Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, DR Horton, Morgan Stanley, St Louis Blues, and hundreds of other industry leaders and high-end service firms. He lives just outside of St Louis with his wife Lindsay and three daughters. His second best selling book, “GIFTOLOGY: The Art & Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Drive Referrals and Strengthen Retention,” has been featured in Forbes and Inc.   Click “Subscribe” to see any embedded links   Show Notes: http://professionalchristiancoachingtoday.com/194 http://professionalchristiancoachingtoday.com/         

The act of giving a truly meaningful gift to show the significance and importance of your relationship with others can be a tricky balance. What does gifting done right look like? Today’s returning guest is back with some wisdom on how to show appreciation and love through gifting.   John Ruhlin is the Founder of the Ruhlin Group, where he helps companies develop VIP gifting programs. He is also the author of Giftology. He is an expert on the topic of meaningful gift giving.   What do you give someone who has everything? How can you give a gift that makes a real difference in someone’s life? It all started when John met a very generous man. He’d often buy half of the raffle tickets at school auctions, win, and then donate it all back because he loved making people smile.   John says that, still, the biggest gift that works well is gifting knives. Why? Because it’s difficult to gift an item that successful people can already buy. However, if you can take care of their inner circle; like their spouse, the kids, pets, and the family, that’s when you make the biggest impact.   John likes to gift custom inscribed knives to each family member that by the time dinner rolls around, everyone is fighting over knives! People are still humans at the end of the day and being able to connect one and one with them is what makes a big difference in the quality of a relationship.   Interview Links: Ruhlingroup.com Johnruhlin.com Giftologybook.com John Ruhlin — The Strategic Way to Use Gifting   Resources: Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshop: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops. Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then head over to iTunes and leave a review. Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Gazelles Coaching, on how the fastest growing companies succeed where so many others fail. My name is Bill Gallagher, host of the Scaling Up Business Podcast and a leading Gazelles Coach. Gazelles is the term we use for fast-growing companies.   We help leadership teams with 4 Decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth success. Scaling Up for Gazelles companies is based on the Rockefeller Habits 2.0 (from Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits).  

John Ruhlin might be the best gift giver in the world.  As founder of gifting and logistics company, The Ruhlin Group, and author of Giftology, John knows a thing or two about why gifting matters and how, when it’s done right, it’s one of the most effective ways to get more referrals, get a meeting with almost any decision-maker, increase client and employee retention, and win the hearts and minds of influencers and partners.  In this episode of the podcast, Robert Glazer talks with John about all these benefits of gifting as well as common gifting gaffes. How John got to be one of the top sellers of Cutco knives Why John sent a partner prospect 18 gifts over 18 months Common misunderstandings and mishaps around gifting How to spend a $1 and get $100 of impact One of the best gifts John’s ever been given To hear more episodes of Elevate with Robert Glazer, visit robertglazer.com/podcast/

In This Episode We Discuss: How to use personalized business gifts to land meetings and love on your clients and customers What is Giftology and how does it work What are some gifting mistakes to avoid About John Ruhlin: John Ruhlin is the Founder of the Ruhlin Group and Author of the Best Selling Book Giftology, The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Client Retention.

John Ruhlin (@ruhlin) is the world's leading authority in maximizing customer loyalty through radical generosity. He is the founder of Ruhlin Group, and author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention. What We Discuss with John Ruhlin: Active loyalty versus passive loyalty. Why personalization matters. Why you should be asking "What's the most I can do here?" when investing in relationships rather than "What's the least I can get away with?" Why the timing of a gift matters. How to exercise radical generosity and take gift-giving to a whole new level. And much more... Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Calm is the number one app for meditation and sleep! Want to explore its many benefits? Enjoy an exclusive discount of 25% off a Calm premium subscription by going to calm.com/jordan! Blinkist gives you access to 2,500+ bestselling nonfiction books, transformed into potent little packs you can listen to or read in just 15 minutes. Try Blinkist Premium free for seven days at blinkist.com/jordan! Avoid trips to the post office with Stamps.com -- The Jordan Harbinger Show listeners can get a four-week trial that includes a digital postal scale and free postage by entering code JORDAN after clicking on the radio microphone at the top of the page here! TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Mint are giant solutions that give you the power to prosper! Learn how to optimize your finances before tax time at intuit.com! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! Full show notes and resources can be found here.

On today's episode, Kevin and Seth speak with John Ruhlin of Giftology. John talks about "how you love and treat people, and how it will open more doors than you can imagine." He discusses the importance of giving gifts - that in fact, one gifting experience will open more doors than $10 Million in advertising could ever do. John started selling the largest deals in Cutco history out of 1.5 million other reps and distributors. Yes 1.5 million! Not only was he gifting knives, but he was being asked to speak on stages around the country to teach sales and marketing teams how to build relationships in unconventional ways. Simple but powerful things like focusing your care on the executive’s spouse, the assistant, and their kids. Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and quickly broadened gifting options and strategies, but many of the original principles never changed. Knowing how and when to give gifts is just as important as what to gift. These “minor” details and expert knowledge have been tested and proven over a decade to bring a guaranteed “wow” to any industry from financial services to manufacturing widgets. Today John and his team have created gift packages for some of the largest companies and professional sports teams in the world, but their mission and heart is to serve and take relationships for mid-sized, privately owned businesses to a new level using their proven process. Check out John’s new book, Giftology here: giftologybook.com Learn more about John Ruhlin, here: http://johnruhlin.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar’s Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and the John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. His unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 Million reps). He now speaks widely about strategic gifting and relationship building and helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision makers.   Quotes To Remember: “If you take care of the family in business, everything else takes care of itself.” “The WHO you’re giving it to is more important than the WHAT you’re giving.” “I don’t have a business without my suppliers.” “Take care of the inner circle.” “It’s the little things leading up the gift are important.” “Anybody that’s going to do it needs to commit to doing it for three years.” “The people in business that went long-term have the best relationships.”   What You’ll Learn: Kind of Gifts You Should be Giving Who Should You Be Giving the Gifts to How Much Money Should You Spend on Gifts Balancing Gift Giving and Building New Relationships   Key Links From The Show: John’s Site Ruhlin Group | Expert Gift Givers   Recommended Books: Content Marketing Secrets by Marc Guberti Podcast Domination by Marc Guberti Giftology by John Ruhlin Give and Take by Adam Grant Top of Mind by John Hall Raving Fans by Kenneth H. Blanchard

Of the 150+ episodes we have done, these three stand out as some of the most listened to of all. Storytelling: The Wholesaler's Secret Weapon with Rob Salafia (skip to 02:16) (link to accompanying article) Rob Salafia is a speaker, executive coach and corporate storyteller. He combines two decades of experience as a top leadership development executive with a well-established career in the performing arts. He has a passion for helping leaders enhance their presence, connect authentically with others, and tell engaging stories. He helps sales leaders bring their products and services to life in a compelling and relevant way, connecting to every person in the room. A COI Speaks: If You Don't Differentiate, You Don't Resonate with Bill Edmonds (skip to 23:33) (link to accompanying article) For the past 30+ years, Bill Edmonds has worked in the Financial Services industry, both as an Advisor and a leader of Advisors. He joined Merrill Lynch as an FA in 1991, and built a successful book of business as a Chairman's Club producer. In 1995, he became a Resident Director (producing manager), and was named “Manager of the Year” on two separate occasions. He joined the executive ranks of the firm in 2006, as a Director, where he continued until his retirement in December of 2014. In his most recent role as the Director of the Columbia Complex, he took the market from 80 Advisors and $65MM in revenue to 125 Advisors and over $107MM in revenue in a seven year period. 5 Rules for Wholesaler Gifting: Staying Out of the Trinket and Trash Sea of Sameness with John Ruhlin (skip to 48:21) (link to accompanying article) John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of the Ruhlin Group, a firm that specializes in high-level gifting plans to build relationships and acquire new clients. The Ruhlin Group's partnership with Cutco has enabled it to become the No. 1 distributor of Cutco in their 65-year history. John is a sought-after speaker on the topics of C-level selling, relationship development, and strategic gifting; he is also the co-author of the best-selling book “Cutting Edge Sales" and the author of the recently released book "Giftology." See all our shows at our Wholesaler Masterminds® website.  For more information about Wholesaler Masterminds® Schedulers visit us here    

“The gift is supposed to represent the value you place on the relationship.” - John Ruhlin (click to tweet) Why is gift giving such a challenge? We know the people around us; we know their likes, their interests … but when we want to celebrate them, all great gift ideas go out the window. Amazon becomes our search engine. Wine and chocolates are a go-to. On today’s episode of Steal the Show, we are joined by John Ruhlin to unpack the performance of gift-giving. Yes, gift-giving is a performance--one that has true craft and technique. John is the founder of the Ruhlin Group, a company that develops relationship-building strategies and VIP-gifting programs to increase referrals and strengthen retention with their most important employees, clients, and prospects. John’s clients include the Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, DR Horton, Morgan Stanley, St. Louis Blues, and hundreds of other industry leaders and high-end service firms. His second bestselling book Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Client Retention can be found here Listen to today’s episode to hear John’s insights about gift-giving, and how we can best approach the often difficult task of finding that great gift for the people in our lives. “In business, we call it marketing. And we don’t realize we’re spending money to damage relationships because we’re making it all about us.” - John Ruhlin (click to tweet) Steal The Points Marketing is typically not gift-giving because we make it about us. Don’t give gifts with a transactional mindset. Try to give gifts that people can use every day rather than those that are consumed and disappear. Treat gift-giving as an opportunity to inspire the recipient, rather than just hand off a possession. Understand what the recipient wants, and then align the gift with that.

