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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.

Louis Tetu is a brilliant man. Conceives, builds and sells companies, and then looks for the next challenge. And knows how to deliver Pow!, too. At a recent tech entrepreneur dinner put on by Charles Sirois (no slouch either in the brains or success departments), Louis caused quite a stir by passing out his business card, seen below. The five extra words below his official title spawned waves of conversation.

Without any splash of color or die-cut gimmickry (and not that there’s anything wrong with that), Louis’s card was the talk of the night. Of his understated six point “sub-title,” he explained that it serves not only as statement to who he is as an individual (i.e. NOT just a businessman), but manages to act as a “connector” to those he meets, establishing points in common to build relationships, not just business. What’s more, he insists that every last one of his 700-or-so employees do the same and list four personal attributes on their cards. It’s not fancy nor earth-shattering, but as repeated here ad nauseam, little things can have massive Surprise effect. You just don’t expect to see anything “personal” on “business” cards, never mind four or five words that provide an insight to your psyche. Thanks to Google, anyone who wants to find your address or phone number can do so instantly. Rather than just be an adjunct to Rolodex (ask your parents), bizcards today should have a greater purpose, to establish a bond.

www.UnlimitedBusinessCards.com

Start out with 1000 free business cards. Check them (us) out!

by Chris Channing

There are a few rules of etiquette to obey when taking advantage of one’s stash of business cards. Certain rules and guidelines can be followed to maximize the use of each business card. And with the prospect of new business, engaging in such tips can equate to more profits and business efficiency.

The most important rule to remember when using business cards as a marketing tool is to keep enough on hand at all times- and certainly don’t forget them at home. If you don’t have a business card when a possible client requests one, this could potentially mean you have just lost a very valuable sale for your business.

Business cards aren’t exactly the cheapest business marketing tool- but they should never be withheld from a customer’s request. If a customer would like more than one copy of a business card- always make good on the deal and give them more than one copy with a smile. Doing so will improve the likelihood that the client will return- and because they took multiple companies, they may also refer friends and family to your service as well.

In the process of exchanging business cards, it is generally considered polite to give the other person’s business card a good looking over. A few seconds glance at the business card shows the other business owner you are interested in having a possible business relationship- as well as shows that you care enough about your business relations as you do your own company.

Above all else, businesses will find that most of their clients will come through the business of previous clients. Clients who have kept onto your business card will often give it to friends or family members who may be in need of your service- given they were satisfied and wish their cohorts to also enjoy a good service you may provide.

As history shows, the best business marketing comes from creativity. If a business owner engages in sending business cards through the mail to customers or even bill collectors, they will notice a slight increase in business as a result. The recipient of the letter or bill collector will likely have friends that could use your service- and the business only continues to expand from there.

Getting creative also works with forming relationships with other businesses. Some of the best profits come from pairing one business with another- and then reaping profits from the conjunction. Forming a relationship such as this can easily come by mailing those who have given you business cards with a thank you note, and make note to include your own business card for contact.

Business cards can be a very important promotional tool for a business- the trick is to use them correctly so your money isn’t waste. Business cards are usually fairly cheap in today’s society- so be sure to get generous and creative with how you hand them out. Doing so can mean the difference between a successful business relationship and missing the sale or relationship of a lifetime.

For all business people the business card is more that a slip of paper. It is a business persons image that has been built up after years of hard work. For many of the receivers of the small card it is just an advertisement.

With people that get cards all the time, you card is probably not any different to others. Actually they may look at getting your card as a bit of annoyance more litter for their pocket.

As a business owner and entrepreneur you need your business card kept, you need that card to get their attention. You need them to notice and remember your business card.

HOW to get them to keep your Card

First you will need to find out what would make you keep peoples card

1: Lots of people use cards to link to hard to get products, they will never throw away the card of a person or service supplier that they need.

2:Imagine getting handed a card with details of an important person or intermediary, somebody that could help you in the future. (you would never throw the card away.)

3:.Would you keep a card that supplied a product or service that a relative or friend could possibly use now or in the future. (Of coarse)

That’s the beauty of business cards

So keeping the card for non business reason’s is also something that you have to think of when getting your card designed and made.

