Recently I made the cardinal sin of business cards. I ran out. I didn’t realize it was about to happen until it was too late. I stash my business cards everywhere. In my wallet, my work backpacks, in the pouch of my Moleskin notebooks, in my car, my suitcase and my gym bag. Because you never know when you will need a business card. Or said differently, because you always need to be ready with a business card.
Marketing Weapons
Your business cards are the most important part of your marketing weaponry. They are mini ads that you can place directly in the hand of a prospective client or potential partner right at the moment when you make a strong positive impression on them. (Not when you do a great impression of them.)
Business cards are bread crumbs you leave behind that lead people back to you.
Business cards are like Trojan horses that gain access into the businesses and homes you want to be in first. Once they are in, they help you and the rest of your business gain access too.
Business cards become powerful pop up ads when they suddenly surface in a pile of cards.
The Ultimate Ad
The most impactful ad space you could ever buy would be an ever-present ad on your prospect’s desk, ready to serve up a direct line to you the moment the prospect needed one. They only thing I know that can do that is a business card.
Your Business Card Scorecard
A great leading indicator of how well you are doing at marketing yourself or your business is how many business cards you are getting into circulation. In other words, running out of business cards is a sign you are actively and personally promoting yourself and your business. It means you are meeting people and they are either asking for your card, or you made it to a natural place (or semi-natural place) in the conversation to offer your card.
Key Takeaway
If you want more opportunities, hand out more and better business cards. Your business cards are a direct line to you when a prospect needs the kind of help you offer. In this high tech, digitally-empowered, over-analyzed marketing age your business cards are the most underutilized marketing and networking tool you have. Because they are a reminder of a personal interaction and a personal relationship. And despite what you may have heard, business is all personal.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Adam Albrecht Blog 