How many business card magnets do you have? April 1st, 2008
Originally published at The Voss Report
Business card magnets are probably the simplest form yet effective form of advertisement you can use. But are you using it? Let me ask you something. Do you have business card magnets kicking around over the last 10 years, from people your saving, just in case you need them? I do.
Look in your shipment box. I’ll bet you 10 to 1 its almost still full. How do I know that? I’ve had thousands of employees. How many have you given out? Are you saving them for a special occasion? I used to ask salespeople – are you saving them for posterity? Your grandson gets your old business card magnets in your will? What are you saving them for?
Get rid of them to potential customers. If your not going through business card magnets every 2 months what are you doing? I used to have Loan Officers tell me they would save them for their customers!! Great, how about your future customers. People forget a business card is your ADVERTISEMENT! Get your ads in front of potential customers. If you give me a box of cards I wanna fly in a place and dump them over all my potential customers business’ like military leaflets. I dont want them – I want you to have them. Chris Voss is coming and he wants your business.
Sales is a meet and greet business. Contact, is sometimes all it takes. My top salesman would give out business card magnets to the fast food drive through people, in the elevator, the mailman and the UPS Fed ex guys. I’d joke with him, “those guys at the fast food joint or the mall are a little young and low income.” He’d say “someday they’ll buy a house.” He was right, they’d call him when they were ready. He was funny, but he was my top salesman for years. He would hump the leg of the mailman that came into our office to deliver mail, to a point that, I expected a restraining order against him from the mailman. After a year guess who got the mailman’s mortgage loan? He did. He’d want a desk by the front door and if that door opened, his head would pop out and he’d go find out if you had a salesman yet. You’ve heard the Zig Ziglar story about the guy who put a business card in all his bills and got a deal from it. The gal from the Utility company called and she said “I have a pile of your cards, anyone who works this hard should do my business.”
I have a rule, if I spend my money at your business, I’ll offer you mine. What goes around comes around. You cut my hair – you get a card. Leave a few on cars parked around you. At the grocery store, leave one in the cart. When someone hands you a card – Trade. GET RID OF THEM! There one of the best advertisements you have. On a table where you eat, at Starbucks, leave one with the guy you tip. At the doctors office in the magazines. For my business lunches, I go into different small diners, a couple times, make sure the owners know me and ask if I could bring in a card holder to put my cards on the counter. You know how many business card magnets Ive found purposely left on Gas pumps? Make a habit of keeping your cards with you at all times. I was at dinner one time, I handed the gal her tip (make sure your not cheap) along with my card inside. I told her what I did and to call me if she or anyone she knew needed a mortgage. I got a mortgage deal out of it making thousands in fees, for the price of a steak and good tip!!
When I was a Realtor I’ve stick my cards to those magnets you can buy at the office store. When I toured your FSBO, guess what I’d stick on your fridge!! Make sure you put it high so the kids dont get it!
If your spending your money at a place, dont be afraid to ask them for their business. Get rid of those cards – set a goal to make it your job to get rid of them to people as soon as possible. People toss those coupons in the mail but they’ll keep your card. Take advantage of one of the best and cheapest forms of advertisement you can buy.———-
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Tags: Business Card Magnets, Business Contact, Business Sales, Chris Voss, Fed Ex, Food Drive, Leaflets, Loan Officers, Mail, Mailman, Mortgage Loan, Old Business, Posterity, Report Business, Restraining Order, Salespeople, Simplest Form, Special Occasion, Those Guys, Ups
Posted in Advice | Comments (2)
May 4th, 2009 at 5:41 am
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October 28th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Great article-One of the most interesting things I have read recently, and by far the most useful!