Welcome to Episode 128 of the No Quit Living Podcast. NQL is a personal development podcast designed to help you achieve your goals and desires. Whether you found us from Forbes, Inc Magazine, CEO Magazine, CIO, New Theory, or elsewhere, we're thrilled you are listening. Through hearing the inspiring stories and tips from the greats, we will all find it easier to stay motivated. John will tell you, “how you love and treat people will open more doors than you can imagine.” In fact, one gifting experience (Brooks Brother experiment) has opened more doors than $10 Million in advertising could ever do. After applying principles of generosity learned from “Attorney Paul,” John started selling the largest deals in Cutco history out of 1.5 million other reps and distributors. Yes. 1.5 million. Not only was he gifting knives but he was being asked to speak on stages around the country to teach sales and marketing teams how to build relationships in unconventional ways. Simple but powerful things like focusing your care on the executive’s spouse, the assistant, and kids. Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and quickly broadened gifting options and strategies, but many of the original principles never changed. Knowing how and when to give gifts is just as important as what to gift. These “minor” details and expert knowledge have been tested and proven over a decade to bring a guaranteed “wow” to any industry from financial services to manufacturing widgets. Today John and his team have created gift packages for some of the largest companies and pro sports teams in the world, but their mission and heart is to serve and take relationships for mid-sized, privately owned businesses to a new level using their Proven Process.   Website: http://johnruhlin.com/ Book: http://giftologybook.com/ 10 Worst Gifts Free: http://thegiversedge.com/  

The world is filled with broken entrepreneurs, salespeople, and professionals because they have not mastered the concepts of access and influence. When dealing with people in the business world, it is often through the relationships we foster with them that takes us to a much higher platform. Access and influence are two great tools to use because figuring out how to access your audience can you create the kind of influence you want. Brad Costanzo interviews John Ruhlin of the Ruhlin Group who utilizes gifts to get access and influence with people. As an expert Gift Giver, he explains to us the value of using Giftology or the art of giving gifts to our business relations as well as how we can get started on it. There is so much to gain from showing gratitude, and by gift-giving, you can get more referrals, drive more results, and ultimately grow your business. Some Topics We Discussed Include: What Giftology is all about How John got Cameron Herold to refer him and open up doors for him The art of picking the right gift and how you can make an impact with that Using gifts to open doors, stay relevant, and keep the deal moving forward How John built a relationship with the Cubs and other high net worth clients The worst gifts to avoid Free gift for you from John: http://giftologybook.com/bacon. Learn more about John and get the full shownotes at https://baconwrappedbusiness.com/giftology/ Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Bacon Wrapped Business Community today: Bacon Wrapped Business on Facebook Brad Costanzo on Facebook Brad Costanzo on LinkedIn Brad Costanzo on YouTube Brad Costanzo on Twitter

John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of Ruhlin Group, a gift strategy and logistics company that has created gift packages for some of the largest companies and pro sports teams in the world. He is also the author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention.   On this episode, John teaches us how anyone can use gifting to connect and build meaningful relationships with high-level contacts in any industry.   To learn more about John and his book, check out giftologybook.com.

I am so excited to share the stage today with John Ruhlin, an entrepreneur who has found great success through radical gifting. Listen in as John shares with us about his superpower, the people he surrounds himself with, and the hacks he uses to achieve success. About John Ruhlin John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group. John company is trusted by the leaders of fast-growing companies to develop relationship-building strategies and VIP gifting programs to increase referrals and strengthen retention with their most important clients, employees, and prospects. The Ruhlin Group’s clients include the Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, DR Horton, Morgan Stanley, St Louis Blues, and hundreds of other industry leaders and high-end service firms.   Key Takeaways If you take care of the family, everything else seems to take care of itself. How you show gratitude matters! Your responsibility is to live your best life. Be you out there and out loud! Then help serve others by being your best self. Your job is to operate in your sweet spot. Stick there as much as you can and hire out the rest. When it comes to gift giving, there is a bit of risk in gifting something unique or personalized. Time-Stamped Show Highlights 3:00 – How John came up with the idea of Giftology 5:43 – The one thing most business leaders absolutely suck at 9:19 – Gift giving, manipulation and misconstrued communication Your intention and why you’re giving the gift matters. 11:01 – The different types of gifts you can give. There’s a different bucket for prospects, a different bucket for relationships and a different bucket for promotional gifts. They’re each given for a different purpose and will be received differently. 15:24 – Who the Ruhlin Group serves 19:08 – John’s weaknesses and who he relies on to reach success I’m not a finance guy or a numbers guy. I am a relationship person and an ideas person, but not necessarily an executor. My business partner brings stability, consistency and leadership to help us be successful. 22:24 – The importance of honoring and respecting the differences between you and the people you surround yourself with 24:07 – Ideas on how to delegate and hire out help If you figure out what your time is worth and what only you can do, you do those things and hire out the rest. 28:19 – John’s biggest success hack I’m naturally an introvert. I use gifting and gratitude to engage with people. It’s been my way to scale myself while still operating at a world-class level. 29:41 – Own the way you’re wired to help you start and build relationships 32:29 – About Giftology, John’s book 36:41 – Podcast recommendation of the week! Selected Links for This Episode 10 Worst Gifts to Avoid freebie JohnRuhlin.com Ruhlin Group website Connect with John on LinkedIn Follow John on Twitter TaskRabbit Podcast of the Week: The Art of Charm with Jordan Harbinger Frickin’ Awesome Resources Frickin’ Awesome Entrepreneurs Facebook Community From Frustrated to Frickin’ Awesome by Alissa Daire Nelson Daire Success Coaching website StrengthsFinder 2.0 test StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath

