Business Card to Business Blog

By Lonnie L. Sciambi 

The Entrepreneur’s Yoda”

When it comes to image, perception IS reality. And first “perceptions” are critical. Your company image is formed in a prospect’s mind with their first contact, whether it be with your website, your marketing materials, your product pitches or the way your phone is answered.  It will make an impression that will get you on the path to making them a customer…or one you may never overcome.

Young companies, especially, need to be aware of this.  Customers want to deal with companies with whom they are comfortable and confident. That doesn’t always mean the largest company in the market, but ones that they want to business with, feel will best meet and service their needs… and are going to be around for a while to do so! When you’re small and struggling, when your resources are few and your confidence not as high as it could be, is when you have to make sure you’re not sounding small…or being defensive about being a young company. So what do you do?

Even with limited  resources, in today’s marketplace, with the low-cost and free tools available, there should be no company that can’t create a very professional and exciting first impression. And your website will be the absolute first impression any prospective customer will have of your company because that’s where they either discover you or will look when the first hear about you. Make your website as much of a showcase as possible for the brand image you want to create in the market. Make it the center of all your marketing activities. Use graphics and good copy (get help with this if necessary) to make your company look and sound bigger and more successful than it might be – like a company folks just want to do business with. Now I’m not suggesting being untruthful.  However, how you tell your story (highlighting the good parts and not talking about the lesser ones) is what creates your first impression.  Make it a lasting one.  All marketing materials and product pitches should follow the message and the “look and feel” you create on your website. And, make sure that anyone who has any direct contact with a prospect or customer, by phone or in-person, projects the image you’re trying to build and delivers the same message.

Establishing a blog can amplify your image by further establishing and building your credibility with both current and prospective customers and is linked to your website.  Use other social media like Twitter and Facebook to drive people to both your blog and your website.  Use a networking service like LinkedIn to help create more awareness of the executives in the company and to help expand your network of potential customers and partners.

If first impressions are critical and perception is reality, make the image you create form a lasting first “perception” that turns a prospect into a customer and a customer base into long-term success.

Lonnie L. Sciambi is “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda,” an advisor and mentor to small business owners, translating more than 30 years experience as an entrepreneur and CEO of small business to advice and solutions that help them master business success.

Contact information:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile

Blog site: theentrepreneursyoda.blogspot.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp

Facebook: http://bit.ly/dbiMEA

Reno Lovison, author of “Turn Your Business Card Into Business” and executive producer at AuthorsBroadCast.com will be exhibiting and presenting a session about the use of video to promote your book at the Summer Writers Workshop at Loyola University’s Chicago Downtown Campus on Saturday August 21,2010.  Registration is still open. http://bit.ly/cqzG8i

It’s funny that I am blogging about  free business cards offered by Starbucks just a day after I blogged about a coffee fragranced scratch and sniff card. Must be something in the air. Also interesting that there is constant chatter about the future of business cards yet everyone seems continually interested in them.

Admittedly the Starbucks offer is a kind of spoof. They are not really intended for business use but rather offer the opportunity to print your name, phone number and email in conjunction with a title such as  Puppet Master, Bossman and CEO of Everything.

Undoubtedly this is a thinly veiled attempt to glean names and contact information, proving once again that nothing is really free. There may be no exchange of cash but you must give something of value which in this case is the all important contact info.

For the sake of my readers I bit and squawked like a goose. Giving up name, phone, email and even address so that I could have my cards sent to me. There is an option to get a file download and print them yourself but come 0n I want the full treatment. When they arrive I may blog again to let you know how they look and if I get a free cup of coffee or something too.

Check it out and get your own at http://www.starbuckscoffeeonthego.com/card/setup.php

Here is a fun and very innovative business card by Eric Nagel. It starts with a bold graphic that includes all of his social media contact information. But Eric has gone the extra mile and subtly reminds us to “wake up and smell the coffee” or maybe he is just treating us to the next best thing. If you can’t drink a cup of coffee at least you can enjoy the aroma. Eric has cleverly added interactivity to his business card by way of a scratch and sniff element. How cool is that!

 “I designed it myself,” Eric told me, “then added scratch n sniff stickers on from http://scratchnsniff.com.”  Very nice touch I’d say.

“I’ve done other unique business cards,” Eric says, “including decks of playing cards & credit cards (encoded with a hidden message) which you can see at

http://www.ericnagel.com/2009/08/business-cards-that-get-noticed.html . Nobody managed to figure out what was encoded on the credit cards. The clue on the back is the “815″ as the CV2. I’m a fan of Lost, so 815 is the flight number they were on when they crashed. All of the cards are encoded with 4 8 15 16 23 42 (the infamous numbers from Lost).