Unfortunately people see business cards as just a contact card and miss a great marketing opportunity. An opportunity that may never come back .

How to keep your Business Card Kept

It may sound easy but the secret is to supply a business card with information on it that people want to keep. You can do this by using the back of your card or getting a card with extra folds, these give the opportunity to hold more information. If you have information that people need on your card they will not throw it away.

For a building product salesman, he might want to put specs or calcs so that it is more easy to use his products than a competitors.

Many people will suggest lots of alternatives for getting people to keep your card they mostly have to do with putting useful information on it.

But no matter what design you use for your card you must keep in mind some simple rules. Lots of different types of people may see you card so design for a broad market. Make your card easy to read with you contact details clearly visible. Lastly make your card work for you and help you build your business.

Ok, maybe not that last part, but you do want bloggers to “blog you to death”, figuratively.

If they aren’t blogging about you, your product or company might not be interesting enough. How to make your product more interesting is beyond the scope of this article, but I do have a tip for you about how to keep your finger on the pulse of the blogosphere.

How can you track the BLOGversation?

(Did I just coin a phrase? Blog + conversation = BLOGversation.)

I found a nice little tool to help you track all the blogs that are blogging about you and/or your product.

It is inspired by a little reporting tool on the main admin page of Wordpress 2.5

Step 1) Copy this code into your browser address bar:

http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch_feeds?hl=en&scoring=d&ie=utf-8&num=10&output=rss
&partner=wordpress&q=link:http://www.CHANGETHIStoYOURsiteDOTwhatever/

Step 2) Change the website at the end to whatever url or web page address you would like to track.

Step 3) You will then see an RSS feed of all or most of the blogs that are blogging about you.

Step 4) Subscribe to that feed and then you will be notified each time a new blogger blogs about you or your product.

How can this be useful?

Well, you might want to visit each blog and post a thank you comment.

You might want to know if they are talking positively or negatively about your product.

You might realize that NOBODY is blogging about you and that you need to get your butt in gear and start some publicity.

What can you do to get more BLOGblicity?

(Did I just coin a another new phrase? Blog + publicity = BLOGblicity.)

Anyway, how can you get more bloggers to blog about you?

One way is to pay for it. Just do a search for “get paid to blog” on google and you will find tons of companies that will get your message out to thousands of bloggers.

OR, you can create something viral (an article, a video, a free offer, etc.) This will get the bloggers to blogging and then other bloggers will follow suit.

You could also send a sample of your product to a selection of relevant blogs. They might be inspired to write about you.

LAST MINUTE UPDATE: A “turn it upside-down” marketing idea:

Why not publish the RSS feed (mentioned above) on your site so your visitors can visit those blogs and see what the gossip is all about?

I can’t think of anything more Web 2.0 than that. Even if there is some negative feedback out there, your visitors will see how you responded to it in the comments section.

What are you waiting for? Get out there and do your best to get “blogged to death”!

(Click on this image to get a closer look!)

Recently I took 66 business cards I’ve collected over the years and spread them out on the table. I closed my eyes for 30 seconds, opened them and took note of which cards stood out the most. And here’s what I noticed:

Check out this news article from myfoxdc.com

Leesburg Police arrested three foreign nationals for prostitution related offenses Thursday night. The arrests were made in the unit block of Fort Evans Road, NE after undercover officers arranged for the services of a prostitute.

Jose Alberto Luengas-Brito, age 22 and a citizen of Mexico, was charged with Aiding Prostitution, Receiving Money from the Earnings of a Prostitute, Using a Motor Vehicle to Promote Prostitution, and Driving without a Valid Operator’s License.

Abraham Mundo-Gavidia, age 21, a citizen of El Salvador, was charged with Aiding Prostitution and Receiving Money from the Earnings of a Prostitute.

Erika Rachel Rincon-Urbi, age 18, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was charged with Prostitution.

All three subjects are being held without bond.

None of them has valid immigration status and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued detainers against all of them.

The three advertised by passing out business cards in shopping center and gas station parking lots.

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