Business Card to Business Blog

The Right Business Card Can Help You Get Business

Thanks to Vicki Gerson of Vicki Gerson & Associates for featuring information about business cards and networking derived from “Turn Your Business Card Into Business.”  You can read this article and others in her business column at What’s Happening Newspapers.

It was my great pleasure to speak last week with a group of aspiring accountants who are members of the DePaul University Chapter of Ascend.  I led a discussion on the importance of networking for the purpose of job acquisition as well as networking for the purpose of building a practice of their own. A big shout out to my young friend Andrew K. for arranging the invite.

We covered the idea that success depends not only on “what you know” but also on “who you know” and perhaps more importantly on “who knows you.”

I suggested that for young professionals, just as in any investment, those that you make early will likely pay the biggest dividends over time. This is true of networking.  The people you meet today may be the very people who help you 2 – 10 or even 20 years from now. Invest in relationships. You have all the capital you need to get started.

As always I encouraged everyone to have a business card as a way to easily convey your contact information.

If you know of any groups that would like to have a thought leader on the topic of networking or strategies for new business acquisition contact me at reno @renoweb.net.

I am happy to announce that “Turn Your Business Card Into Business” now has national distribution and is available through your local bookstore or library. If you do not see it on the shelf ask your librarian or book seller to order it for you. ISBN#9781434847683

Guest Blog  By Bonnie Ross-Parker

Bonnie Ross Parker

Remember the Total Cereal commercial a few years back? You’ll have to eat ten bowls of the leading brand to get the same nutrition that’s in one bowl of Total!  The advertiser’s point is clear: If you want better nutrition for less calories (not to mention money!), you’ll logically choose the “one-bowl” alternative. This same principle applies to business. Experts say that only one percent of all cold calls ever convert into sales. Imagine! How many calls do you need to make each day to close the number of sales necessary to stay in business? Even if you can stomach the rejection, the fruit you reap is far too sparse in proportion to the amount of time and effort you invest.

What’s the “one-bowl” solution? Try networking! Statistics show that you can boost your chances of closing a sale from 40 to 90 percent. You’ll generate more qualified leads in less time than any other marketing effort . . . if you do it right. That’s the catch. Networking blunders hurt your business credibility, shutting the door to sales — not only with one person, but sometimes with a whole “grapevine” of prospects.

What can you do to minimize mistakes and make the most of your networking time and money?

1. Go for the gold. List your best clients. Where do you find more like them? Find out what organizations they belong to and ask to be their guest for an upcoming function. This way you network with people who have established credibility in the group, are familiar with you and your work, and are willing to introduce you to key prospects.

2. Commit to action. The adage rings true in networking as in any activity: “You get out what you put in.” Seek to be an active player and leader in whatever group you join. High-level involvement gives you and your business greater exposure to prospects, by revealing your personal qualities — whether it’s being a go-getter or a visionary — this helps build your credibility.

3. Come fully prepared. Oh the power of first impressions! Forgetting to bring business cards, promotional material, or your appointment book to a networking function is worse than not attending at all. This conveys a sense of amateurism that will turn off prospects and keep potential “gatekeepers” from passing you leads. When you show others you’re serious about your business, people will take you seriously.

4. Be concise. Tell others what you do — in one sentence — in a way that makes them hungry to know more. A long description may result in losing people’s attention — which in turn can affect future sales or referrals.

5. Speak confidently. Admit it. You’re an expert in your business. If you weren’t, clients wouldn’t pay their hard earned money for your products or services. Use networking functions as an opportunity to share your business accomplishments. This way people feel greater confidence in both passing you “hot” leads and seeking to do business with you.

6. Listen intently. Ask questions. Clarify statements. Listen for expressed needs that your business might be able to meet. When you demonstrate you genuinely want to understand other people and their businesses, you will build greater rapport, opening the doors for sales opportunities.

7. Give first. If you appear as a “taker,” people will notice. They will feel uncomfortable around you and avoid you the next time they see you. Give leads, gifts, marketing ideas, or offer to buy lunch. Remember this: when you have given nothing, ask for nothing.

