What People Are Saying
About Rain…
T HE AUT H O R
JEFFREY J. FOX is the founder and
president of Fox & Company, Inc., a marketing
consulting firm 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.
PHOTO BY JOHN LESTER, AVON, CT.
RAIN
“I would hire Rain.” What do Alexander Hamilton,
—LARRY CULP JR., CEO of Danaher Corp
Walt Disney, Sean “Diddy” Combs,
Sam Walton, Willie Mays, and Jerry
LEARNED ABOUT BUSINESS
WHAT A PAPERBOY
“Rain delivers a charming, engaging story Seinfeld have in common?
packed with gems of business wisdom.
I recommend it, for you, your colleagues,
What a
They all started out as paperboys.
and your kids.”
—MARK SANBORN, speaker and author of
Paperboy Paperboys and girls symbolize our country’s relentless,
indefatigable entrepreneurial spirit. They bought, sold,
The Fred Factor and The Encore Effect
Learned and delivered papers. And they did it alone, often in the
dark and cold—and they were kids!
“Reading this little book reminded me of About In this witty and wise story, bestselling business author
how much I learned as a paperboy.” Jeffrey J. Fox reveals why the lessons paperboys learn so
—HERB HENKEL, CEO, Ingersoll-Rand Business 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.
“Jeffrey Fox’s first foray into business fiction is
fantastic and very apropos in today’s world. It Through a series of humorous and often poignant
reminds us to have integrity, be tough, and vignettes, Fox illustrates “rainmaker” business lessons
that can be applied not only to paperboys, but to anyone
stand up for ourselves in the face of a challenge.”
in business and sales facing obstacles and challenges.
—CHRIS WIDENER, author of The Art of While working his paper route, Rain gradually discovers
Influence and The Angel Inside the value of planning for an interview, the ten customer
J. FOX
JEFFREY
commandments, his ability to negotiate, why it’s
LEADERSHIP necessary to innovate, how to create an exit strategy, and
much more. Ultimately, Rain’s time as a paperboy proves
JEFFREY J. FOX
U.S. $18.95 | Canada $22.95
to be a valuable foundation for business success.
www.josseybass.com
Rain includes “The Rain Reader,” a series of actionable
business takeaways and practical advice to make anyone
a rainmaker.
Bestselling Author of HOW TO BECOME CEO
and HOW TO BECOME A RAINMAKER
Fox.ffirs.qxd:Fox.ffirs.qxd 12/18/08 9:53 AM Page ii
Fox.ffirs.qxd:Fox.ffirs.qxd 12/18/08 9:53 AM Page i

Also by Jeffrey J. Fox

How to Get to the Top
How to Land Your Dream Job
Secrets of Great Rainmakers
The Dollarization Discipline
How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business
How to Become a Marketing Superstar
How to Become a Great Boss
How to Become a Rainmaker
How to Become CEO
Fox.ffirs.qxd:Fox.ffirs.qxd 12/18/08 9:53 AM Page ii
Fox.ffirs.qxd:Fox.ffirs.qxd 12/18/08 9:53 AM Page iii

RAIN
What a Paperboy Learned
About Business

Jeffrey J. Fox
Fox.ffirs.qxd:Fox.ffirs.qxd 12/18/08 9:53 AM Page iv

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

Published by Jossey-Bass
A Wiley Imprint
989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in 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 States
Copyright 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 the
Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed
to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ
07030, 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 and
when it is read.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their
best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect
to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any
implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may
be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and
strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with
a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any
loss 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-Bass
directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the
U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax 317-572-4002.

Jossey-Bass also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that
appears 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 2009
658—dc22
2008050158

Printed in the United States of America

first edition
HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Fox.ftoc.qxd:Fox.ftoc.qxd 12/17/08 5:31 PM Page 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

v
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Contents

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

vi
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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 of

General Electric or IBM or General Motors, you
name it, or delivering papers, I would deliver
papers. I would. I enjoyed doing that.
WARREN BUFFETT

To Luca Modesto, Ella Elizabeth, and Dorothy Rose

vii
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PREFACE

C owboys made the American West. The boys of

summer made baseball the American pastime.
And paperboys made the newspaper business, because
if “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 for
the 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 more
paperboys then than there are now.
Paperboys were usually between nine and
seventeen years old. Paperboys were delivering in the
dark when their friends were sleeping. Paperboys were
delivering in the afternoon and early evening when
their friends were playing. And paperboys were deliver-
ing six or seven days a week.

viii
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P r e fa c e

Having been a paperboy is often in the bios of

successful people in every walk of life. Noting that phe-
nomenon, I have suggested in my books and talks that
hiring former paperboys is smart business. In fact, after
one of my talks, an accomplished, successful business-
man told me, “Everything I learned about business, I
learned 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, car
washers, shoe shiners, snow shovelers, and Girl Scout
Cookie sellers, and to their sisters and brothers, and
moms 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

ix
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P r e fa c e

• 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 Kentucky
basketball 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

x
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P r e fa c e

• 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 president
of Schindler USA
• Marion and Gail Hurley, mother and daughter
paper 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 papers
during 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

xi
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P r e fa c e

• 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 Gobain
Plastics USA
• Dick Parsons, CEO of Time Warner
• Ron Paul, U.S. congressman
• Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of
Positive 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 League
Baseball 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

xii
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P r e fa c e

• 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. Fox
Chester, Connecticut
January 2009

xiii