4hb.com : Sales and Marketing : Your Humble Business Card Can Attract Big Bucks!

by Diana Ratliff

Business cards are among the most portable, versatile, and readily accepted weapons in your marketing arsenal. (They are surprisingly affordable, too, if you consult a reputable, experienced printer who can help you design attractive cards on a limited budget.) Are you wasting this powerful and attention-getting publicity tool?

Assuming you have a reasonably legible and attractive card, what you DO with it has much more to do with the orders you receive than the card itself. Here are some free and low-cost ideas that might work for you:

• Exchange cards with like-minded entrepreneurs through business networking groups or breakfast clubs. (Announce your new club to the local media!)
• Introduce yourself with your card.
• Include your card with all correspondence.
• Offer to include business cards on your web site as a community service (again, announce this to the media!)
• Sign your name or write a brief message (such as *Nice to meet you!* or *Best wishes!*) on the front of your card.
• Affix labels to the back of your card giving complementary information (store hours, guarantee, product benefits, your location, related tips.)

What you do with cards you receive from others will also greatly influence your success.

• Jot notes on the back of cards you are given, such as the date, event, common interests, physical characteristics of the giver, information you need to send, and so on.
• Develop a system for carrying and collecting business cards. File them the way you remember them (by company name or person's name.)
• Take the time to LOOK at cards you are given, and put them away carefully in an attractive holder.

Set yourself a goal of giving out 5 or 10 cards daily, and very soon, you will be getting the attention (and the money!) you wanted. And that is why you went into business, right?

Copyright 1999, by Diana Ratliff. All rights reserved

For 143 specific, proven, and simple tips on designing and using business cards effectively, order *How to Get More Business from your BUSINESS CARDS*, available in print or e- book formats. Terrific educational tool for sales teams and a thoughtful promotional gift for customers. For details, visit http://www.bizbooklets.com for more FREE TIPS, a discussion forum, links to manufacturers of unusual cards, and MORE!