8. Follow-up! Follow up! Follow up! Show your prospects that you’re thinking of them. Fax them articles relevant to their interests. Don’t just say, “We need to do lunch sometime.” Take initiative to set a date. When your actions correspond with your words, people trust you and feel comfortable passing leads. One must earn credibility. Do what you commit to do.

Bottom line: Networking works. The days of the hit-and-run salesperson are over. Those who succeed in today’s marketplace know how to build long-term relationships, which in turn creates a steady stream of repeat business and hot referrals.

Bonnie Ross-Parker is a multi-dimensional entrepreneur, speaker and author. She’s passionate about sharing strategies on effective connectng for effective results. Bonnie, a.k.a. “America’s Connection Diva”, delivers customized keynotes and workshops especially in the direct selling/network marketing industries. Learn more about her business networking organization for women, The Joy of Connecting. 

www.TheJoyofConnecting.com

Many years ago I was a charter member and one of the original organizers of a very successful networking group that met at Ann Sather’s Restaurant on Belmont in Chicago called The Hour Networking Group. After about eight years of meeting every Wednesday morning we disbanded and each went on to other activities and I thought my days of organizing was behind me. Recently a networking group I joined that had been meeting at Bar Louie in Evanston was in need of a new coordinator so I stepped forward to fill the role. The group has over 80 members registered so I thought it was worth trying to keep everyone together.  At some point each of these individuals felt willing to be a part of a networking group, so now I just need to figure out why he or she was motivated to do so and how to reinvent the group to be more valuable to its constituents.

 To begin, I changed the name of the group from Avaya / Converged which was the name of the former organizer’s telecommunications company to Business Card to Business which compliments my brand and evokes the idea of face-to-face networking. I also have moved the meeting place to Atlantic Bar & Grill on Lincoln Avenue two blocks south of Foster and just a little north of Lincoln Square. I made the move partly because it is a little more convenient for me and it is a nice Irish Pub with good food and ample meeting space.  My plan is to meet the last Tuesday of every month from 6PM to 8PM. The agenda will include open networking at the start, then a planned program or speaker for twenty minutes, followed by individual introductions so that everyone gets 20-30 seconds to say who they are and what they do. We will end with a drawing and about thirty minutes more of open networking. People are of course welcome to stay and mingle as long as they wish and food service and cash bar are available. There will be a $5 or $10 fee per meeting and an annual option with a considerable discount for the first twenty five charter members willing to pay a flat fee for the year. All of these details will be available at www.meetup.com/businesscardtobusiness . Interested networkers can also see the schedule for the year, RSVP and make payments via PayPal at that site.

 Our first meeting held October 26^th was basically to discuss these business and house keeping issues and was very useful. Thanks go out to MONA-VIE distributor Tommy Love of TLO-Strategies for being the first charter member. Also Dan Silvestri of doorcountynavigator.com ; Chris West and Phil Hendel representing Pre-Paid Legal and Blastoff. Communications specialist Frederick Dudek gave me a lot of good ideas and insight learned from his successful twice monthly luncheon meetup that takes place at Rocco’s Pizza on Lincoln near Armitage.

 Face to face Networking to meet new people and solidify relationships is vital to your business growth. If you are in Chicago and can join us regularly we welcome your participation. If your just in town for business or pleasure we would still be happy to have you visit. No matter where you are find at least one networking group you can join or start one of your own. Remember face to face networking is a great way to meet new people and build meaningful relationships. Be sure to seal the deal with a business card.

Networking online is a great way to extend your reach and meet people outside your local geographic area. But keep in mind that online networking should be used in conjunction with, not instead of face to face in-person networking. These are both important and useful tools.

 I am a big fan of LinkedIn and use it to help me keep track of, and in touch with business contacts. It is also a good place to meet new people. One way to do that is to participate by answering questions in the “Answers” area or at some of the group discussion boards, by doing this people get to know you. If they like your answers they may choose to communicate further with you or click through to your profile or website. In this way you slowly build a reputation and grow your network.

 Now there are a handful of people at LinkedIn who are prolific when it comes to responding to great numbers of questions. The LI system features these individuals by listing them by order of most questions answered as “This Week’s Top Experts.” Now I am here to tell you that answering the greatest number of sometimes lame questions with the greatest number of sometimes equally lame answers in no way qualifies anyone on the list as an expert in anything except the ability to answer the most questions in a given week.  However, this dubious distinction caught my fancy and I set out to distinguish myself among this illustrious and somewhat notorious group.

