304: John Ruhlin - The Power and Skill of Giving

_“Do gifting when you don’t have to, and then you don’t have to do gifting. It already becomes a part of the process, and people want to renew with you… It just becomes a natural progression.”_ John Ruhlin, author of Giftology It’s December, and you are struggling with the eternal question: “What gift should I give my employees, clients, and the people I want to maintain a relationship with?” Bad news: you’re already wrong. In this episode of the Less Doing podcast, Ari chats with John Ruhlin, the author of Giftology and an expert in gifting and gratitude strategy. John rose from farm-boy roots and selling Cutco knives to being the leading expert on how to use gifting to deepen and maintain relationships, stay top-of-mind with your most important clients, and accelerate your business. Why Giving the Best Gift is Crucial Giving a gift can be an effective way to show your appreciation for a client or employee. However, did you know that most companies give the wrong gifts at the wrong times? This does more harm than good. The wrong gifts actually hurt your business and make people think less of you (although, according to John, nobody will ever tell you that!). In this episode, John explains the value of a gifting strategy and how, when done right, it easily turns your clients into raving fans of your business. What Types of Companies Can Benefit From Gift Giving Gifting and gratitude can give your business a competitive advantage that sets you apart from your competition. This strategy is most effective of certain types of business with goals to grow or maintain employee and client relationships. However, as John and Ari discuss, there are certain criteria that need to be met for a gifting strategy to be effective. Find out what those are and if gifting will accelerate your business in this episode. The Best Gifts For Your Clients and Employees Effective gifting goes beyond a simple item. The best gifts effectively keep you top of mind with them throughout the year. The best gifts are those that make the receiver think of you each time they interact with (whether they want to or not!). If you are struggling with what to give, you don’t want to miss this episode where John shares some of his best tips. And if you want to know what NOT to give, you can get a list of John’s top ten WORST gifts [here](http://giftologybook.com/ari/). Outline of the Show [0:25] - Ari opens the show and introduces his guest, John Ruhlin [0:50] - John explains his background and how he became “the gift guy” [4:58] - What is Cutco, why so many great sales leaders got their start there, and John’s biggest take-away from his experience selling knives [10:00] - the importance of cost per impression and focusing on tangible items [13:15] - John explains how he turned gifting into a successful business [15:30] - the ideal business that could benefit from a gifting strategy [20:30] - the best time to give gifts to clients [22:30] - John shares his most memorable experiences with giving the best gift [27:07] - gifting mistakes [30:00] - John shares where you can get a copy of his book, and Ari closes the show Resources Mentioned: [Cutco Cutlery & Kitchen Knives](https://www.cutco.com) [Giftology](http://giftologybook.com/) Download the top 10 worst gift ideas [here](http://giftologybook.com/ari/) John Ruhlin on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/johnruhlinjr/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ruhlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor), and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ruhlin-0b04b01/) If you enjoyed this episode of the Less Doing podcast and want even more tips for growing your business and improving your productivity, join our community on [Slack](https://go.lessdoing.com/labsoptin) or [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/lessdoinglabs/). ------- [Get the FREE Optimize, Automate, Out