Eric told me about himself. “I’m an affiliate marketer specializing in PPC and SEO. What this means is I do Internet marketing for other companies, and I make money when they make money.”

Thanks Eric for sharing your card and information with us here at BusinessCardtoBusiness.com . If you have a cool card you want to share, send your story to info(at)businesscardtobusiness.com .

By L. Drew Gerber – Guest Blogger

There’s no question you aspire to take your business to the next level, but how to do it? You may have tried networking, Internet marketing or paid advertising but have you tried to leverage media coverage to grow your business? You want to attract loyal customers and increase your profits — that’s part of the equation — but you long for some magical solution. Let me show you how.

It’s no secret that media coverage is by far the best means out there to take you and your business to the next level. But scoring media coverage alone won’t necessarily translate into record sales or a huge spike in your website’s traffic. Like most things, media coverage is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The trick is how to leverage your newfound exposure to reach your goals.  Leverage it in a way to attract potential clients who won’t wait for you to open the door because they’ll be knocking it down themselves. 

Putting your best foot forward to show the public and your target market you’re the person they should be paying attention to, is what will happen when you successfully leverage your media coverage. Once you start scoring media coverage, keep taking action, nurture your relationship with the media to keep it strong and fruitful. 

Here is how you use your newfound media exposure to build your credibility, and leverage it to find more potential clients and customers. Just as you’re using this media coverage to promote your business, product or service, you should also promote that media coverage to your current and prospective clients to really maximize your exposure. Social networking is great for this! Let’s say you land a segment on CNN.  The next thing you should do is tell the world about it via Twitter. If you give an interview on a local radio station, post a link to it on your Facebook profile. You get the picture. Just as the media promoted you, you’ll want to promote the media to get more exposure for your message. That’s leveraging the media coverage. 

If you’ve scored a television interview where you discussed 5 tips that will aid people in their job search or grow their business, suggest they visit your website where they can learn 5 more tips.  Like any technique you employ to grow your business, leveraging media coverage takes a commitment. But you’ll be hard pressed to find any other strategy that will give you such a large return on your investment. 

More and more people are using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to search for their information. If a prospective client lands on one of your profiles and finds links to your recent media coverage that’s an instant boost to your credibility. 

Promote your media coverage in your newsletters and email blasts. Media coverage is a great way to give credibility to the information you’re providing, while creating another avenue to re-engage past clients and followers, and make your website a valuable resource for people. 

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L. Drew Gerber is CEO of www.PublicityResults.com and creator of www.PitchRate.com, a free media connection service for journalists, experts, and publicists.  Contact L. Drew Gerber at: AskDrew@PublicityResults.com or call him at 828-749-3548.

Introvert-itudes©: How to Get Noticed in Networking with Your Introvert Strengths by Guest Blogger Patricia Weber

Can you think of someone who you admire in business networking? How about three or four people? And, what characteristics do you find in them that they come to your top of mind? My guess is these better networkers are using some introverted tendencies along the way to the downplaying of some ineffectual extroverted behaviors. 

Beneficial 1: Introverts prefer to help, not always necessarily lead, and can make an advantage of helping by connecting. While my preference, INTJ, is to lead, many introverts like to remain behind the scenes. Everyone networks for similar reasons, to find  –prospective clients, connections to get clients, a job, and resources for work and even personal needs. By leaning into a preference to listen first, an introvert can find opportunities to help other people with the connections they want and any resources they need. 

Ineffectual 1: Few people have a tolerance for the person who wants to connect to always take. Takers range the whole continuum from introvert to extrovert. 

Beneficial 2: Introverts prefer to listen before they start talking and extroverts love talking about themselves anytime! Networking involves both talking and listening. The style of networking that most of us respond positively to is the kind where the other person takes interest in us before they start talking about themselves. Why? Think about it – we are all more interested in ourselves, so if we can make the other person feel important first, by listening to them, then we have better rapport. 

Ineffectual 2: Most of us want to run the other way from the business networker who starts and ends their conversation with you with I, me, my. Sorry but my extrovert friends, you know that is can too often be true for you. 

Beneficial 3: When someone is more introverted in networking, they have a vested interest in seeing that their every minute of networking is getting them closer to meeting both the people they can help and the people who can help them. Because 140 characters online are as draining as working a room in an hour, introverts more consciously discern who is best to further connect with. It’s the best use of time for the connection made. Some consider this knack working your network and people will take notice. 

