THE AUTHOR

JEFFREY J. FOX is the founder and

president of Fox & Company, Inc., a marketing

consulting fi rm that specializes in marketing strategy

development, innovation, enhancement, and selling

skills training. In addition, Fox is a popular speaker

and the acclaimed author of a series of hard-hitting

international business best-sellers, How to Become CEO,

How to Become a Rainmaker, and Secrets of

Great Rainmakers among others.

What People Are SayingAbout Rain…

“I would hire Rain.”—LARRY CULP JR., CEO of Danaher Corp

“Rain delivers a charming, engaging story packed with gems of business wisdom. I recommend it, for you, your colleagues,and your kids.”

—MARK SANBORN, speaker and author of The Fred Factor and The Encore Effect

“Reading this little book reminded me of how much I learned as a paperboy.”

—HERB HENKEL, CEO, Ingersoll-Rand

“Jeffrey Fox’s fi rst foray into business fi ction is fantastic and very apropos in today’s world. It reminds us to have integrity, be tough, and stand up for ourselves in the face of a challenge.”

—CHRIS WIDENER, author of The Art of Infl uence and The Angel Inside

PHOTO BY JOHN LESTER, AVON, CT.

JEFFREY J. FOXBestselling Author of HOW TO BECOME CEO

and HOW TO BECOME A RAINMAKER

What aPaperboy LearnedAbout

Business

U.S. $18.95 | Canada $22.95

www.josseybass.com

L E A D E R S H I P

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What do Alexander Hamilton,Walt Disney, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Sam Walton, Willie Mays, and Jerry Seinfeld have in common?

They all started out as paperboys.

Paperboys and girls symbolize our country’s relentless, indefatigable entrepreneurial spirit. They bought, sold, and delivered papers. And they did it alone, often in the dark and cold—and they were kids!

In this witty and wise story, bestselling business author Jeffrey J. Fox reveals why the lessons paperboys learn so often establish them on the early road to success. The story follows a young New England paperboy named Rain, as he navigates the business of being in business and quickly becomes the best paperboy in town.

Through a series of humorous and often poignant vignettes, Fox illustrates “rainmaker” business lessons that can be applied not only to paperboys, but to anyone in business and sales facing obstacles and challenges. While working his paper route, Rain gradually discovers the value of planning for an interview, the ten customer commandments, his ability to negotiate, why it’s necessary to innovate, how to create an exit strategy, and much more. Ultimately, Rain’s time as a paperboy proves to be a valuable foundation for business success.

Rain includes “The Rain Reader,” a series of actionable business takeaways and practical advice to make anyone a rainmaker.

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Also by Jeffrey J. Fox

How to Get to the TopHow to Land Your Dream JobSecrets of Great RainmakersThe Dollarization DisciplineHow to Make Big Money in Your Own Small BusinessHow to Become a Marketing SuperstarHow to Become a Great BossHow to Become a RainmakerHow to Become CEO

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RAINWhat a Paperboy Learned

About Business

Jeffrey J. Fox

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Copyright © 2009 by Jeffrey J. Fox. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-BassA Wiley Imprint989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmittedin any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning,or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United StatesCopyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authoriza-tion through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center,Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on theWeb at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressedto the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for fur-ther information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written andwhen it is read.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used theirbest efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respectto the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim anyimplied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty maybe created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice andstrategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult witha professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for anyloss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, inci-dental, consequential, or other damages.

Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bassdirectly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside theU.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax 317-572-4002.

