It's
In the Cards...
Jeffrey Gitomer
Playing
your (business) card right could mean the difference between success
and failure.
Tear
up your business card. That order may offend you, but less than one
card in 500 is worth the paper its printed on. This probably
includes yours.
"So what?" you say.
"Its just my business card." Yeah, youre right.
Its just your image. Just your identity. Just a reflection of
you and your company, Your product, your service. No big deal, right?
Baron C. Hanson, Head Buckaroo
(best title I ever saw on a card) of FlexCorp. Extraordinary Business
Card Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina, designs and manufactures
business cards, extraordinary business cards.
Hanson and I collaborated on a
list of the top 11 advantages, opportunities and situations great
business cards create.
1. Its
a reflection of you.
A great business card shows youve taken the time to market and
position yourself. It suggests your company has a leadership
position; it suggest youre a leader.
2. It
speaks for you.
It says "Were special" before you ever say a word.
3. It
speaks about you.
Its a sample of the kind of work your company produces. Great
card; great work. Ordinary card; ordinary work.
4. It
sets the right tone.
If you give out your card at a networking event or on an appointment
and get a "Nice card" comment from the prospect, it sets
the tone for a positive discussion.
5. You
get multiple impressions at a low cost.
If you have 10 employees who each use 1,000 cards a year (four a
day), thats 10,000 business impressions a year. If your card is
good enough to be reshown to others, the number of impressions could
multiply by five.
6. Its
the most potent form of lasting advertising youve got.
A good card is kept and shown to others and reinforces the claims
made by your other forms of advertising. Not every card you give away
results in an immediate sale. But if your card is great, people will
keep it around until the day its finally used.
7. Its
victory at "hand to hand" combat.
The right card captures attention, disrupts competition and wins the
battle for attention and respect.
8. Its
like getting married.
A spouse will bring you 90 percent of lifes joy or 90 percent
of lifes misery - depending on your selection. Its the
same with your business cards.
9. Its
a competitive advantage.
Especially when two cards (yours and your competitors) are in
the hands of a customer trying to make a decision.
10. Its
identity and image.
Thats worth everything.
11. Its
your corporate and personal signature.
It makes a statement. It sends a message. Are you proud to offer it?
Making a Statement
Here are a few examples of
real-world business cards that make a creative difference:
A Card card.
Richard Herd, President of Continental Advertising in Charlotte,
North Carolina, designed his business cards to look like playing
cards. Hes used them for the past five years. His business has
grown 2,000 percent. Coincidence?
A bland card with a twist.
Take your ugly card and make it better by adding to it. Phil Raymond
at The Financial Group-Phoenix Home Life in Charlotte, North
Carolina, has an insurance and investment sales business. Raymond has
laminated his bland card with two postage stamps on the back - a 10
cent stamp from 1975 and a 32 cent stamp from 1995 - a creative way
to show how costs go up over a 20 year period of time. His objective
is to get people to think about what might happen to their
investments 20 years from now.
A creative title.
In our office, Angela Brown "runs the place." Thats
also the title on her business card. At the Jack of Hearts Screen
Printing Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina, owner Bill Roberts
title is Jack".
A business
card may be the only thing left for the prospect to remember you (or
not remember you) by after youve gone. When your great sales presentation
about your amazing product is over, your card remains
behind. What good does it do to make a presentation about quality when
your card says "cheap and ordinary"? If youre offering
top quality services, your card must mirror that image.
A cat card.
Lito Gitomer, my cat, is our company’s "corporate mascot".
Her card, bearing that title, has become famous in the sales world;
she gets mail requesting it every day.
A business
card may be the only thing left for the prospect to remember you (or
not remember you) by after you’ve gone. When your great sales
presentation about your amazing product is over, your card remains behind.
What good does it do to make a presentation about quality when your
card says "cheap and ordinary"? If you’re offering top
quality services, your card must mirror that image.
Article by Jeffrey Gitomer
Excerpted from Entrepreneur, Oct./95
Our
Best Of It's In The Cards Cards |