Ineffectual 3: If all you do is network with 140 characters or work the room in an hour meeting, you’ll get noticed in a not so flattering light. 

Beneficial 4: The highest compliment in networking, when you know you have it right, is when someone gives you a referral. The introvert prefers to keep a relationship bond intact rather than chance an energy leak – having to make yet more connections. Some introverts may find their self-confidence lower than preferable to follow-up. Just realize this strengthens the relationship from the referrer and plan the next moves. Introverts excel at planning. Boost it up with confidence for momentum.

Ineffectual 4: Getting so busy with extroverting actions, like more and more networking, can cause a person to procrastinate on follow-up with referrals given and promises made.

Beneficial 5: Networking is about building, and maintaining, relationships. It takes fewer but deeper relationships to energize an introvert. While typically not into large groups, smaller groups that meet regularly with a focus and purpose in mind – sounds like some networking – are encouraging for an introvert to authentically talk and contribute ideas.

Ineffectual 5: Few people like the schmoozer and fast talker with mostly a self-serving intent.

Regardless of whether you are more introverted or extroverted, most of these beneficial actions or behaviors are more natural for the introvert. For whoever shows these in business networking, there is less of a gag-reflex response to the typical networking behavior, more of a relaxed and in control feeling and people will – take more notice.

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Patricia Weber, Guest Blogger

Patricia is America’s #1 Business Coach for Introverts and the author of the eBook, The Happy and Fulfilled Introvert. She blogs at http://www.patricia-weber.com

I like to blog when I can about interesting business cards I see and interesting people I meet.  A few weeks ago my wife and I enjoyed an very nice gallery event at the art gallery of Nancie King Mertz  at 2036 N. Clark Street in Chicago. While there I picked up a few business cards of Nancie and her husband Ron. What I love is that they feature examples of Nancie’s beautiful artwork on one side of the card and utilize the back side of the card to share a good amount of information about her work and their gallery and frame service Art De Triumph.

For those of you who have read through my blog or my book “Turn Your Business Card Into Business” you know that I favor cards that use the space available as a kind of advertisement. I believe in the case of most entrpreneurs that you should consider your business card no different then you would a small magazine ad.  Additonally when your business involves a product or when your message can benefit from a graphic representation of what you do, you should include a photo or high quality graphic.

In the case of Nancie and Ron’s card the beautiful examples of her work depicting iconic Chicago scenes is a perfect souvenir of my visit to their gallery and perfect reminder of her work and what they offer.  So enjoy the cards but more importantly if you’re in the area stop by and see the work in person. According to the business card they open seven days a week. Now that’s handy information!

Have you ever been given a business card from someone in a bar or other situation who is specifically “coming on to you”?  Have you ever given someone a card under these circumstances?  Whether a giver or receiver, read about this poor business card idea for the socially challenged.

http://www.asylum.com/2010/07/23/cheekd-dating-business-card-website/

By Guest Blogger Yvonne Wu

Businesses are branding their name over the internet. They are building credibility by showcasing their services and being seen as an expert in their chosen field. They are using media such as blogging, ezines, social media, article writing, internet radio advertising, and self published books. 

As businesses expand their connections to a global market they are looking for ways that they can keep in touch with current and potential clients. Email correspondence and social media has become the chosen medium. Gone are tedious long distance charges, time zone restrictions and costly travel.

By working with a Virtual Assistant, a small business or a creative entrepreneur can now take advantage of the knowledge and experience of a marketing expert at a fraction of the cost; thereby giving them an edge over their competition.

Many Virtual Assistants have technical know how and marketing knowledge to promote your business, create a buzz, gain global exposure and market your business online using many of the principals used in viral marketing. The Virtual Assistant can be a one stop shop for many of your business needs.  They are hired on a per-project basis and they work out of there home office. No need to buy office supplies or hire a full time employee.  

Virtual Assistants let you focus on the things that are most important to you – the business aspect – while we handle the rest.

Here are 5 things a virtual assistant can do for you.

 1.  Advertise your services via social media

2. Create ezines and build your mailing list

3. Create sales page to advertise your products/services

4. Assist with putting together spinoff products

5. Setup and maintain your blog, answer comments and post comments.

The YP Publishing provides a wide range of online promotional services for Authors, Speakers and Small Business Owners.

 Find out more at http://theyppublishing.com

Business card printing is an art through which one must project the core business values and aesthetics of a company.

@Hillviewprint