John Ruhlin, master gift-giver, owner of Ruhlin Group, and author of “Giftology,” 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’s greatest seller in history and now uses his Proven Process to take business relationships to the next level. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:33 – John is an “Ohio farm boy” who became the greatest seller in Cutco’s 68-year history by understanding the value of gift-giving and relationships 01:22 – John’s “Brooks Brothers experience” 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 – 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 – He teaches about focusing care on executive spouse, assistant, and kids 02:44 – Ruhlin Group started in 2000 and broadened gifting and strategy; how and what to give as gifts 03:09 – 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 – They have a proven process 04:13 – Everyone wants to be “green,” but putting your logo on a bunch of stuff from China that’ll end up in a landfill isn’t very green 04:45 – The book Giftology 05:20 – Story about John’s engagement 06:08 – John had a rough spot in 2007-2008; he got engaged to his girlfriend at that time 06:30 – He decided to recreate The Notebook; she was living in St. Louis, he was in Ohio 07:11 – The Notebook summary 07:45 – He wanted to recreate The Notebook; he dressed as an old man and knew her flight so he’d be on it while she was reading his recreated notebook on the plane 08:37 – 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 – 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 – They couldn’t stabilize him; they shocked him and took him to the ICU, he wakes up the next day 09:58 – He got a low blood sugar seizure because he had cut out carbs; 4 years ago he realized that his wife doesn’t like surprises and his “awesome” engagement story was more for himself than for her 11:18 – Moral: Most people give gifts how they’d like to receive them, not the way the other person would like to get them 11:25 – How did Cutco put their best salesman onstage? 11:38 – Cutco is more of a sales training company with a culture and personal development component 11:58 – Top performers are put onstage to extract knowledge and learn; personal development training and growing took Cutco to another level 12:22 – At first, Cutco thought his success was fraud and he was getting audited; once they saw it was real they thought “What if we could have 100 John Ruhlins?” 13:04 – They still own a distributorship and move massive amounts of Cutco; he’s still directly related with Cutco despite running Giftology 13:31 – They (Giftology) use product to drive revenue, sales, and loyalty 13:40 – 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 – What triggered the idea to go to businesses? 14:50 – His mentor (his girlfriend’s dad) was an attorney, connector, and very generous; he had his hands in everything in the community 15:32 – He pitched him to buy knives and dropped $2,000-3,000, and wanted to buy paring knives for all his clients 15:58 – Why paring knives? 16:17 – He said the reason is because, “If you take care of the family, everything else in business seems to take care of itself” 16:27 – 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 – Use gratitude as a competitive advantage in business 17:12 – John is a true farm-boy; he milked goats, split wood, baled hay, etc. 18:05 – John’s 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 – His step-dad was a water engineer, tree trimmer, and ran the farm 18:45 – John’s relationship with his real father 18:50 – He’s 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 – What drives John? 20:16 – 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 – What is the Proven Process? 20:58 – A repeatable process year-round and establishing who you want to appreciate in your business 21:40 – Grow relationships by knowing who you are sending gifts to and the value of those people; gift accordingly 22:32 – 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’t match the value of the relationship 23:23 – Boiling down the Proven Process 23:23 – Identify the value of your relationships as strategically as you do any other part of your business; it’s all about people and showing them that they matter 23:43 – As leaders, one of the most important things we can do is engage people with gratitude and appreciation; in gift form, it’s a tangible reminder of that appreciation 24:08 – You need to tap into that emotion; we all make decisions emotionally then back it up with data and logic 24:35 – Don’t send generic gifts 25:08 – How to do it 25:10 – Take your top 20% and determine what to reinvest (5% of net profit); concentrate your effort to do one really nice thing 26:24 – Tie in something that is important to them and connects to their circle (family/assistant/pets/spouse); the paring knife example 26:48 – Know your people and their circles; sometimes pleasing the wife is a better way to leverage a “common hot button” 27:40 – 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 – Something original, thoughtful, and strategic creates a deeper impact; it acts as a trigger 29:15 – Gifts that aren’t thought out can even have a negative consequence 29:54 – Gift for listeners: 10 Worst Gifts to Never Give 30:16 – In the Giftology book, he goes over great gift ideas like knives, leather portfolios; it doesn’t have to be the sexiest gift, but it can be crazy-thoughtful 31:38 – It’s not about the spending or the gift, but the thought behind it 32:10 – If you are interested in a story mug or making an order, contact John directly at john@ruhlingroup.com 32:42 – Cameron Herald’s Brooks Brothers experience 33:08 – John offered Cameron dinner and a basketball game; Cameron wanted to shop at Brooks Brothers while he was in town 33:54 – His flight was delayed so he couldn’t go shopping; John ordered one of everything at Brooks Brothers to have in Cameron’s hotel room when he arrived, a $7,000 tab 34:32 – He went to the Ritz and they merchandised his whole room; he didn’t want to go to dinner or the game at first, but after seeing it he was ready to talk/do anything 35:25 – He got John his first $15,000 keynote and is John’s advisor, friend, and mentor 36:10 – He connected the dots and figured out what John had done for him; it was silly, ballsy, and crazy...but it worked 36:50 – Cameron appreciated the experience and the thoughtfulness but didn’t want John to buy it; the entire experience ended up costing $0 37:35 – 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’s emotion while simultaneously expressing your gratitude. Resources Mentioned: John’s book - Giftology John’s email – john@ruhlingroup.com John’s giveaway - 10 Worst Gifts to Never Give John’s company – Ruhlin Group

John Ruhlin is in the business of building relationships – as a giver! His company, The Ruhlin Group, is a gift strategy and logistics group with the intentions of helping business owners build relationships with any and every caliber of client, even those that are highly sought after and exclusive.   What are the pro secrets to using gifts to capture your clients? What kinds of gifts are most effective and set you apart from the companies giving corporate merchandise as gifts? Who is the most important person to consider when giving a gift? Who is in your client’s inner circle and why is it important to give gifts that benefit them, too? When is the best time to give a gift and why is the timing of gift-giving important?   How can this tactic be used in a real estate capacity with tenants, brokers, etc? All of these questions are answered on this week’s incredibly valuable show! Applying John Ruhlin’s practices in your business will help you stand out from the crowd and the results will be visible in your bottom line! top 10 1. Relationship based real estate investing 2. Gifting 3. How to be pleasantly persistant 4. Paying for the brokers lunch 5. Buying gifts for the significant others 6. Kids, Wives, and Assistants 7. Knives & Purses 8. Passion 9. Value of time 10. And much more http://ruhlingroup.com john@ruhlingroup.com Top Ten Gifts to Avoid Giving PDF Invest with Jake & Gino: Create an Account - Rand Partners www.propertyzar.com/gino     Check out the podcast for iTunes: iTunes Store - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jake-gino/id1025080737?mt=2 Check out the podcast for Android: RSS FEED - http://jakeandgino.libsyn.com/rss Thanks so much for joining us again. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post! Also, please leave an honest review for our Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely important to our show and help in our rankings. Please leave a review if you find value in our show! Click here to learn more about our multifamily educational platform: Multifamily Mastery - https://jakeandgino.mykajabi.com/offers/tw3qfTWN If you have any questions, please email me at gino@jakeandgino.com If you would like to partner or invest with Jake & Gino, please fill out this form: Investor Form - https://invest.randpartnersllc.com/accounts/register/

John Ruhlin is the Founder & CEO of the Ruhlin Group, a gift strategy and logistics company, and the bestselling author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention. John’s Ah-Ha Moment As a kid, John’s life changed when he started working for Cutco – not because he was selling great knives, but because he knew a very generous businessman and they worked out a gift-giving deal. They started sending gift boxes that included both pocket knives and kitchen knives to the CEOs of multimillion dollar companies. When John asked why they were sending kitchenware to high-powered CEOs, he was told, “If you take care of the entire family, everything else in business seems to take care of itself.” By the time John got to college, he was the best salesman in the history of Cutco (and found a new niche). “Nobody was teaching business leaders how to leverage gratitude as a competitive advantage in business.” –John Ruhlin If you want to start giving better gifts and leveraging gratitude in your life, check out The Top 10 Worst Gifts to Avoid Giving at giftologybook.com/jesse. Resources: Download The Top 10 Worst Gifts to Avoid Giving: giftologybook.com/jesse Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention

My guest today spent $7,000 buying out all the clothes in a Brooks Brothers store and gave it all to a potential client. That crazy gamble paid off BIG TIME! He went from being an Ohio farm boy to becoming the greatest seller in Cutco’s 68 year history out of 1.5 million other reps and distributors! How? By mastering the art and science of giving gifts. John Ruhlen is the author of the transformational book titled ‘Giftology, the art and science of using gifts to cut through the noise, increase referrals and strengthen retention.’ He is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift strategy and logistics company with an impressive list of clients including Morgan Stanley, Caesers Palace, Wells Fargo and the Miami Dolphins to name a few. He is a highly sought after speaker and has been featured in top publications such as Forbes, Inc and Entrepreneur. In order to help introduce him I have put together a short rap. Here goes … If you wanna make a big shift It’s all about giving the perfect gift do you catch my drift? Cut Through The Noise, separate the men from the boys. It’s not rocket science or astrology, You don’t need smart technology, Understand basic human psychology and tap into the power of Giftology Gift giving, that’s his thing, it’s how he went from shoestring to sales king. So without further ado I welcome to you the man who’s gifts get people droolin’ he’s the one and only John Ruhlin   What you will learn: How to capture your dream clients by giving gifts The worst gifts you can give Why gifts are more powerful than money Why you shouldn’t put your logo on your gifts How to stand out from your competitors Why giving gifts is more effective than advertising How to figure out what gift to buy someone Why it’s better to spend more on fewer people How much you should spend on gifts How often you should send gifts How to win over anyone through their spouse, children or pets … and MUCH MORE Interesting highlights: John was the greatest seller in Cutco out of 1.5 million other reps John bought out a Brookes Brothers store as a gift! John spent $3 per business card   John’s #1 practical advice:  Give Meaningful GiftsTweet This Wanna pick John‘s brain?   Join my exclusive FB group now (https://www.facebook.com/groups/canipickyourbrain) ! Resources & Links: http://johnruhlin.com (http://johnruhlin.com) http://giftologybook.com/ (http://giftologybook.com/) The Self Help Addict (http://www.theselfhelpaddict.com) (My book)   Did you enjoy this episode? Then  please subscribe to my podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/can-i-pick-your-brain-entrepreneur-business-podcast/id1076916148?mt=2) , so you can get automatic updates whenever another episode goes live (and you will be helping me get to #1 on iTunes!)