 It is my observation that for most of the time that I have been paying attention, which is about a year, on and off, the number one position is most times filled by Dave Maskin a/k/a TheWire Man who usually attains this distinctions with something in the area of 300 plus questions answered in any given week. Second through fifth place is typically filled by Firas Abo Assaf, Judy B Margolis, Sahar Andrade, Wallace Jackson or Bryan C. Webb with numbers in excess of 200 questions answered.

 I felt compelled to challenge myself to see how some of these people respond to so many questions and investigate how much time it takes. Well after about ten days I was able to get into the coveted position of top five and actually made it to the fourth position for about a day with about 225 questions answered in a seven day period.

 If you give a number of trite replies to those that do not deserve much more, and try to give a half way decent reply to questions you might actually know something about, it takes a commitment of about 2 hours a day to attain this brief but honorable distinction.

 Now what’s the benefit you might say?  I found it helps you to see what people are thinking about and gives you the opportunity to ponder a variety of subjects. People do ultimately click through to see who you are and you might actually help a few people. My profile clicks were up a tad as were my web clickthroughs from LinkedIn. I received a number of nice email replies from various individuals thanking me for my participation in answering their questions and had a few pleasant follow-up questions or email swaps which led to including a few new people into my network because we seemed to have a potential future business synergy.

 The problem with most online social networking is that it is time consuming with minimal immediate return compared to face-to-face networking in my experience. I enjoy the activity of sharing ideas so I will continue to participate in this activity though I believe I will try to do so in a less competitive manner. Answering questions on LinkedIn and other social media sites is a worthwhile activity but be careful that you do not use it a substitute for personal interaction and when you are out in the world be sure to seal the deal with a business card.

Many of you have maybe seen the piano staircase video. If not here it is.  Thanks to YouTube.

The notable thing from a marketing and particularly a video marketing standpoint is how VolksWagen engineered this interesting story to promote their message of  “the fun theory” which ultimately suggests that VolksWagens are fun without actually ever showing a car.

Through this campaign they have created a viral video that promotes their message without being obvious.  Just some food for thought for those of you thinking how you can reach out to your target market.

I recently attended a dinner meeting presented by the Midwest Writers Association held at McCormick and Schmick at the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, Illinois. The program which was open to non-members such as myself featured speakers Doug Seibold, of Agate Publishing and Linda Matthews, of Chicago Review Press, who spoke about the publishing world in general and what each of their respective publishing concerns expect when choosing authors and subjects.

This was the first MWA meeting I have attended and was pleased to see that it was a convivial group of authors and related publishing professionals. I attended as the author of Turn Your Business Card Into Business and also as the owner of the website www.authorsbroadcast.com where we produce and feature short videos that promote authors and their books.

I had the good fortune to sit at a table that included public relations professional Joanne Levine of Lekas and Levine www.lekasandlevine.com . In the course of conversation I took the opportunity to pass my business cards to each of my table mates but neglected to get a card from Joanne even though she happened to mention that she has a client who she felt may be interested in having a book video trailer produced. The next day I was sort of kicking myself because I thought I would like to have sent Joanne a follow up email and I did not have her card. Well the good news is, Joanne kept my card and called me about a week later to say her client Ray Silverstein the author of The Small Business Survival Guide was interested in having a video produced and I should give him a call. I finished it his weekend and you can view it at http://www.authorsbroadcast.com/titles/biz_guide.htm .

The take away message of course is that face to face networking is a good idea and remember to seal the deal with a business card. Not only give a card but be sure to get one in return. Be sure to take a look at Ray’s video.

   My message is typically related to face-to-face (f2f) marketing. This does not mean that I am not a proponent of social media or online marketing. On the contrary I simply want to remind people not to “throw the baby out with the bath water”. That is to say let’s not abandon a useful tactic because we have a new tactic to employ. Your online marketing and offline marketing tactics should compliment and reinforce one another.

