E158: The Art and Science of Gift Giving with John Ruhlin

<p><strong>John Ruhlin is a speaker, author, and advisor. He is the author of </strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Giftology-Increase-Referrals-Strengthen-Retention/dp/1619614332"><u><em><strong>Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention</strong></em></u></a><strong>. Today, he speaks about the concept of gifts and how there is a right and wrong way to give.</strong></p> <p><strong>Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:</strong></p> <ul> <li>It’s not about the gift you give, but the human connection you build<br> </li> <li>Sending unexpected gifts at unexpected times<br> </li> <li>The return on relationships<br> </li> <li>Why you need to focus on your warm market first<br> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Episode Highlights:</strong></p> <p><strong>Building Human Connection Through Giftology</strong></p> <p>What most people forget whether they're a sales rep or &nbsp;a million-dollar business, or a billion-dollar company, is every business rises and falls on relationships. Whether that’s relationships with clients, mentors, advisors, employees, and prospects, most people, however, are terrible at showing gratitude to even their spouse, let alone their top 100 clients or their top 500 employees or whatever.</p> <p>At the end of the day, nobody cares about gifts, but the results in the referrals and how you show up for people matter. The gifts are the delivery vehicle for this emotional connection. It's actually not about the thing that you've given, but it's the meaning, the story, the thoughtfulness.</p> <p>When you're more thoughtful and more creative with how you love on people, you can spend 1/10 the amount of money and get 100 times more impact.</p> <p>The problem with many people, however, is they're trying to buy their way with sponsorships and advertising, as well as Facebook ads and cool sexy events and models. But you need to understand the psychology of how to influence people and how to do it either in a thought