In this Outperform podcast episode, AP founder Robert Glazer talks with John Ruhlin about all these benefits of gifting in business as well as common gifting gaffes.  John Ruhlin is the founder of gifting and logistics company, The Ruhlin Group and author of Giftology. When you listen to this episode, you'll learn How John got started in the business of gifting Why he recently sent one prospect 18 gifts over 18 months What the status quo of gifting looks like and why it’s not impactful Invaluable insights into how you should approach gifting in your business Why John doesn’t recommend sending a gift right after being sent a referral The gift that John and his clients give that have actually made the recipient cry If you care about getting more referrals, standing out (in a good way), getting a meeting with almost any decision-maker and winning the hearts and minds of your industry influencers and partners, then this episode is for you.

How a country kid like John Ruhlin became a sales leader working with famous companies by using the art of gift giving. Some key take-aways from this interview include: Importance of mentors to help you learn new things Desperation sometimes provides the motivation you need to take action “Your network is your net worth” - why building relationships is so important John viewed himself as a business owner from the start and talked about himself in that light You don’t have to be naturally good at giving gifts to use gift giving to get meetings Why you have to go into gift-giving with the right heart and mindset - you have to give gifts “open handed” with hope but not expectations It takes persistence to use this - you have to commit to at least three years You have to take the “long-game” approach to relationships The best way to start is to buy nice letterhead and send personal notes to people You should be investing a minimum of 5% of your net income back into relationships and then commit to spending something monthly Why you should send gifts to an executive's assistant or spouse Links: Giftology.com/Andy to get John's PDF on the 10 worst gifts to avoid Ruhlin Group website www.Entrepreneurhotseat.com Andy Storch Coaching Please feel free to provide feedback by sending an email to andy@andystorch.com

How a country kid like John Ruhlin became a sales leader working with famous companies by using the art of gift giving. Some key take-aways from this interview include: Importance of mentors to help you learn new things Desperation sometimes provides the motivation you need to take action “Your network is your net worth” - why building relationships is so important John viewed himself as a business owner from the start and talked about himself in that light You don't have to be naturally good at giving gifts to use gift giving to get meetings Why you have to go into gift-giving with the right heart and mindset - you have to give gifts “open handed” with hope but not expectations It takes persistence to use this - you have to commit to at least three years You have to take the “long-game” approach to relationships The best way to start is to buy nice letterhead and send personal notes to people You should be investing a minimum of 5% of your net income back into relationships and then commit to spending something monthly Why you should send gifts to an executive's assistant or spouse Links: http://giftologybook.com/andy/ (Giftology.com/Andy) to get John's PDF on the 10 worst gifts to avoid http://ruhlingroup.com/ (Ruhlin Group website) http://www.entrepreneurhotseat.com (www.Entrepreneurhotseat.com) http://www.andystorch.com (Andy Storch Coaching) Please feel free to provide feedback by sending an email to andy@andystorch.com

John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group. John's company is trusted by the leaders of fast growing companies to develop relationship building strategies and VIP gifting programs to increase referrals and strengthen retention with their most important clients, employees, and prospects. Their clients include the Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, DR Horton, Morgan Stanley, St Louis Blues, and hundreds of other industry leaders and high end service firms. He lives just outside of St Louis with his wife Lindsay and three daughters. His second best selling book, " GIFTOLOGY: The Art & Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Drive Referrals and Strengthen Retention,” has been featured in Forbes and Inc.

John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group. John's company is trusted by the leaders of fast growing companies to develop relationship building strategies and VIP gifting programs to increase referrals and strengthen retention with their most important clients, employees, and prospects. Their clients include the Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, DR Horton, Morgan Stanley, St Louis Blues, and hundreds of other industry leaders and high end service firms. He lives just outside of St Louis with his wife Lindsay and three daughters. His second best selling book, " GIFTOLOGY: The Art & Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Drive Referrals and Strengthen Retention,” has been featured in Forbes and Inc.

John Ruhlin is the author of GIFTOLOGY: The Art & Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through The Noise & Drive Referrals and founder of the Ruhlin Group.  There’s an art and science to using gifts to cut through the noise, and drive real referrals to your business. In this episode, John discusses how to use gifts to scale your business and increase referrals. John was a young, broke college kid who took a job at Cutco to hopefully pay his way through college. Fortunately at the time, John knew a lawyer outside of work who had the ‘secrets of business’ figured out, and, with his help and philosophy, John invented the first corporate gifting program for Cutco. The lawyer taught him this: If you can take care of your client’s family, everything else in business seems to work itself out. However, just gifting out a basket of fruit during Christmas is not going to help you cut through the noise. There’s a method to how and when you should gift. Want to know what’s considered a bad gift? Anything involving food. It doesn’t stand out! Gifting alcohol is not far up there, either. If you want to quickly offend somebody, give them food and alcohol. When people gift, they’re not looking at it as an ROI. They really should. When you spend money, you should get money back. In old biblical times, gifting represented the value of the relationship. It’s more than just a ‘thank you’, it’s a communication tool.   Interview Links: Giftologybook.comRuhlingroup.com More Resources:Bill on YouTube: Short videos to keep you growing. Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshops: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops. Scaling Up Business Website   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so then head over to iTunes and leave a review. It helps other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they can also benefit from the knowledge shared in these podcasts. __ Scaling Up is the best-selling book, by Verne Harnish and the team at Gazelles, on how the fastest growing companies succeed where so many others fail. My name is Bill Gallagher with Humanisteq Coaching and I’m one of the Gazelles business coaches. We help leadership teams to get the 4 Decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash right so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth success. Our 4 Decisions are all part of the Rockefeller Habits 2.0 (from the original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits).    

Today we get to talk with John Ruhlin of The Ruhlin Group. His company is trusted by all these top leaders of fast-growing companies (Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, Morgan Stanley, DR Horton, and more) to develop relationships and gifting strategies. We'll get into exactly what that means later in the episode. But let me tell you that everything he's talking about today, WORKS. Whether it's a hand-written note, or a small thoughtful token of gratitude or even a super fancy expensive gift, being generous with your gratititude always works. Always. John wrote this book called "Giftology" which has been featured in media outlets like Forbes magazine. The book is filled with case studies, stories, and ideas for how to give better gifts and as a result build better relationships. John's got some great advice for us today, AND a cool download with a list of the Top Gifts to Avoid Giving, which you can download right now by going to giftologybook.com/emily But that .pdf download will make a lot more sense when you hear some of John's story and my own experience in applying his ideas to my life. Let's hop to it! Brave Take-Aways Okay, so beyond the Bare Naked Bravery Adult Coloring Book, your Brave Take-Away from today's show is... We'd love to hear all about your favorite parts of today's Bare Naked Bravery. You can find John Ruhlin and myself on facebook, twitter, instagram, and more. Go ahead and tag us so we can cheer you on and see what you're up to. Keep in Touch with Nomi Correli http://ruhlingroup.com/https://twitter.com/ruhlinhttps://www.facebook.com/johnruhlinjr https://www.instagram.com/johnruhlin/ Keep in Touch with Emily Ann Peterson http://emilyannpeterson.comhttp://instagram.com/emilyannpete http://facebook.com/emilyannpeterson http://twitter.com/emilyapeterson Credits If you're diggin' the music in today's episode, that's because it's brought to you by my friends at Music Box Licensing, a premier creative music agency dedicated to finding and crafting unique soundtracks. To find out more about all the artists, musicians, and other sponsors of the show, please visit barenakedbravery.com/sponsors 3 Ways You Can Support the Bravery! Leave a review on iTunes We would LOVE it if you'd leave a podcast rating or review on iTunes.   Simply click here to get started >>> http://bit.ly/bnbrr Share this episode with a friend If you have a friend who might really love/need to hear this episode, what are you waiting for?! Email, text, fb message, snail mail - all great options! Become a Patron of Bare Naked Bravery Every patron gets awesome goodies, super early advance links to Emily Ann's new songs & releases, and so much more! $1 Monthly$3 Monthly$5 Monthly$10 Monthly$15 Monthly$25 Monthly$100 Monthly I'm looking forward to being with you next week. We have some great things in store for you! Until then I have one message for you. It's this: Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be brave. Because the world needs more of your Bare Naked Bravery.

