“When you passed out your cards…I might have thrown it away.” May 6th, 2008
Here is an article with advice about how to make sure they don’t throw away your business cards
Reprinted from – http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebizbite/archives/138161.as Enjoy!
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I got a very valuable gift this weekend. It was some constructive feedback.
Here’s what happened. I was at an event, getting ready to speak on a panel. People didn’t start sitting down until the last minute so I quickly worked my way through the rows of chairs to greet everyone.
“Hi, here’s my business card with a gift for you inside.”
My business cards are part of a mini marketing kit that comes with a gift wrapped in a funky little plastic bag.
I thought I was doing something right. I was making a personal connection with some people in the room, getting my business cards into their hands before the session started (sometimes people leave a session a bit early), and giving them more than just a card.
I was actually doing something wrong.
After the session, a woman came up to me and said she really enjoyed the presentation and thought I was a great speaker.
“Can I give you a little feedback?” she asked.
“Of course!” I replied.
“Well, when you passed out your cards in those little bags before the talk, I didn’t know who you were,” she explained. “I just thought you were someone selling something at the event so I stuffed it away in my bag somewhere and I might have actually thrown it away.”
She went on to give me a great piece of advice. “You should consider giving out your cards after the session, once I’ve seen you in action and made the connection between you as a speaker and your card.”
She had a really good point.
I explained why I gave my cards out before the session and told her I would use her feedback to do a better job of explaining who I am when I’m passing out my cards before people have had a chance to see me in action up on stage. I will also be sure to remind people they can grab a card from me after the session.
I can’t remember her name (it was a beautiful and unusual name that started with an M) but I thanked her for taking the time to come up to me after the session and give me such a valuable piece of feedback for growing my business.
TIP: Welcome feedback, especially when you’re doing something wrong. Listen to your customer’s perspective. If it makes sense, be willing to change your approach to make it more effective and more relevant for her.———-
Free Business Cards
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Tags: Blog, Business Card, Business Cards, Chairs, Constructive Feedback, Job, Last Minute, Marketing, People, Personal Connection, Piece Of Advice, Presentation
Posted in Success Stories | Comments (6)
May 18th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Yah… i have tons of business cards…. it’s ridiculous…. i definitely need to clean out my wallet!
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December 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
))lol.. I collect such cards… I have about 5000 cards..it a lot I know ))
January 21st, 2009 at 3:00 am
That’s good point. 80% of cards I received got theis way to bin in a day.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:02 am
The key thing here are not the cards, but the feedback! This is really important to listen to advice, even if you think you have a firm grasp of what’s going on. And this is the perfect example – the Author had a good idea that he failed, in a way, to implement. Now here’s the tricky part – you need to swallow your pride and listen, just like the Author did. You’ll lose nothing but a few minutes, but you might earn something that will change the way you do business.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
very interesting and insightful blog post,
I like your blog aswell, I might have to bookmark it :D thanks
November 30th, 2009 at 4:33 am
I have to say I agree with the majority of what is being stated here. I am gonna have to have to grab the rss so I can keep tabs. on what?s going on around here.