Jossey-Bass also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content thatappears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fox, Jeffrey J., 1945-Rain : what a paperboy learned about business / Jeffrey J. Fox.

p. cm.ISBN 978-0-470-40853-7 (cloth)1. Success in business. 2. Sales management. 3. Customer relations. 4. Selling. I. Title.HF5386.F528 2009658—dc22

2008050158

Printed in the United States of Americafirst editionHB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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v

CONTENTS

preface viii

acknowledgments xiv

Get Up: A Prologue 1

1 Opportunity 3

2 Interview Planning 8

3 Interview 11

4 Money 17

5 The Dinner Table 22

6 Day One 25

7 Mean Dogs 30

8 The Ten Customer Commandments 34

9 The Sundays 36

10 Referrals 40

11 The Contest 45

12 Luck 50

13 Bonus 53

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Contents

vi

14 The Bully (Part I) 56

15 Green Lightning 61

16 Innovation 64

17 Coffee 67

18 Rookie 71

19 Photo 75

20 Crime and Punishment 77

21 Collections 85

22 Ice 90

23 Exit Strategy 94

24 Valuation 96

25 Negotiation 105

26 The New Kid 109

27 The Bully (Part II) 111

28 Vern 116

29 Getting an M.B.A. 120

the rain reader 129

epilogue 193

about the author 194

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EPIGRAPH

But February made me shiver,With every paper I’d deliver.

DON McLEAN

If you gave me the choice of being CEO ofGeneral Electric or IBM or General Motors, youname it, or delivering papers, I would deliver

papers. I would. I enjoyed doing that.WARREN BUFFETT

vii

To Luca Modesto, Ella Elizabeth, and Dorothy Rose

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viii

PREFACE

Cowboys made the American West. The boys ofsummer made baseball the American pastime.

And paperboys made the newspaper business, becauseif “the boys don’t sell ’em, the papers don’t tell ’em.”

A paperboy was once the quintessential Ameri-can job, symbolizing the country’s relentless, indefatiga-ble entrepreneurial spirit. There is nothing comparable.The paperboy bought, sold, delivered, and collected forthe papers. And the paperboy, or papergirl, did it alone,often in the dark.

Most spectacular, paperboys were kids!Although there are still paperboys, their ranks

have been reduced for various social and economic rea-sons. Whatever the dynamics, there were a lot morepaperboys then than there are now.

Paperboys were usually between nine andseventeen years old. Paperboys were delivering in thedark when their friends were sleeping. Paperboys weredelivering in the afternoon and early evening whentheir friends were playing. And paperboys were deliver-ing six or seven days a week.

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Having been a paperboy is often in the bios ofsuccessful people in every walk of life. Noting that phe-nomenon, I have suggested in my books and talks thathiring former paperboys is smart business. In fact, afterone of my talks, an accomplished, successful business-man told me, “Everything I learned about business, Ilearned as a paperboy.” And Rain was born.

As the legendary Babe Ruth taught his team-mates to do, I tip my cap to all the paperboys, paper-girls, babysitters, lawn cutters, caddies, leaf rakers, carwashers, shoe shiners, snow shovelers, and Girl ScoutCookie sellers, and to their sisters and brothers, andmoms and dads.

You made America. You make America.

A Few Famous Paperboys

• Isaac Asimov, physicist

• Fred Bauer, Mr. Auto Wash

• Leo Bedrick, All-American athlete

• Richard Belzer, comedian

• Brandon Bergstrom, wine merchant

• Bill Bradley, professional basketball player,then U.S. senator

• Tom Brokaw, TV news anchor

• Warren Buffett, investor

Preface

ix

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Preface

x

• Jeffrey Burrows, entrepreneur

• Carolyn Carlstroem, publishing executive

• Sean “Diddy” Combs, singer/businessman

• Tom Chappell, founder of Tom’s of Maine

• Jack Covert, founder and president, 800-CEO-READ

• Bing Crosby, singer/entertainer

• Tom Cruise, actor

• Barbara Cruz, software engineer

• Mike Daversa, CEO of Renzulli Learning

• Terrell Davis, Superbowl Most Valuable Player

• Andre Dawson, Major League Baseball player

• Walt Disney, moviemaker

• Jimmy Durante, entertainer

• Thomas Alva Edison, inventor

• Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. president

• Robert Frost, poet

• Stan Gault, CEO of Goodyear Tire

• Billy Gillispie, University of Kentuckybasketball coach

• Wayne Gretzky, National Hockey League player

• Joe Grewe, president of Saint Gobain Glass USA

• Susan Hailey, vice president of Harrah’s

• Alexander Hamilton, U.S. founding father

• Sean Hannity, political commentator

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• Herb Henkel, CEO of Ingersol-Rand