John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group. John's company is trusted by the leaders of fast-growing companies to develop relationship building strategies and VIP gifting programs to increase referrals and strengthen retention with their most important clients, employees, and prospects. Their clients include the Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, DR Horton, Morgan Stanley, St Louis Blues, and hundreds of other industry leaders and high-end service firms.

Everybody talks a good talk when it comes to the value of relationships. But very few people actually invest in those relationships in ways that stand out and really matter. My guest today is John Ruhlin, founder of The Ruhlin Group - a strategic appreciation and gift giving service that helps you create your own relationship action plan to consistently show your appreciation by giving gifts of appreciation. You’re going to learn a lot about the practical steps it takes to give gifts that set you apart and deepen relationships, so do what you can to hear what John has to say on this episode. Everybody has an appreciation deficit. One of the most important reasons you need to learn how to effectively show appreciation is because most people have an appreciation deficit. It’s not that they are ungrateful. It’s that they don’t take the time to be intentional about expressing their appreciation. John Ruhlin says that gifts of appreciation are a powerful way for you to be different than everybody else - to show that you truly are thankful for the clients or customers who drive your success - and you are not afraid to invest time and money to show it. John’s got a truckload of wisdom for you on this episode, so make sure you take the time to listen and learn. Gratitude that is expressed through gifts of appreciation has a bigger impact. Many CEOs or leaders know that showing appreciation to clients or customers matters. Many of them understand the power of giving a gift that sets them apart from the crowd. But it’s vital that those gifts are things that matter to the recipient and make an investment in the relationship. My guest today, John Ruhlin is an expert at helping companies determine the things their customers value so that gifts that they give to their customers are truly meaningful. Learn how to touch your clients in a way that makes a difference, by listening to this episode. Promotional items are all about you. A gift is all about the recipient. We’ve all received the coffee cup with a company’s logo on it. Or perhaps it was a pen or calendar. The thought behind the gift was nice, but we have to admit that it’s a bit tainted. Just as much as the company’s leadership wanted to express their appreciation, they also wanted to promote themselves. That’s a bad way to show care for your customers. Instead, think about them - who they are, what they are interested in, and the kind of gifts that would truly speak to them on a heart level. Then you’ll be on the right track, thinking about your client rather than about yourself. Rather than going wide, go deep with a smaller amount of people. When you start to think about the potential cost of sending gifts that express your appreciation, it can become financially overwhelming. John Ruhlin understands that experience and suggests that you approach the issue in a different way, a way that might seem counterintuitive. Put your focus on a smaller group of people who have the most impact on your success. That way you’ll not only focus your efforts but you’ll reduce your costs at the same time. Find out how to make gifts of appreciation a hallmark of your brand, on this episode. Outline of this great episode [0:40] My introduction to John Ruhlin. [1:51] Why relationships are at the core of John’s business. [2:55] How John learned how to build good relationships. [5:06] Why gratitude is huge as the foundation of relationship building. [7:50] How to build a good personal experience into your gratitude. [11:42] Why you need to rethink the cost of showing appreciation. [16:22] Creating your own gift giving strategy (a relationship action plan). [24:00] Doing a lot more with a lot less people is one of the most effective approaches. [26:13] John’s biggest “ask” from you. Resources & Links mentioned in this episode The 10 Worst Gifts to Avoid Giving (John’s gift to you) http://ruhlingroup.com/ http://johnruhlin.com/ BOOK: Giftology BOOK: Give and Take  

Tucker Max (@TuckerMax) is here to share some serious entrepreneurial wisdom (much of it geared toward you financial advisors out there). But Tucker's knowledge, stemming from his work both as an independent writer and at Book In A Box, is applicable to anybody planning to write a book or start a business in our ever-changing world.  Tucker is a super-successful writer and one of only three people to have three nonfiction books on the New York Times Bestseller List simultaneously. One of his greatest challenges, however, was co-founding and running his game-changing company Book In A Box. Book In A Box helps busy entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and professionals get a book out of their head and into the world where it can have a real impact. Tucker will be the first to tell you that starting a company (and then deciding to fire himself from being its CEO) has changed his perspective on business for the better. Tucker's straight-up storytelling and advice cuts through all the noise out there about what it means to be successful, to market, or to write. Don't miss this opportunity to learn some critical lessons from somebody who constantly challenges himself to be better at it all.  SHOW NOTES: How Tucker deliberately changed his social circles, activities, and self to meet a woman he'd like to marry. [0:20] How Book In A Box helped a financial advisor exponentially increase his business in a very specific niche. [5:45] Whether or not you should directly pitch to your reader when you write a book. [11:24] The money and time you can save when debating hiring a writer or using Book In A Box. [15:00] How Tucker chose his financial advisor, and the role his friends played in convincing him he needed one. [16:00] The encounter with a fellow successful entrepreneur that left Tucker embarrassed, yet yielded the idea of Book In A Box. [20:45] Traditional publishing versus self-publishing, and how to choose which avenue is best for you. [26:25] The route Tucker took to publish his own books, which became NYT Nonfiction Bestsellers. [28:30] Advice about how to market a new book. [29:55] A simple explanation of Step Two in marketing your book: content marketing. [35:15] Why having a niche isn't just recommended in business today, but absolutely critical. [36:44] Why and how Tucker and Zach fired themselves as CEO and COO of Book In A Box. [41:56] How Tucker overcame his ego to make the right choice about his leadership for his business and employees. [45:45] Tucker's morning routine and how he structures his day. [47:55] Thoughts on meditation, mindfulness apps, and learning how to meditate. [50:00] How Tucker still finds time to read and why you should quit bad books. [54:00] What "being successful" looks like to Tucker now. [55:00] Whether Tucker has had mentors during his journey. [55:50] Tucker's all-time favorite novel. [57:15] The best business advice Tucker's ever received. [58:18] How the current corporate structure of businesses is going to change. [1:00:00] The one piece of advice Tucker credits for his continuing growth and success. [1:01:20] SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE Connect with Tucker: Website | Twitter | Book In A Box The Book In A Box Method: The Groundbreaking New Way to Write and Publish Your Book by Tucker Max and Zach Obront #35: Book In A Box with Tucker Max on Jon Vroman's Front Row Factor Podcast The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy Cameron Herold on Making an Impact On Your Industry, Finding Great People, and Why Meetings Don’t Actually Suck on The Elite Advisor Blueprint The Pop Up Paradigm: How Brands Build Human Connections in a Digital Age by Melissa Gonzalez WeWork Muse Meditation  Buddha In Blue Jeans: An Extremely Short Zen Guide to Sitting Quietly and Being Buddha by Tai Sheridan The Trauma of Everyday Life by Mark Epstein 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole The War of Art by Steven Pressfield PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Hal Elrod - Author of The Miracle Morning Robert Kiyosaki - Author of Rich Dad Poor Dad Jon Vroman - Founder of the Front Row Factor Cameron Herold - Founder of COO Alliance and Author of Meetings Suck John Ruhlin - Founder of The Ruhlin Group and Author of Giftology Malcolm Gladwell - Author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and more Michael Lewis - Author of The Big Short, Boomerang, Moneyball, and more Russell Brand - Actor

