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Marketing Podcast with John Ruhlin

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.

Key Takeaway:

Companies spend billions every year giving crappy stuff to their most valuable people. John Ruhlin set out to change this. If you’re going to give someone something, blow them away — so he created a done-for-you-gifting agency that helps people achieve just that.

People refer business to people who they like, trust, and who are top of mind. There’s an art to gift-giving, and in this episode, John dives into the art and science of using gifts to increase referrals and strengthen client retention.

Questions I Ask John Ruhlin:

• [1:05] So you know you’re taking on a whole new category, aren’t you?
• [8:16] You’re suggesting that you look at it as a marketing channel and that you would actually put X amount of revenue into gifting per client — do you have a formula for that?
• [10:21] When you surprise somebody and blow somebody away, they can’t not talk about it. So what would you say that turns into?
• [12:25] What’s your planned giving schedule?
• [14:14] Let’s say somebody has a new product or a new book — can you tie a gift to that or does that end up being too close to the transaction?
• [17:30] What’s the most impactful meaning or return on investment thing you’ve seen someone do?
• [18:38] Regardless of return, what’s the most outrageous thing you’ve seen someone do?
• [19:33] What’s been the one that should have worked, but actually turned into kind of an oops?
• [20:51] Is there a ~ $500 personalized gift that you’ve seen impress someone?
• [23:22] If somebody wanted to work with you or find out a little more about your ideas, where can they find you?

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This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network.

If you are a consultant or agency or coach, do any of these points ring true: do you have trouble getting in front of enough ideal clients? Are you constantly being forced to compete on price? Are you working too hard and not making enough money?

I’ve got a free book for you. It’s called the 7 steps to scale your practice or agency without adding overhead. If you want to grow your practice, it doesn’t have to be that hard. Download a copy for yourself here.