An Entrepreneur’s Greatest Marketing Tool
Regardless of the wide selection of technology available, nothing beats meeting a prospective client ‘up close and personal’. You can ascertain certain things in the flesh that you cannot do via email or phone. And considering trust is going to be a major factor for any young entrepreneur doing business, a potential client/investor/partner needs to be immediately won over by your enthusiasm, intelligence and conviction something they can only ascertain from meeting you.
Meeting someone face to face can make or break a deal and as you are already reading this, let’s presume you have the amicable personality needed to become a successful entrepreneur, so for you, meetings are going to be a deal maker. So what allows you to capitalize on a chance meeting, a business function or a cleverly orchestrated introduction? It’s simple, your business card. Believe it or not, a business card is an entrepreneur’s greatest marketing tool.
Your business card has all the information necessary to establish a successful business relationship. It should contain four things: your name, email/web address, post details, and phone number. Your name is one of the most obvious sources of information needed but don’t feel, like ordinary business cards, you have to pigeon hole yourself with a job description. One of the most memorable business cards I’ve ever seen had the person’s name and in italics underneath simply the description ‘Someone Fabulous’. You may not want to go this far, but this sort of wording does make you memorable. For me, I simply put my name, if you’ve made a big enough impression that should be enough. Steer clear of adding Entrepreneur, it’s better to walk the walk than talk the talk. Include your website address on your business card, so your prospective client can do a little research of their own and your email address so they can contact you when they get a chance. Ideally, you should swap business cards and email them yourself, a day or two after your first meeting.
Some people don’t put their postal address on their business card, but I do think it makes you look more professional. It gives a sense of stability. For female entrepreneurs especially, get a PO Box. The $50 a year is a small price to pay for security. Finally your phone number, either just your cell and/or a land line. Do remember that not everyone likes to be contacted via phone, so often an email is the best way to unobtrusively reconnect.
Now that everything is on your card, it’s time to build up a collection of your own. On average you should try and pick up a new business card every day. That’s 365 new connects a year. Even if a particular person’s area of expertise isn’t in your field, take it anyway you never know when you might need the assistance of a zoo keeper.
3 Comments
David Askaripour
August 7th, 2006 at 11:49 am
Excellent advice. I’m always on the lookout to see who I can spark a conversation with and ultimately end up swapping business cards with. Even with people who aren’t “directly” related to my business sector. It doesn’t matter.
On my card I have it all: business name, url, address, cell number, and of course, my full name.
A few years ago I hired a designer to build a custom design for my card and it was well worth the expense. Every time I hand out my card, people are usually like “wow, nice card!”
I’m sure that that helps them remember me.
Anthony
August 7th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Angela,
Good advice for the networking newbie. However, it is important to point out that there should probably be no set goal as to how many people you meet, cards you receive/give, etc. Remember that a REAL connection - a nice, long conversation followed by a business card exchange - is worth 1,000 faceless business cards. While it’s nice to have a catalog of businesses/people you can run to in certain situations, a YellowBook can also provide you with the same information. The true purpose of having a business card is to remind you of the real-life connection behind it and conveniently provide you with the contact information to that connection. Contact information without favorable memories is nothing more than a YellowBook listing.
Angela Gilltrap
August 11th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Hey Anthony,
Thanks for the comment. Yes I agree. Building real relationships are essential. I guess, the reason I put a number on business card ‘collection’ is to give new networkers a goal to work towards. I know I personally, tend to make a few awesome connections and then neglect making new ones. I work as a freelancer which can be quite isolating so for me, although I don’t get a business card a day, a goal like that, reminds me that networking never really stops. And that making connections is a huge part of business. I have recently moved across the world from Sydney to New York which means I’m start from scratch in more ways than one. Introductions you once recieved through others you now have to make yourself which can be quite daunting. Having a business-card-a-day goal makes you go out and search for new and inspiring business connections.
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