Happy holidays to all of you! It is the season of giving. Often that means giving gifts. We are so fortunate today to speak with a master gift giver. John Ruhlin not only captures the spirit of generosity, and reciprocity in his gift giving, but also giftology, as an effective business strategy to express appreciation to those you do business with, and to open doors for future opportunities. John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group. John's company is trusted by the leaders of fast growing companies to develop relationship building strategies and VIP gifting programs to increase referrals and strengthen retention with their most important clients, employees, and prospects. Their clients include the Chicago Cubs, San Antonio Spurs, D.R Horton, Ork and Stanley, St. Luis Blues, and hundreds of other industry leaders and high end service firms. His second best selling book “Giftology: the Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Drive Referrals, and Strengthen Retention”, has been featured in forms and ink. WARRIOR of No “Gift like you mean it!”- John Ruhlin Highlights - Relationships are one of the most important aspects in their life, personally and professionally Showing gratitude when it's expected is the worst investment that you can make Show gratitude and appreciation to those important relationships like your business depends on it They use planned randomness and pick different times of year to send surprise gifts John teaches people to give gifts on a “just because” basis There is a fine line between manipulating a situation, and reciprocity Look for gifts your client will use everyday-- encourage CPI (Cost per impression) Know the difference between promotional gifts, and actual gifts Identify your most important relationships -- what's their current value to you? Guest Contact - John's Website, John on Twitter John Ruhlin Group John's books:  Giftology Resources - BlueHost Regain time and transform your commute, workout or chores into fun, productive ME TIME! Audible books are offering a free audio book, try it, like it and stay or cancel and keep your free Audible book. Acuity Scheduling If you want more of your most valuable resource back, automate your calendar with our top pick, Acuity. No more back and fourth, no-shows or multiple calendars to manage. All appointments, reminders, cancellations, even payments happen with 1-click. Acuity helps you gain time! Visit creativewarriorsunite.com/acuity for our offer or click the link in the show notes. Grammarly In our fast-paced world, we still need to clearly and confidently communicate what we want to say. Grammarly is our private editor 24/7 checking our spelling and grammar whenever we write something online to help avoid embarrassing mistakes in comments, tweets, and status updates! Grammarly is a Better Way To Write. Visit creativewarriorsunite.com/grammarly for our offer or click on the link in the show notes. Audible BooksThe easiest way I know to get inspired when reading is not an option is with AudibleBooks. You can regain time and transform your commute, workout or chores into fun, productive ME TIME! Audible books are offering a free audio book, try it, like it and stay or cancel and keep your free Audible book. Visit creativewarriorsunite.com/audible for our offer or click on the link in the show notes. New Free MasterClass:Warriors, if 80% of your income comes from 20% of your clients, 80% of your clients are the wrong clients! Imagine what it would be like to have almost 100% of your income come from all your clients because you're working with the right clients. Learn how knowing their secret language will attract your RIGHT clients— people who value what you do and are eager to pay you what you're worth. To register for this new masterclass, go to YourRightClients.com, and I'll see you in the masterclass! Gifts - Special offer for Creative Warriors: Margie's Training Program- use the code "CreativeWarriors" Check out the Creative Warriors Gifts Page where you can grab gifts and offerings from many Creative Warriors past guests. Propel your business forward and register for Week of The Warrior for free. A 7-day mini-course to learn how to leverage your creative powers.

Think about the last five trinket/gift items you gave advisors. The faux high-end pen? A Starbucks coffee card? Or the always popular Omaha Steaks? Stop the madness! John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of the Ruhlin Group, a firm that specializes in high-level gifting plans to build relationships and acquire new clients. The Ruhlin Group's partnership with Cutco has enabled it to become the No. 1 distributor of Cutco in their 65-year history. John is a sought-after speaker on the topics of C-level selling, relationship development, and strategic gifting; he is also the co-author of the best-selling book “Cutting Edge Sales" and the author of the recently released book "Giftology." Book John for your next event through Wholesaler Masterminds Speakers Bureau.

This week we are giving you the gift of gifting. Giving and sharing are important parts of not just the holiday season but a well-rounded and successful life. Shelby and Josh explore the power of gift giving with author and found of The Ruhlin Group, John Ruhlin. They discuss benefits you can get from the careful practice of gift giving and we ask you to share your best gifts.  

John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar s Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. He is also the author of the new book, "Giftology." In this interview, we discuss how to give better gifts and make better investments into the relationships that matter.

Check out the show notes at http://bradleyjohnson.com/john John Ruhlin (@ruhlin), founder of The Ruhlin Group, a professional gift giving service that’s worked with the likes of: Financial Institutions: Morgan Stanley & Wells Fargo Professional Sports Franchises: San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bears, & Miami Dolphins Casinos & Resorts: Caesars Palace, Atlantis, & MGM Thought leaders: Darren Hardy, John Maxwell, & Jeffrey Gitomer When organizations like these need to WOW their clients or prospects with an incredible gift or experience, they turn to John and his company. In fact the gift giving methodology that John drops during this interview is so ground breaking, his recently released book Giftology skyrocketed to #1 on Amazon in the customer service category. After relistening to the audio to grab some highlights for you guys, I’m convinced this show may make the biggest impact on your business to date of any we’ve ever done. I know that’s a bold statement, but here are just a few of the highlights from John and I’s conversation: We begin with John’s journey and how it started with some incredible advice from a mentor that led him to become CutCo Knives #1 selling distributor EVER… and oh yeah, this was by the time he was a senior in college John reveals how 99% of all financial advisor gifts break the #1 most important rule of gift giving… and how to fix it! A few of the other concepts John covers to become a black belt in gift giving include… One thing that every great gift should include Best and worst times of year to give gifts Most forgotten person when gifting happens in business Biggest gift giving mistake people make when thanking others for a referral Secret spot in the home to an incredibly meaningful gift (the secret to referrals!) Word John uses to replace “gift” that will change the way you choose your gifts and how you give them One last thing... John made an incredibly generous offer to share a free tool from his new book Giftology, “10 Gifts to Avoid Giving Key Clients”. Also an added bonus, because gifting can get especially tricky with gift limitations in the financial services space, our team over at Advisors Excel put in some extra work and created our “Guide to Gifting”. Both of these tools are available to download HERE. Thanks for listening, you're going to love the conversation with John! Check out the show notes at http://bradleyjohnson.com/john 

This week, we talk to John Ruhlin. He's written an amazing book called Giftology, and the whole premise is on the concept of gift-giving. Why is this ADHD-related? Well, by nature, faster than normal people like us tend to be very giving. We like helping, we want people to like us. How do we do it, though, in such a way where we don't come across as trying too hard? I know for me personally, it's not always easy. That's why I'm a huge fan here of John's new book, and his whole philosophy. I think you will be, too. Enjoy! In this episode, Peter and John discuss: John's story (03:51) Business cards and gift giving (06:22) Scheduling and following up (08:36) Top tips for streamlining and staying focused (11:25) Working with an assistant (12:32) Favorite apps and software (14:38) Writing on airplanes and tech fasts (16:16) What's next for John (18:55) Links/Mentions Book - Giftology Book - Deep Work: Rules for Focused succes in a distracted world Book - Zombie Loyalists The Ruhlin Group / @ruhlin (Twitter) / johnruhlin (Facebook) As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group and the author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention. He’s the #1 all time distributor of Cutco Knives in its 65+ year history.  John is a master gift-giver, who forges lifetime relationships while generating huge returns for his clients.  His impressive list of clients includes the Chicago Cubs, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bears and many top entrepreneurs including Darren Hardy, Cameron Hould, and many more.  The true essence of John Ruhlin can be summed up in this quote from a very important person, his daughter: John helps people love on people. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: [0:37] Jeremy’s introduction of John Ruhlin, founder of the Ruhlin Group and author of Giftology. [2:03] How John’s daughter describes what he does. [4:16] A fun fact about John. [5:27] Growing up in large family and how it taught him work ethic. [7:44] The importance of standing out. [8:31] John’s aspirations as a kid. [9:27] How John discovered sales and started selling knives. [11:42] The learning curve of getting into sales. [12:48] What worked well with learning to handle objections? [14:57] The transition from going into people’s homes to going into businesses. [17:45] John’s college experience. [18:58] Landing the Chicago Cubs as a client. [22:07] The first big sports team he landed. [25:28] The most outrageous gift he’s ever done. [27:26] The most exciting client ever landed through the gifts. [29:58] Some of the biggest mistakes people make when gifting. [33:57] What stories didn’t make into the book? [36:50] Coming up with new ideas to keep gifts fresh for repeat clients. [38:53] Landing Caesar’s Palace as a client. [41:15] Gifts that backfire. [46:42] The hardest part about writing the book. [48:58] The important points in the book. [50:44] The craziest thing John convinced a client to do. [53:02] The low point of John’s journey. [54:02] How did you get out of that “funk”? [56:34] How did your wife help you get through that low point? [58:21] One of the proudest moments in your journey. [1:00:38] Some of the perks John and his partner give to the team. [1:01:28] John explains his connection to The Bubble Banks Company. [1:04:44] How to connect with John. [1:05:26] Who are some of the companies and entrepreneurs you want as a client? In this episode… There’s a reason John is seen as the master gift-giver. He understands the value of giving and discusses why it’s so important to make gifting a core value of any company. From the highs and lows, through the high-profile clients, to the most outrageous gifts he’s given, John gives us insight into how he’s become so successful by mastering the art of gifting. As one of 6 kids growing up on a farm, John learned early that he had to work for whatever he had. His parents taught him a strong work ethic, which has served him well as he built his business and wrote a successful book. As a child, John envisioned being a doctor because he wanted to work with his head and not his hands. He discusses how that all shifted when he discovered sales and found himself truly enjoying the process of connecting with clients. His first selling gig? Knives. John would go on to be the top seller in the 65-year history of Kutco knives, so it’s pretty clear he had a knack for it. Once John discovered his passion for sales, he would leave his dreams of going into medical school behind. He would take selling from residential to businesses and would find himself at the helm of a quickly-growing business. John discusses how he made that connection and why he decided to start pitching to businesses. He also talks about how he handles objections and why he believes objections are a good thing. From working with businesses, John bridged the gap into gifting and would soon be known as the best in the business. John goes on to discuss some of the biggest clients he’s ever worked with, including the Chicago Cubs, and how he wowed them with the first gift he was hired to create. He also shares some of the top mistakes people make in gifting, including the top mistake - making the gift about you, instead of the recipient. John discusses the most outrageous gift he’s ever gifted and why it made a huge impression. In closing, the discuss John’s book, Giftology, and the highs and lows of his journey. Resources Mentioned on this episode Giftology Ruhlin Group