   I recently attended a webinar presented by Ben Straley CEO of Meteor Solutions sponsored by WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association). Mr. Straley covered a lot of interesting information regarding analytics related to social media. Here is an observation he made about twitter clickthroughs that seems counterintuitive on the surface but makes sense as you pause to consider it. He remarked that as your twitter following increases you can expect to see your twitter clickthrough rate decrease. He explained that in the beginning your list of twitterers will likely be people who already know you or have some previous relationship with you. They will probably be following your tweets more closely and will be more apt to clickthrough to your site or your extended message. As your following grows it includes people who are not as devoted to your message, do not follow your tweets as carefully and are less apt to clickthrough. As a result the ratio of clicks to followers drops as a percentage. Mr. Straley reports the good news is that this process typically bottoms out at a rate of 5-10 percent which is still an envious clickthrough rate compared to other channels.

   Ben Straley also cited a study by Razorfish that concluded “visits from shared links can convert up to 4x more than paid media.” This means that when an individual is personally referred to a website from someone he knows or trusts he is more likely to purchase or take action on the offering presented. This reinforces what we already know about offline marketing. Referrals are important whether online or offline you need to encourage your network to advocate for your product or service.

   Lastly Mr. Straley shared these conclusions in a study done by his company Meteor Solutions and presented in October 2009 that found of the online channels examined Emails and IM were the most effective in stimulating referrals with a 25% share. This was followed by blogs at about 18% then video accounting for about 13% of earned referrals. Interesting social media was in the area of 8% share of the results in this study. This says to me that social media is not yet king. Though it is useful and perhaps the shiniest tool in the box it is not time to discard your tried and true marketing tactics. Whenever a new medium appears we must be vigilant to adjust our marketing mix to accommodate the new arrival but be careful not to be seduced by its newness.

  The take away message as this information applies to my marketing interests is first to consider that you need both online and offline tactics including face to face networking or simply meeting more people in person. Also video on the web is a big player. Be sure it is in the mix. If you are a local service provider my formula is this: meet people à send them to your website / blog à show them a video à encourage them to tell their friends (use social media here)  à  Give them opportunities to purchase throughout the cycle. à   Repeat.

How do you feel when someone hands you a business card?

How do you feel about being handed a business card from someone you have met for the first time? Of course circumstances can differ. If you are a woman leaning over the frozen food counter in the local grocery mart trying to decide between a chicken breast or salmon fillet for dinner and a smarmy looking guy with a bad comb over hands you a card that says amateur photographer, then I suspect you are somewhat flattered but wary. I guess? Yikes! But if on the other hand you are in a legitimate business situation perhaps a chamber of commerce event, networking mixer or even a social situation including a group of like minded individuals then how do you feel?

Business cards can be good ice breaker. At times they can be perceived as a bit formal. But over all they do carry the pertinent contact information we need to communicate to potential clients, customers and business allies. So generally speaking how do you feel?

I posed the question at the website http://www.ask500peopl.com, where you can poll site visitors on virtually any subject. So I asked, “How do you feel about being handed a business card from someone you have met for the first time? I offered the following reply choices.

•  First: It seems pushy. I do not like it.
• Second: It does not bother me but I will probably discard it.
• Third: It does not bother me I will probably keep it for awhile if they provide a product or service I may use in the near future.
• Fourth: I am happy to have it as it helps me remember who they are and what they do.

In a 24 hour period 127 random individuals responded. The majority, over 60 percent were favorable split more-or-less evenly between the third and fourth choices of “happy to have it” and “I will probably keep it.” Less than 20 percent responded that they felt it was pushy and they did not like it. So if you are in an average size networking group or social party of about 25 people the odds are there are less than a handful of people who might feel you are being too aggressive by handing them your business card.

As the author of the book “Turn your Business Card Into Business” I have researched business card topics extensively and it is my observation that potential business card givers are inordinately concerned about being rejected or perceived as being overly aggressive, when in fact most people are happy to have you present your card. It helps some of us with poor memories to remember your name and what you do. It generally stimulates more conversation, and it provides the recipient with the contact information he or she might use in the event you can provide a needed product or service.

Admittedly this is not exactly a scientific study because for one thing, I did not define the circumstances under which the card is presented. But generally speaking I think it is safe to say that most people will gladly accept your offer and many may actually appreciate it.