By JAMAR COBB-DENNARD
In 2007, I rode a bicycle from LA to Boston with eight friends.
But this story isn’t about me, it’s about the recently passed master of relationship building, John Ruhlin. When John died suddenly, it brought back a flood of great memories of a man who gave to others selflessly and without abandon.
Our cycling group included mostly CUTCO Cutlery and Vector Marketing alumni. Yes, we were all knife nerds who sold CUTCO house-to-house during college. We started our cycling journey on the Pacific shores of Newport Beach and rode through the West and suffered through 120-degree desert heat.
Our team climbed mountains, fought gale force headwinds in Kansas and navigated the cold of the Northeast October rains. We slept on floors, ate too much fast food for the number of good calories we needed (being in our 20s helped) and stopped to speak to 10,000 students along the way.
It was a tough and memorable 3,000-mile accomplishment that I’ll carry with me for a lifetime. I learned that consistency is key, to “not stop” activity that produces sales, and that I can do literally anything with the support of others (aka, I didn’t train at all for this trip and thought I was going to die during the first 30-days).
There was one special person who wasn’t on the road but impacted our success in a big way ā John Ruhlin.
The biggest gifts for the cycling team from John were the use of his SUV as our SAG (safety and guidance) wagon, the connection to the New York Times bestselling author Matthew Kelly who gave us 10,000 copies of The Rhythm of Life to give to students, and the massive event John organized for his clients with Mr. Kelly as the keynote speaker. We had police and fire procession as we rode our bikes through John’s Ohio hometown. Then, John escorted us into a gymnasium filled with hundreds of his Amish clients.

Our team, followed by Mr. Kelly, gave the speeches of our lives and did everything in our power to inspire the audience. Through this event, John not only gave to us, but he gave to his clients. Over the years, those Amish business owners bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of Cutco from John as business gifts for their employees.
Giving others the opportunity to celebrate their people was one of John’s gifts. That gift was manifested back to John’s clients through our program that night. John built his career on the concept of giving. Not only did providing a vehicle for his clients to give to others produce sales for John, but giving gave John a platform to speak internationally about āGiftology.ā
Giftology is the practice of strategically giving thoughtful, personalized gifts to clients and business contacts to strengthen relationships, increase referrals and enhance client retention. The keys to effective gifting are to be an intentional giver, personalize the gift, gift at unexpected times, use gifts to foster relationships and go above and beyond to inspire reciprocation in business.
As we enter the holiday season, consider business gifting as part of your marketing program for December and January. Give gifts to strategic partners, vendors, suppliers, employees, and clients. A blanket gift for everyone will not suffice. Make your list of gifts small enough so you can give a gift that will be truly special to the recipient. When gifting, consider the personās hobbies, goals, family and kids, work.
Now, back to the friend who taught me strategic gifting.
I learned so much through John’s life: Make giving one of my core values. Help and sacrifice for others. Be a magnanimous and inspiring leader. Do my best regardless of what others are doing around me. Give thoughtfully and strategically.
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is a business broker and attorney. To learn more about how to buy and sell businesses, contact Jamar at jamar@jamarcobbdennard.com.