If you’ve ever sent a “gift” with a promotional logo on it, then your gift-giving skills suck. Listen up: when it comes to strategic gift giving, you need to be asking “What is the most I can do for this client or prospect?” and then work backwards from there. In this episode, John Ruhlin, Founder of The Ruhlin Group and author of Giftology, shares how to give over-the-top gifts that surprise, blow minds, and sweep people off their feet.

John Ruhlin, the #1 distributor for Cutco and founder of the Ruhlin Group. John’s an expert on high-level gift giving, and accessing CEOs and top executives. Tune in to hear about why gratitude is so important, how to make your relationships work for you, and the secrets of effective gifting. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Give and Take What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuk Favourite online tool? —Hatchbuck Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?—I wish I understood that I didn’t have to do it all on my own Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:10 – Nathan’s introduction 01:30 – Welcoming John to the show 01:56 – Interned with CutCo and created their corporate gifting program 03:00 – Made around $10k over a summer aged 20 03:50 – Sold about $35-40k in his first summer 04:25 – Sold over $500k in his best year with CutCo 05:20 – “We help leaders not suck at saying Thank You” 05:50 – John speaks, writes, and coaches on corporate generosity and gratitude 06:20 – Worked with the Chicago Cubs on gifting 07:20 – They were remodelling a stadium - so John suggested using the wood from the old locker room to create 400 custom speakers for their most important relationships 09:20 – 8 people in John’s team and a strong relationship with his suppliers 10:08 – “I really try to appreciate everyone in our circle...I don’t have a business without those people” 10:40 – Almost lost the business on 2008 because of embezzlement by his accountant 11:25 – Published Giftology through Book in a Box 12:40 – Book in a Box cut down around 90% of the work related to creating a book 13:30 – Execution, launch and publicity are all being managed by John’s company 15:00 – Aiming to hit the Wall Street Journal bestseller list 15:20 – The best way to sell a book is to create a great book and have a tribe who’ll promote it 17:50 – The Famous Five 3 Key Points: You are as strong as the people around you. Create strong relationships with your team, your suppliers, and your partners. You don’t have to do everything alone. Say thank you. Relationships thrive on gratitude and appreciation Be humble and be honest about your weaknesses, and you’ll find people to help you balance them out Resources Mentioned: Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives  

John Ruhlin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group and the author of Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention. He’s the #1 all time distributor of Cutco Knives in its 65+ year history.  John is a master gift-giver, who forges lifetime relationships while generating huge returns for his clients.  His impressive list of clients includes the Chicago Cubs, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bears and many top entrepreneurs including Darren Hardy, Cameron Hould, and many more.  The true essence of John Ruhlin can be summed up in this quote from a very important person, his daughter: John helps people love on people. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: [0:37] Jeremy’s introduction of John Ruhlin, founder of the Ruhlin Group and author of Giftology. [1:58] The low point of John’s journey. [2:58] How did you get out of that “funk”? [5:30] How did your wife help you get through that low point? [7:17] One of the proudest moments in your journey. [9:34] Some of the perks John and his partner give to the team. [10:24] John explains his connection to The Bubble Banks Company. [13:40] How to connect with John. [14:22] Who are some of the companies and entrepreneurs you want as a client? In this episode… Listening to the master gift-giver makes it clear that giving should be a core value of companies large and small. John discusses the evolution of his company, including the all-important highs and lows along the way. From his days as a struggling entrepreneur to the success he enjoys today, John has maintained a focus on the core value of his company: giving. John shares insight into his lowest points, which included tragedy, heartache, and shock. He talks about the lessons learned from these low points and how he managed to bounce back. John also talks about how he found support during these struggles and why the low points helped to make him an even stronger entrepreneur, and person. He gives insight into how his wife’s support helped him persevere in the darkest times. John goes on to discuss the proudest moments of his journey. From launching his book, Giftology, to the honor of being asked to speak at Google, John has enjoyed many high points throughout his journey. He goes on to discuss some of the perks he and his partner give to the team, and why it’s so important to find ways to give back to the people that make it all happen. In closing, John goes over his “dream list” of clients he’d love to work with, including Gary Vaynerchuk, Tim Ferris, Michael Hyatt, and Seth Godin. Resources Mentioned on this episode Giftology Ruhlin Group

Episode 133: John Ruhlin – Giftology: Radical Generosity Is Your Secret Weapon John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar s Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. John's unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 Million reps). He now speaks widely about strategic gifting and relationship building and helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision makers. He is the author of “Giftology.” Ruhlin breaks down how anyone from mail clerk to managing director can master the magic of Giftology; with these and more: Mastering reciprocity, the hidden bottom line booster Laser-targeting whom to give a gift and when to use thrift Uncovering your client s inner circle and becoming part of it Give wholeheartedly to Giftology and reap the rewards of an expanding business and fruitful relationships, professional and personal alike. Episode 133: John Ruhlin – Giftology: Radical Generosity Is Your Secret Weapon Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. The Learning Leader Show “I Help Leaders Not Suck At Saying Thank You.” – John Ruhlin In This Episode, You Will Learn: The best gift John ever received – Specific gifts for him, his wife, and his kids based on each of their preferences A thoughtful hand written note on a nice sheet of paper will go a long way Percentage of revenue invested on gift giving Reframing your questioning to: “What’s the most I could give?” Differentiating from all others Why you shouldn’t give gifts at Thanksgiving or Christmas Why you should never put your own logo on a gift How to be a better gift giver in your relationship with your spouse “Surprise and Delight” – “Planned “Randomness” Why you shouldn’t ask for your gift recipient’s address – Find another one to get it Don’t give consumable safe bets – Be thoughtful Think, “How can I help you look good to your most important relationships?’ Paying for each employee to have their homes cleaned every two weeks and the benefit his company receives from it How to dominate your specific space like he dominates the appreciation space “What’s the most I could give?  What’s the craziest thing I could do to show them how much I appreciate them?” Continue Learning Read:  Giftology Go To: Ruhlin Group Follow John on Twitter: @ruhlin Follow me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 130: Ryan Holiday – What Is Your Greatest Enemy? Your Ego Episode 127: Adam Grant – How Originals Impact The World Episode 126: Jayson Gaignard – Mastermind Talks – An event with a lower acceptance rate than Harvard Episode 114: Cal Newport – Deep Work Is Your Super Power Did you enjoy the podcast? This was a jam packed episode full of great content.  John Ruhlin is leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this?  Send them to The Learning Leader Show! Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell Bio From RuhlinGroup.com John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar s Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. John's unique approach to relationships led him to become the #1 salesman for a $250 Million direct sales company by the time he was 23 (out of 1.5 Million reps). He now speaks widely about strategic gifting and relationship building and helps CEOs and sales teams drive referrals and open doors to elusive decision makers. He is the author of “Giftology.” Ruhlin breaks down how anyone from mail clerk to managing director can master the magic of Giftology; with these and more: Mastering reciprocity, the hidden bottom line booster Laser-targeting whom to give a gift and when to use thrift Uncovering your client s inner circle and becoming part of it Give wholeheartedly to Giftology and reap the rewards of an expanding business and fruitful relationships, professional and personal alike.

