The Card Collector.

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Went to a seminar for entrepreneur over the weekend. It was so useful that I signed up for more! 
Yes, being an entrepreneur isn’t easy.

And that includes following up.

For one of those two awe inspiring, knowledge learning days (19 hours in all), I dined with eleven other people for lunch. We went around the table and explained what we do. You could feel the passion oozing from several of these people. Some gave a calm, almost sedate delivery of their words, while others were exuberant! The industries were widely varied and I thought about how amazing it was that we were all united, briefly, because of the seminar.

Wait a minute! I said briefly. Then why did I receive eleven business cards; after all, someone at the table conjured up the thought of passing stacks of business cards around. Marvelous!

And oh so wasteful. 

Do you pass out your business card “just because”? Seriously, do you expect results from that? And believe it or not, during the seminar, the presenter even brought up the subject. He mentioned how he goes to events and people walk up to him, introduce themselves, hand him a card, and POOF; they are gone! 

Where does THAT card wind up?

Here’s the good news. During that weekend, there were two people that I had lively conversations with during breaks. I asked for their business cards. I am following up with them; I found reason to do so. The rest? Wonderful, nice people but I didn’t see the connection. I have heard from one person so far and still trying to figure out how we would work together.

Some time ago I wrote a two part blog about the virtues and perils surrounding business cards. Please feel free to visit those ramblings: Stop Wasting Those Business Cards and Where Do All Those Business Cards Go? 

Are you wondering what that photo is in the upper right? That's where I store some business cards; it's one of my "boneyards". Note I said some. There's LOTS more!

The Monkees reminded us of collecting on a more intergalactic level with the tune below. And for some out of this world marketing, stop by the website, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ ...Thanks! 

Stop Wasting Those Business Cards!

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Are you giving out small rectangles of heavy paper that cost money and do very little for you? And why even bother going to events to meet people if you’re not going to follow up with any of your new acquaintances? This was my closing thought on Part One about business cards. So how DO you get around the potential wastefulness of business cards?

Here’s a few observations from meet-ups, gatherings, events, both big and small plus some suggestions:

• People who know each other tend to stick together. Why do that if you’re at a NETWORKING event? It’s hard for someone on the outside to wiggle in to the conversation.

• I almost always go alone. Yeah, it’s scary. You have no choice but to meet people.

• The folks that tend to enjoy having conversations are more likely to be attending by themselves, just like you.

• Approach the shy folks; they turn to out to be great people.

• Many people are just as terrified as you are about starting a conversation.

• Look for common ground and build a discussion around it. You’re probably saying “yeah right” but it’s easier than you think. Ask them why they are there, ask them if pink is their favorite color since they’re wearing it head-to-toe, or inquire how often they attend events. Something will spark. Those people will remember you from something you’ve said and the business card you’ve left with them has a higher potential of being utilized by them.

• Laugh and offer up a light joke or two, but stories about your dog running around with the underwear you left on the floor isn’t going to cut it.

• Get there earlier when there are fewer people and establish a few connections. Then you can introduce each other to other folks at the event later; it’s like you’re old buddies by the time the full crowd gets there!

So what does all this have to do with your business card?  One thought:

It’s a waste of time handing business cards out to everything with two legs. Concentrate on offering your business card just to those you’ve spend some quality time with. These people know a little more about you, are likely to remember you and follow-up with you. 

Okay, some of you are saying “but if I don’t give out my business card to lots of people, I’m lowering my chances of getting contacted by them in the future.” No, you’re not.  As I pointed out, most folks rarely follow up and/or contact you anyway. Hmmm…I’m seeing a survey happening in the future to substantiate my theory!

If you’ve had past experience where most people DO follow up with you, I’d love to hear about it. Let the debate begin.

Part One on this subject can be found by clicking here.

Where Do All Those Business Cards Go?

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Do you cringe after spending $35 on a box of business cards?

Yeah, sometimes I can’t figure out why I have them either.

Seems like I give them out and they fall into a black hole or perhaps a waste receptacle. About 90% of the time, I follow up with people that I’ve exchanged cards with, but those people respond back to my initial contact maybe 10% of the time. Even sadder, I rarely hear from the other party first despite their enthusiasm when meeting me.

Seems like a big waste of energy, no? I’m almost imagining that there’s a land far beyond Middle Earth where all those lost and discarded business cards strive to travel to. They face the fierce battles of rain, sleet, snow and (and let’s not forget) fire, to arrive at a perfect world where humans will never touch them again and where they can simply mingle with their own kind and complement each other on their designs.

But wait! Business cards aren’t intended to go off to their own version of utopia. So, just what IS the purpose of the business card anyway? That would include:

• For sharing your contact info with someone that ask for it and wants to follow-up.
• Creating awareness and imagery of your brand (handing out at events or having a stack of them available somewhere)
• Sharing information that perhaps someone doesn’t need today, but may need tomorrow.
• Networking reinforcement…here’s my card (now don’t forget me).
• For throwing in the free lunch bowl…high chance of being a winner there!
• Providing information that explains who YOU are and what YOU do.

Naturally, not all of the above may apply to you.  But you get the idea.

And the shelf life of a business card? Five minutes to several years.

Been pondering the life of a business card for some time now. As an experiment at a meet-up, I purposely didn’t bring business cards and after giving my “oops, I switched purses but neglected to move my business cards from one to another” spiel, I simply collected cards from those I spoke to at the event. There were about twenty folks there in total and I collected eight cards. I followed up on every single one, and guess what? No replies! Interestingly enough, I received an invite to connect on LinkedIn about five months later from one of the eight (let’s call this gent “JR”):

Geraldine, 
I noticed that we share a similar LinkedIn Group called ConnectOC and thought it would be appropriate to connect here. 
Please feel free to investigate who’s in my Contact Sphere that might be able to help you in your business endeavors. 
Be more than ordinary… 

I shot back a message reminding JR that we had met a few months earlier and was he perhaps challenging my recall abilities?

Needless to say, I did not connect with JR on LinkedIn.  Humph.

So we’re giving out little pieces of heavy paper that cost money and do very little for us? And why even bother going to events to meet people if you’re not going to follow up with some of them?

Stayed tuned for part two (tomorrow) where I share some best practices with you that will make those little cards do more of the work for you.