• Joe Hessley, entrepreneur

• Dana Higgins, human resources manager

• Herbert Hoover, U.S. president

• Bob Hope, entertainer

• Rod Hoyng, executive vice presidentof Schindler USA

• Marion and Gail Hurley, mother and daughterpaper delivery team

• LL Cool J, singer

• Stanley Jennings, journalist

• Bob Kelley, management consultant

• Kirk Kerkorian, investor/casinos

• Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist

• Gus Kontonickas, general manager of NSK

• Mitch Kotula, businessman

• Wanda Lach, dressed as a boy to hawk papersduring the Great Depression

• Deborah Lacy, communications consultant

• Kelly Lane, art expert

• Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America

• Jack London, author

• Chris Matthews, TV journalist

• Willie Mays, Hall-of-Fame baseball player

Preface

xi

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• Don McLean, singer/songwriter• Lynne Mica, sales consultant manager• Allyn Miller, president of Flair Communications• Joseph Murphy, CPA• Terry Noonan, chief operating officer of Furon• Bob Palka, general manager of Saint GobainPlastics USA

• Dick Parsons, CEO of Time Warner• Ron Paul, U.S. congressman• Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power ofPositive Thinking

• H. Ross Perot, entrepreneur• T. Boone Pickens, oilman• Jamie Price, vice president of sales, Sandvik USA• Sarah Rainone, book editor• Phil Rizzuto, New York Yankee• Jackie Robinson, first black Major LeagueBaseball player

• Gary Rogers, CEO of Dreyer’s Ice Cream• Guy Rowland, president, Air Liquide America• Tim Russert,Meet the Press anchor• Robert “Ryno” Ryan, businessman• Lawrence B. Ryan, businessman• Carl Sandburg, poet• John Schuster, creator of Superman Comics

Preface

xii

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• Jerry Seinfeld, comedian

• Gerry Sindell, author/book consultant

• Chris Skomorowski, CEO of Bicron USA

• James Stern, businessman

• Ed Sullivan, television personality

• Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com

• Danny Thomas, entertainer

• Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s

• Cecil Ursprung, CEO of Reflexite

• Sam Walton, retailer

• Naomi Watts, actress

• John Wayne, actor

• Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric

• Gary White, CEO of Pacific Crest Marketing

• Todd White, National Hockey League player

• Meredith Whitney, stock analyst

• Morrill Worcester, CEO, Wreaths Across America

• Howard Wright, general manager, PPG

• Merrill Yavinsky, vice chairman of Walker-Dunlop

And there are thousands more.

Jeffrey J. FoxChester, ConnecticutJanuary 2009

Preface

xiii

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xiv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To all the shout-outs that appear in Rain’s adventures.To Karen Murphy and Byron Schneider and

the rest of the terrific Jossey-Bass team for putting a lotof life into Rain.

To Doris Michaels and Delia Berrigan Fakis ofthe DSM Literary Agency in New York City for a mostprofessional and loyal relationship.

And to all the paperboys and papergirls andother working kids in the world.

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1

GET UP: A PROLOGUE

Rain had been a paperboy for twenty months.Although his bedroom was in the back of his

house, far from the street, he could hear the dreadedsound of The Gazette’s delivery truck. He could hear thetruck’s motor idle as it stopped at the end of his drive-way. And then he heard the dreaded double thumpthump, as the delivery guy dropped two big bundles ofnewspapers next to his mailbox. Thump! Thump! Getup, chump.