John Ruhlin is an entrepreneur with a big focus on appreciation. In his Paper Napkin Wisdom, John tells us that the people and relationships you appreciate go up in value over time.  It’s a lesson John learned early in his … Continue reading → The post Equal and Opposite – John Ruhlin (Founder of The Ruhlin Group & CSP of Cutco) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

A master of the serial gift strategy, John Ruhlin, founder and CEO of the Ruhlin Group, knows how important it is to build consistency and continuity into any Contact Marketing campaign.  He's been helping his clients generate huge leaps in sales for years and shares his secrets in his talk with Stu.

John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a firm that specializes in year-round strategic gifting and appreciation programs to connect with C-level executives. On this episode he shares how to give memorable gifts to open up and deepen your connections with high level execs, and anyone else.

Episode 038: John Ruhlin – Working The Gratitude Muscle | Strategic Appreciation And Gift Giving This episode was absolutely packed full of action oriented takeaways to help us become better at exercising the gratitude muscle. In addition to this, John truly lives by what he says… He sent me handcrafted custom made knives with this engraving, “Hand crafted for the Ryan and Miranda Hawk Family.”  He also added my Learning Leader Show logo on the knives.  One of the most incredible gifts I’ve ever received! John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of Ruhlin Group, a firm that specializes in high-level gifting plans to build relationships and acquire new clients. The company was originally founded as a way to market Cutco Cutlery as a high-end corporate gift to companies of all sizes. This partnership with Cutco has allowed the company to become the No. 1 distributor of Cutco in the company’s 60-year history and an active consultant to its executives and leadership. John currently resides just outside of St. Louis with his wife, Lindsay, and two kids. He’s the co-author of the best-selling book “Cutting Edge Sales” and is a sought-after speaker on the topics of C-level selling, relationship development, and strategic gifting. Episode 038: John Ruhlin – Working The Gratitude Muscle | Strategic Appreciation And Gift Giving Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. The Learning Leader Show “In our digital age, a hand written note is gold.” Some Questions I Ask: What one common characteristic do all successful leaders share? How have you been so successful at getting the attention of anyone? What percentage of revenue do you invest in gift giving? Reframing your questioning to: “What’s the most I could give?” What separates you from all of the others? How have you been able to dominate this space? In This Episode, You Will Learn: How to master “strategic appreciation” The importance of being a giver Great leaders have 6 to 1 ratio of positive words to negative How to work the gratitude muscle An incredible story about how he got engaged The unbelievable length John went to impress someone (Cameron Herold) that he wanted to mentor him. How to dominate your specific space like he dominates the appreciation space “What’s the most I could give?  What’s the craziest thing I could do to show them how much I appreciate them?” Continue Learning Read:  "Give and Take" By Adam Grant   Go To: Ruhlin Group Follow John on Twitter: @ruhlin You may also like these episodes: Episode 001: How To Become A Master Connector With Jayson Gaignard From MasterMind Talks Episode 002: How To Take Over And Set Bigger Goals With Chris Brogan Episode 004: How Todd Wagner (and Mark Cuban) Sold Broadcast.com To Yahoo! For $5.7 Billion Episode 010: Shane Snow – How To Accelerate Success Using Smart Cuts Did you enjoy the podcast? This was a jam packed episode full of great content.  Ben Greenfield is leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this?  Send them to The Learning Leader Show! Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell   Bio From ideamensch.com John Ruhlin is the founder and CEO of Ruhlin Group, a firm that specializes in high-level gifting plans to build relationships and acquire new clients. The company was originally founded as a way to market Cutco Cutlery as a high-end corporate gift to companies of all sizes. This partnership with Cutco has allowed the company to become the No. 1 distributor of Cutco in the company’s 60-year history and an active consultant to its executives and leadership.   John currently resides just outside of St. Louis with his wife, Lindsay, and two kids. He’s the co-author of the best-selling book “Cutting Edge Sales” and is a sought-after speaker on the topics of C-level selling, relationship development, and strategic gifting.

Appreciative Leadership, Appreciative Selling, How to Stand Out and Create Value for Others with John Ruhlin on Growth to Freedom with Dan Kuschell You can also get the Growth to Freedom Gift Package at: http://www.growthtofreedom.com/gift Enjoy the show on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/growth-to-freedom-clarity/id981989798?mt=2   ========= SUMMARY ========= What would happen in your career, business, and relationships if you had a strategy to generate deeper bonds, connections, sales, and raving fans who refer you to others? Expert John Ruhlin is an adviser, writer, and philanthropist. He's the founder of The Ruhlin Group and creator of Appreciative Selling and Appreciative Leadership and will share methods and strategies to stand out, get attention, create more sales, and referrals. Discover things like: What is Appreciative Leadership - and how can it help you advance your career and business; How to Stand Out by Providing a Unique Experience through gratitude and appreciation; The mindset of gratitude and appreciation - and how it reflects in everything you do; What can you do today to experience rapid breakthroughs? What is it that keeps you from getting the results you really want? The strategy John learned from his mentor Paul that transformed his business career: "... If I take care of the family, everything else takes care of itself"... and how this can help you get more clients, sales, referrals, and open doors to reach influencers; Why to make yourself more 'referable' and steps you can take today whether you're just starting, or a seasoned vet looking to exponentially grow; The Power of building your future focused on culture and relationship capital (versus transactional models) - this simple idea differentiates you so you're not competing on price; How to Position yourself top of mind by getting people to like and trust you; Who You should give to and how much is the appropriate amount to give - these insights will save you years of frustration and 'giving' to the wrong people; The difference between givers, takers, and matchers (from Adam Grant: Give and Take); How John Ruhlin created a five star experience for Cameron Herold, co-founder of 1800GotJunk, by bringing 'Brooks Brothers' to him - this story will show you the power of resourcefulness, anticipating needs, and how thinking differently will get you referred over and over again; The measuring tool for relationship capital John learned from his buddy Joey: "...the artifact of the relationship. Our relationship matters, here's what it means..." What you can learn from Kings: giving something to that person to represent the value of the relationship; Why you can't shortcut a relationship with a bribe; The difference between a bribe and a gift (and how to distinguish the too) And much, much more...   John Ruhlin can help you build and stimulate your culture, relationships, and growth with simple, practical solutions. John Ruhlin is an expert at Appreciative Leadership and has worked with clients like the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, Orlando Magic, Shell Corporation, Chevron and thought leaders like Darren Hardy, Tom Searcy, John Maxwell, and the list goes on and on to help create more sales, referrals, and memorable relationships. He's the co-founder of the Ruhlin Group. He's the co-owner of Bubble Banks, a company that is a charitable organization, generating millions of dollars for incredible causes all over the world. Contact John at: http://www.RuhlinGroup.com or on twitter @ruhlin Get access to the full show here at: http://www.growthtofreedom.com/12 Get more clarity, capabilities, and confidence and join us for a new show at http://www.growthtofreedom.com   =================== ABOUT DAN KUSCHELL: =================== Dan Kuschell is a success driven business growth strategist, a media contributor, and thought leader. He helps entrepreneurs, leaders, and business owners grow and scale their companies 10x by driving the flow of elegant ideas, execution, and team-culture for greater clarity, confidence, and direction. Dan has been recognized worldwide for creating results with his resources, books, and strategies. Meet Dan at http://www.DanKuschell.com Get more access to Dan's wisdom here: http://www.youtube.com/ChampionVision Watch/Listen to the show: http://www.growthtofreedom.com Tweet us at: https://twitter.com/dan_kuschell Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/dankuschellpage LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dankuschell Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dankuschell Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dankuschell  

High level gifting as a sign of customer appreciation is far different than the mass giveaways that happen at the gates in exchange for a ticket. John Ruhlin specializes is crafting the best ways for a franchise or company to show their commitment back to the larger customers within their suite and premium levels. Ruhlin discusses why some of the things that franchises choose to aren't valued, and tend to be regifted, and how to ensure that every gift is quality and treasured by the customer forever. Ruhlin also talks about some of the ways to ensure that the entire process is both unique, as well as continual for each fan involved. Twitter: @Ruhlin

In college, John founded the Ruhlin Group as a way to market Cutco Cutlery as a high-end corporate gift to companies of all sizes.   This partnership with Cutco has allowed the Ruhlin Group to become the #1 all time distributor of Cutco in their 60-year history out of over 1 million distributers, as well as an active consultant to their executives and leadership.   Read the entire show notes, key takeaways and find business-boosting resources at www.aesnation.com/21