The Basics Of Business Card Marketing

One of the most frequent requests I have heard throughout my career is "May I have your card?" Whether it's a sales call or business-to-business (B2B) networking, the practice of swapping business cards is the most common way to make an introduction.So why do so many merchant level salespeople (MLSs) arrive at meetings and trade shows without them?

I'm always surprised when, during the "get to know you" part of a committee meeting, someone in the room announces they have "forgotten their cards." Or when someone visits our booth at a trade show and is unable to leave a card because they don't have any with them.In sales, forgetting your business cards is like forgetting your pants.

The most effective way I've found to remember people I've met is to retain their business cards.During our conversations, I often take quick notes on the back of the cards that I can refer to later, such as jotting down a reminder about something from our meeting, an action item I have agreed to or something they have committed to me.

Once back at my desk, I review the stack of cards.I write thank you notes, delegate action items, pass along leads and the myriad of follow up details that occur after a business trip.Without the cards, I'm left only with an attendee roster and pads of paper.

Your cards should include your name, phone number, fax number, e-mail and street addresses and company logo.This information should be produced in a color and font that are easy to read.I recently received a business card that had been printed with pale lavender five-point type in order to fit all of the information the proprietor wanted on the card.A lot of information was there, but I couldn't read it-even with my bifocals on!

Make sure you proofread your business cards before they are printed.You may think that the instructions you gave the person at Kinko's were clear, but did they set your information correctly?Here's an easy trick to use when proofreading to ensure what is to be printed is correct: Read each line backwards, from left to right and from bottom to top.This will force you to look at each word and number, instead of only skimming the information that you are so familiar with.

Also, have your cards printed on a paper stock that someone can actually write on.If your cards are plastic or a dark color they will be less useful to those who receive them, especially if they, like you, take notes on cards.While business cards that look and feel like credit or gift cards may be a novelty, they will most likely be tossed rather than kept as useful reminders for further action.

Check your sales agreement for instructions regarding logo placement on your business cards.Card associations and many banks and vendors have specific rules regarding the use of their logos.Additionally, be sure to include any logos (that you are entitled to use) that might lend further credibility to your business, such as from a trade association, chamber of commerce or Better Business Bureau.

If you conduct business in languages in addition to English, you might consider having your contact information printed on the back of your business card in these other languages.Or, you might add a line to your business card such as, "Se habla espa_ol."

Keep a supply of business cards in your wallet, briefcase, car, computer bag and desk, and invest in a simple business cardholder to protect the cards and keep them looking crisp and clean.

Most importantly, give your business cards away.

Many sales managers monitor their sales staffs' activities based on the number of business cards each rep collects during the day.You can easily rate the effectiveness of your daily routine by counting the cards your collect.You'll have a better idea of how many leads you're generating if you give a card each time you receive one.

Your business cards are one of the most productive pieces of collateral you will generate.Consider them the seeds of your business, and scatter them widely.

About the Author

Kishor Nayak is a Business Consultant working with International clients.

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Affiliate Programs Are A Great Marketing Tool

If you have recently started an online business, you are no doubt facing the difficult task of trying to promote your website without sufficient capital to do much advertising. It is a catch-22; you need to spend a lot of money on advertising to launch an internet business so that you can make some change, but you crave to variety one or two money so that you really meet up with a couple dollars to spend on publicizing.

To get change for promoting, you may carry on a business colleague who is ready to fund the bureau to get your marketing drive running, or maybe you may possibly turn around to job capital to get embarked on. Although, except you before now submit to a lot of solid interest contacts, raising cash for an web startup can be regarding unattainable.

So, whatever should you do The resolution to all your marketing problems might be an affiliate program. As well as an affiliate plan, a big shot who has a web page can post an advertisement for your affair on their web page in the category of a title or a note down link. If a big shot clicks on that headline or text link and subsequently buys your style or service, you labor under to pay that affiliate a hire on the procurement.

The justification why this is such an fine marketing policy is as an affiliate program charges you not anything. You do not go through to pay to destination your affiliate heading or pen link on other websites as you are presenting those esoteric online page owners a payment on every referral they type, but basically if that referral produces a trading.

Not without difficulty pulls off evoking an affiliate calendar give a contribution you an chance to variety a acute quantity of sales without spending capital riches on publicizing, but it additionally increases the bulk of inbound links to your online page. The further links to your place, the higher your hunt engine ranking will be. So, a oscillation in your link quality and an added augment in sales resulting indulge in an progressed search engine ranking is a fabulous byproduct of evoking a frequent affiliate agenda.

Now, you desire to master how to give birth to an affiliate program and how to advertise it. To motivate an affiliate list, you will either crave to appoint a web tailor or programmer who has occurrence building these groups of programs, because they are not easy to set up. The job calls for a lot of backend programming book, database creation, and fee tracking so that the referrals and sales that each affiliate produces can be tracked also a particular system that is signed to each individual affiliate.

To advertise your list, you will appetite to occupation ads for it on as a number of on the internet affiliate directories as you can get your hands on. One or two of these directories will fee you a teen annual fee to be programmed, others will admit you to program your calendar for liberal. There are accurately hundreds or also thousands of a lot of browse cyberspace directories where you can add your list. The further listings you can motivate, the added affiliates you can probably pay money for.

I consolation this concentration helps you get your online affair off to a accurate pop out. The affiliates you recruit into your agenda are concerning love your staff, they are doing your publicizing textbook for you, and it realizes not cost you what on earth until they variety a sale. All those websites will be representing you, class of comparable to a commissioned salesclerk. Basically class sure you employ a more established web dressmaker to do the programming work, given that if there are any difficulties also tracking sales to your human being affiliates, you will have a hefty chaos on your hands.


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