In today’s business world of high speed internet and global business networking, there is possibly nothing more important for marketing yourself and your business than having the best business cards possible! In the time it takes you to sneeze, a business card tells your potential clients about you and your business. This is your chance to stick in someone’s mind after they have met you, and memorable and classy business cards are going to keep getting your company attention long after you have gone home. This ensures that your company name will be spread around and talked about.

The best business cards provides vital information to your client:

1. your contact information,
2. your position in the company,
3. your company name,
4. and even a bit about your company.

All of this is extremely important for your client (or potential client) to know.

The design of the card is also very important, as it says something about your company as well. So you should research exactly about what pictures or logos you put on your cards. Certainly you should include your company logo, which goes hand in hand with your brand. Any pictures or photo’s that you put on should have something to do with the company or the nature of your business. As a general rule, don’t include a picture of yourself unless it’s essential to your business. 

 

Remember this: Your business cards represent your brand. They represent YOU! They are often the only thing that people you meet have to remember you by. If you are on the edge of trying to decide whether business cards really have a place in today’s green and digital society, the answer is that they do! Business cards are vital to any business meeting and if your client hands you a business card and you do not have one to offer, what does this tell them about your business? Better to play it safe in the business world and come prepared with a pack of the best business cards EVER!

Here is another way your cards are important:

Trade Shows & Conferences!

You’ve just attended another huge national trade show and your pockets and goodie bags are overflowing with business cards that you got during the show. Or maybe the job conference gave you a ton of job interviews and you now have all of your interviewers’ business cards in your briefcase.  This is the best way to organize them.

1. Firstly – As you gather business cards you should jot down a quick note on the back of each regarding who handed you the card. Maybe it’s just a few words to help you remember their face, something along the lines of “tall, red hair, southern accent” will do fine, or you could write a bit about what you talked about “Duke basketball fan, went to med school in Texas”, anything that is going to trigger the memory for you. If you have collected several business cards at once as you walk down a vendor aisle at a conference or job fair then take a few notes after the event about the job potential or maybe some inside job information that a potential employer offered you.
2. Secondly – After you have all of your cards with notes, divide them into two piles: important and trash. There is no use in keeping a business card for someone that you have no intention of contacting. Throw away the trash pile then taken the important pile and begin to contact each of the people in the pile. A business contact is not a contact if you just have their business card, you will need to establish a relationship with each of them. Shoot them an email or call them up just to say how you enjoyed your conversation with them or thank them for their time and interest in you. This is especially critical for you if you are job hunting, the follow up is nearly as important as the interview or first meeting.
3. Once you have made initial contact then file the business cards away in your business card folder. You should have a few categories such as “potential clients”, “clients”, “vendors”, etc. These categories should match your own personal business card needs. After you have filed your cards don’t forget to keep up with your business contacts. A simple email or phone call once a month or so will do fine, just something to keep the communication lines open, so that when you really do need to contact them, you can.

In conclusion… a handy little elegant card with all of your contact information on it is one of the most simple, and powerful ideas available to you as a business person. And also one of the most effective. With a business card or a personal name card, everyone can exchange their contact info as well as give people something to remember them by. And a great first impression will ensure that you have a long, successful sales career ahead of you.

About The Guest Author:

John Montana has been a successful salesman since 1990. He has written an ebook about how to record a message on your messaging system that will greatly improve your success rate of potential customers leaving their name and phone numbers.

Check it out for yourself… CLICK HERE.