Man, am I tired, thought Rain. Then the alarmclock started. Now Rain had to get up. He deliberatelykept the alarm clock on his desk on the other side of hisroom, to force him to get out of bed to shut it off. In thesummer, getting up was easier. The weather was warm.There was a bit of daylight starting.

But it wasn’t the summertime. It was February inNew England and pitch black outside. Snow piles linedthe streets, and the sidewalks were only half-shoveled.

I’d kill to stay under these warm covers, thoughtRain. But then his bare feet hit the cold floor. Alarm off.Lights on. Rain was up. Rain was up yet again.

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Get Up : A Prologue

2

Rain’s father said over and over: “You’ve got toget up to show up. If you show up, you might win. Ifyou don’t show up, you lose.”

Rain hated to lose.

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3

C H A P T E R 1

Opportunity

It was Saturday morning, and Mom was makingbreakfast. Dad was reading the Town News section

of The Gazette. Rain was reading the sports pages.“Have you noticed,” Dad asked, looking up

from the paper at Rain, “that for the past few days, thepaper is finally being delivered when it’s supposed to be?In the morning?”

No one said anything.“Would anyone like to know why the paper is

getting here on time, after weeks of late or no paper?”Dad asked.

No one answered.“Am I talking to myself?” Dad asked.“Apparently,” Mom said.“Rain?” Dad said.

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“What?” Rain asked, trying to read the baseballstandings and look at his father at the same time.

“If you’re interested and if you move fast, youmight be able to get a job as a paperboy,” Dad said.

Dad now had Rain’s full interest. And Mom’s.“The reason the paper is being delivered on

time is because a guy who works for the paper is deliv-ering it. That kid, D.J. or P.J. or whatever his name was,who was supposed to be our paperboy, quit last week.”

“Don’t tell me you learned all that reading thepaper,” Mom said.

“No. The driver told me. He said P.J. was totallyunreliable and they were probably gonna have to firehim. But he called in and quit. No notice.”

“So are they looking for a new kid?” Rain asked.“They’d probably take an adult, but, yeah, they

are looking for a new kid. Here’s their ad in the paper.”Dad handed the paper to Rain.

Rain read the ad. Mom read the ad over Rain’sshoulder.

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“Well you are certainly trustworthy and reli-able,” Mom said.

“Do paperboys make a lot of money?” Rainasked.

“Relatively speaking, yes,” Dad replied. “For akid your age, making twenty-five bucks a week or moreis pretty good.”

“Twenty-five bucks a week?” Rain repeated.“Maybe more, maybe less. It depends on the

route, how much you get per paper, and other things.But I think someone could make a lot more.”

“Do you think I could get the job?” Rain asked.

Opportunity

5

OPPORTUNITYImmediate opening for an ambitious personto deliver The Gazette in the Moravia Woods,Wellington Heights, and Lawrence Avenueneighborhoods.

Applicants must be reliable and trustworthy.

For an interview call Mr. D’Michaels.

1–800-Gazette

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“Well, first you have to want the job. Deliveringpapers is a tough job, and delivering the morning paperis a bear.”

“How hard can it be?” Rain asked.“Really hard,” Dad said. “You’ve got to get up

early. Fold papers. In this neighborhood, you will haveto use your bike. Papers are heavy. Bad weather. But amillion kids do it, and the money is good.”

“I want the job,” Rain said.“Let’s talk for a second. I don’t want you to rush

into this. You just turned thirteen, and you weigh, what,115 pounds?” Dad asked.

And all steel, Rain boasted to himself. But hesaid nothing.

“A paperboy has to work seven days a week.The U.S. Post Office is the best delivery organization inthe world. They deliver millions of envelopes and pack-ages a day, but they work six days. You’ll be on for seven.No break. And you’ll have to spend some afternoontime to collect money from your customers.”

“You won’t have to spend a lot of time collect-ing from this customer,” Mom smiled.

Dad also smiled. “I mentioned collectingbecause you have baseball practice and two or so BabeRuth games a week. That might conflict.”

“I can do it,” Rain said.

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