The humble business card is one of the most effective networking tools
you can find, and certainly one of the easiest to use. Most companies
will provide their salespeople with business cards in the company's
standard format. If not, you can easily create your own and buy a few
hundred cards at an extremely low price.
When in doubt, a simply formatted and conservative card design is best. Just how formal your card should be depends in part on what type of product you sell. For example, someone selling financial products should choose a very conservative card design, as most prospects would prefer a conservative and risk-averse financial adviser – and a flashy or unusual card design may raise some concern. On the other hand, if you sell art supplies to painters and craftspeople, you'll want a visually exciting card, because most of your prospects will have a strong graphic sense and will feel more comfortable with you if you apparently have an artist's eye as well.
Staying with a standard card design will result in a much smaller expense for you. A salesperson who attends many networking events and trade shows can go through hundreds of cards in a single event, so it's a significant factor to consider. If you are willing to spend more money (or your company is paying for your cards) then you have more options, including unusual shapes, formats and materials. For example, wooden business cards have become more popular, especially with entrepreneurs and designers.
The standard business card is a 2” by 3.5” rectangle on paper cardstock. The heavier the cardstock used, the more durable the cards will be – but a heavier cardstock will also be more expensive, and very thick cards may not fit as well in a card case. You can choose any color for your cardstock and print, but be sure to choose a combination that's easy to read. Dark print on a dark card or light print on a light card is a waste of your money. The traditional black print on white cardstock is the easiest to read at a glance, even in poor light.
Business cards generally include the person's name, company name, address and phone number. Modern business cards also include email address, Twitter username, company website, and any professional titles or certifications. It's best to put all the information on the front of the card, if you can, and leave the back blank so that anyone who receives your card can jot down notes on that side.
Many office supply stores sell a self-printable card template that you can load into your office printer to craft your own cards. Unless you have absolutely no budget for business cards, stick with professionally printed cards. The self-printed cards are usually easily recognizable to others and give a rather un-businesslike impression.
Once you've chosen your design and your cards have arrived, don't start simply handing them out to everyone you meet. Shoving a business card into an unwilling party's hand usually results in said card being dropped directly into the trash can. A more professional – and courteous – method is to ask for the other person's card first. When that person hands you their card, glance at it and comment on some aspect of the card. This can be something like, “Nice design, where did you get these printed?” or even “I didn't know you were in the 999 area code.” After you've asked for and received the other person's business card, he will almost certainly ask for yours as well. If he doesn't, don't worry about it – you now have his card, so you can contact him later anyway.
When in doubt, a simply formatted and conservative card design is best. Just how formal your card should be depends in part on what type of product you sell. For example, someone selling financial products should choose a very conservative card design, as most prospects would prefer a conservative and risk-averse financial adviser – and a flashy or unusual card design may raise some concern. On the other hand, if you sell art supplies to painters and craftspeople, you'll want a visually exciting card, because most of your prospects will have a strong graphic sense and will feel more comfortable with you if you apparently have an artist's eye as well.
Staying with a standard card design will result in a much smaller expense for you. A salesperson who attends many networking events and trade shows can go through hundreds of cards in a single event, so it's a significant factor to consider. If you are willing to spend more money (or your company is paying for your cards) then you have more options, including unusual shapes, formats and materials. For example, wooden business cards have become more popular, especially with entrepreneurs and designers.
The standard business card is a 2” by 3.5” rectangle on paper cardstock. The heavier the cardstock used, the more durable the cards will be – but a heavier cardstock will also be more expensive, and very thick cards may not fit as well in a card case. You can choose any color for your cardstock and print, but be sure to choose a combination that's easy to read. Dark print on a dark card or light print on a light card is a waste of your money. The traditional black print on white cardstock is the easiest to read at a glance, even in poor light.
Business cards generally include the person's name, company name, address and phone number. Modern business cards also include email address, Twitter username, company website, and any professional titles or certifications. It's best to put all the information on the front of the card, if you can, and leave the back blank so that anyone who receives your card can jot down notes on that side.
Many office supply stores sell a self-printable card template that you can load into your office printer to craft your own cards. Unless you have absolutely no budget for business cards, stick with professionally printed cards. The self-printed cards are usually easily recognizable to others and give a rather un-businesslike impression.
Once you've chosen your design and your cards have arrived, don't start simply handing them out to everyone you meet. Shoving a business card into an unwilling party's hand usually results in said card being dropped directly into the trash can. A more professional – and courteous – method is to ask for the other person's card first. When that person hands you their card, glance at it and comment on some aspect of the card. This can be something like, “Nice design, where did you get these printed?” or even “I didn't know you were in the 999 area code.” After you've asked for and received the other person's business card, he will almost certainly ask for yours as well. If he doesn't, don't worry about it – you now have his card, so you can contact him later anyway.
By Wendy Connick, About.com Guide
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