NUGGETS FOR THE NOGGIN
BUSINESS CARDS
By Jim "Gymbeaux" Brown
Could
not help but notice several posts on Facebook regarding "new"
business cards. From what I could tell
the reason there were "new" was because of their size. Here are my thoughts on business cards based
upon my over 33 years in the real estate business.
You
have to ask yourself, why would anyone want to keep my business card when I
give it to them? Seriously, when people
receive hundreds of business cards, why would yours stand out to the point they
would want to keep it?
Most
business cards are nothing more than examples of sameness with very few
exceptions. Here are some of the
features I have noticed over the years:
Starting
in the mid to late 80's agents started to include their photo on the card. The photos were "real" photos of
"real" people showing them as they really are not some of the glamour
shot type photos you see today. In fact
some of the photos are actually shocking and you have to ask yourself what some
of these people are selling, real estate or sexual favors.
Most
cards are printed only on one side so getting all the information you need to
convey on one side of the card is most difficult. So sacrifices are made and the end result
leaves all the pertinent data in very small print and people who have problems
reading them usually don't so what was accomplished? For example, look at almost any business card
you have and/or receive. Can you
"easily" read the telephone number?
Can you easily read the email address especially if it contains
underscores and dashes in the address?
Can you easily read the web address IF a web address was even
included? Again, why do we all seem to
want to make accessing the most important information on the card so difficult.
Some
people still refrain from including their photo on their cards, why? This is especially true for people NOT in the
real estate industry. Some people have a
knack for remembering people by their names and their faces without any
help. But most of us are not that
fortunate. When a card does not contain
a photograph you are relying on the person you give it to that they will
remember you by your name and hopefully your face but that would be a rare
case. When you see a face and a name it
is much easier to recognize and remember.
Does
your card tell the reader exactly what you do or sell? Most don't and leave it up to the recipient to
remember what it is you do and why they gave you their card.
Is
there something "catchy" on your card that draws attention to your
card as compared to other cards they received?
Most do not. For example a lot of
real estate agents use the standard title of REALTOR®, or Real Estate
Consultant or something similar. Why not
something like "I Sell Real Estate" or "Selling New
Orleans", something that makes the recipient say "Oh!".
It
still goes back to the question, why would someone want to keep the card you
gave them when they receive hundreds of cards and a lot of them are from other
real estate agents? If you can't answer
the question, you need to change your card.
Here
are some thoughts on memorable business cards and the mere fact that I can
recall them after so many years should tell you something.
- Vickie Carlton, RE/MAX in Dallas Texas. She has a single red rose theme. Her business card was black (before black cards were popular) and on it she had a single red long stem rose. I received her card and met her back in the early 90's yet I remember Vickie, what company she is with and the red rose.
- Sandra Nichols, owns her own company in Montgomery. She is known as "The Hat Lady". I don't know how many hats she owns but it is a lot. I received a Christmas card that shows a lone pine tree in a snow covered field and there were hats decorating the tree. I did not have to open the card to know who sent it. How's that for being memorable.
- Jeffrey Gitomer, author, speaker. His business cards are metal coins. How could you possible forget a card that is a metal coin?
- Jeannine Reeves, dentist. Her business card was also a very thin dental floss. Again how could you possible forget that card?
- Yours truly. I had two memorable cards, at least that is what people have told me when they tell me after 10 years they still have my card. The first card was a Baseball Card style. I had my photo taken in a red graduation cap and gown and gave me the title of Doctor of Real Estate and the reverse side of the card gave my statistics just like a baseball card.
- Yours truly. This was probably my best. I took a photograph of a bottle Pride furniture polish and Joy dish washing soap. It was an attractive photo and took up the entire back of my business card. When I would give someone the card it would go with an explanation, "This is a card you will want to keep in your wallet (or purse). When other people start showing you photographs of their pride and joys (dogs, cats, kids), you tell them let me show you my pride and joy and then show them your card." It always got a good laugh but more importantly people kept it.
Some
agents have put Tip Charts on the back of their cards thinking that people
would want to keep it to make it easier to calculate tips such as those you
give at restaurants.
Some
agents have mortgage calculator tables but frankly I found them confusing at
best and would not recommend it.
You
want to have your card stand out. You
want it to be memorable. You want it to
where people will keep it because it adds value like the tip chart. You want YOUR
card to take up space in a wallet or purse and NOT your competition!
Here
are some thoughts regarding the use of a business card.
You
should never give your card immediately upon meeting someone. It signals "I'm selling!" Giving someone a business card should be the
last thing you do almost as an afterthought.
You should use your card to get their card.
If
you are working with someone that you consider special or a very good prospect,
you might want to leave your cell phone OFF of your business card. Then as you begin to hand them your card you
take it back and say, "I feel real good that I should be able to help you
so let me put my cell phone number on your card so you can reach me almost
immediately." You then take out
your pen and write your cell phone number on the card. If someone did that to you, how would that
make you feel? I would feel special but
then that's just me.
If
you are meeting someone for the first time and you exchange cards, do not
expect them to keep it. So you
immediately write them a hand written thank you note and include your card and
get it into the mail immediately. Just
say how much you enjoy meeting them and if there is ever an opportunity to help
them in their business (if that applies) you will do so and include your
business card with your note. Two things
happen when you do this. First they are
impressed that you would take the time and it will give them a feeling of being
valuable. Second, they will most likely
ask themselves why they have not done this to the people they meet. In either case it sets you up as the
consummate professional.
Just
some random thoughts about business cards.
I could be wrong but I seriously doubt it. By the way, here is the photo of my Pride and
Joy just for you.