9 Steps to Business Card Brilliance - or how to power up your networking
By Nan Berrett - word Solutions:
Business cards – still your best marketing tool
There’s nothing new and revolutionary about the business
card – this little bit of cardboard has been around since the 15th
Century in one form or another, always acting as a tool for introducing one
person to another.
The Chinese used business cards in the 15th
Century to let people know they intended to visit them. The idea emerged again
in 17th Century Europe when merchants created trade cards which
looked like tiny ads for their products and also showed maps of where their
premises were located.
Gaining in popularity with the elite, again in 17th
Century Europe, calling or visiting cards were placed on trays held by haughty
butlers and presented to the occupants of a home when a visitor arrived. I
always remember reading Georgette Heyer romance novels as a kid (now I’m giving
away my age!) where gentleman caller would drop off their cards when wooing
their belles. Can’t believe I’ve used the word ‘belle’.
Back in those days the cards were quite big, about the size
of a playing card, so must have been a nuisance to carry around and keep flat
and clean.
These days a business card is a staple for your marketing
and is the one business item, together with your phone, that you should never
leave home without.
When I was first in business it took me a long time to
remember to take my cards wherever I went, and I used to kick myself for
forgetting them – all those missed opportunities.
I was also embarrassed to hand them out in the early days – something
to do with imposter syndrome and not feeling good or professional enough to
deserve them. I’m over that now and hand them out with abandon whenever the
opportunity presents. I keep a small cloth pouch in my handbag filled with them,
because a standard business card holder never has enough room. I also keep a
couple in my phone cover just in case I am caught somewhere without my bag.
Flipping through my business card folder the other day, where
I keep samples of the cards I’ve designed, I discovered I have had seven changes
in the look of my card in 11 years of business. Business cards can evolve
with their owners.
All incarnations of my cards have been stellar ambassadors for
my brand. I hand them out and find that months or even years later someone will
contact me because they remember chatting to me at some networking event and
now need someone with my skills. They also provide a link to your website and
if you remember to add a social icon people you meet often chase you up on
social media.
It's important to make your card memorable - I often place an image of my face (headshot) on my cards which helps people recall who gave it to them.
"A business card is the first thing somebody sees of my business, and judged by. It is literally a silent ambassador."
- Msemena Khumalo
There’s an etiquette surrounding business card presentation
– with some of the traditional rules being broken all the time, because, as
with everything, we evolve and change.
What you should do, though, is take someone's card and take a moment to look at it and then thank them for it before it goes into your pocket. People usually take some time and trouble to create their business cards and it's just good manners to spend a moment looking at their information. Helps imbed who they are into your memory too.
Standard procedure has been that you hand out a business
card with your left hand, that it should never be written on and always
translated into the language of the country in which you hand them out.
Personally, I don’t think anyone in Australia minds which
hand you give them out with, and people are often happy to have a space to
write a note on a card to remind them of you or your business. But I do believe
it is imperative, if you travel overseas, to have cards in the language of the
country you visit and plan to do business with – it’s only common sense really.
If you do do business in overseas or deal with worldwide businesses then it is worth researching the rituals surrounding exchange of cards in those countries and their etiquette.
When I am at a networking event I try to spend a moment as soon as I can writing a note on the back of any cards handed to me - usually the date and the networking function and if there is space, any notes of conversations (I also carry a small notebook for this purpose in case I need to write more than one or two words). When I get home, and within 24 hours, I often email whoever gave me their card, remind them of when we met and suggesting we connect on LinkedIn and follow each other's social media. I then wait a day and if they haven't sent me a linkedIn invitation I try to connect to them there and add a note similar to that I have sent in the email. I also follow their social media where I can.
Such a little bit of card - so much potential!
10 Steps for Business Card Brilliance
1. Keep them roughly 85 x 55mm.
2. Always have them professionally printed – home printed and laminated has never been a good look.
3. Always keep them in a card holder, pouch or container – they’ll be clean and in good condition.
4. Keep to the basic info: Your name, title your business name and contact details (phone, email, website) as a bare minimum and a clever tagline which tells what your business does.
5. Don’t use more than 2 fonts on your card.
6. Don’t use cursive or hard to read fonts – keep it legible.
7. Consider using a head & shoulders image of you – it keeps you in someone else’s mind!
8. When presenting your card to someone, give it to them front side up with your information facing them.
9. When receiving a business card don’t just take it absent-mindedly, thank the giver, look at the card and then back up at them and say thanks ‘Jim’ or whatever their name is on the card – it establishes a connection. If you haven’t already spoken to them about their business, then this is a great opening to ask them what their business is about. People will remember you more if you interact with them at networking events.
Did I say, don’t leave home without them!
One of the services I'm happy
to provide, because I have done a lot of them, not just for me but
for others too, is design and have your new business cards print ready, or I
can arrange the printing for you.
For hints and tips about
small business stuff join my on FACEBOOK and sign up for my NEWSLETTER. Oh, and don't forget
to check out my WEBSITE!
Nan Berrett creates visibility for small business as well as mentoring small business owners and startups to help them navigate the mountain of knowledge which is part of our everyday life in a digital world. She is based in regional South Australia in the beautiful Clare Valley and is happy to travel to meet clients or chat over Zoom. Find out more or book some time to chat: www.wordsolutions.com.au
(c) Nan Berrett - Word Solutions
Comments
Post a Comment