15 Business Card Etiquettes For Leaders

1. Never leave home without them. Aside from your keys, purse, and wallet, your business cards should be an essential item that you never leave home without. There is nothing more disheartening than meeting a prospective client and being unprepared to leave an impressive marketing piece such as your business card. Every time that you're caught without business cards, pluck yourself and put some in your wallet as soon as you get to where they're located. Make it a habit to always have your cards with you.

2. Make your business cards distinguished. Investing in top quality business cards are well worth the investment. Make sure that they are well designed and attractive. If you met someone in the grocery store wearing hair rollers and night clothes and yet handing you a business Superman comics stating that she's an executive at a Fortune 500 company, you wouldn't take her very seriously. Likewise, if you are writing your contact information on napkins or distributing cards that are of poor quality, you could very well hurt your chances of people considering your business and services to be of top quality. You want to Superboy proud of your presentation of your cards.

3. Summarize what you do on your cards. If you ever give someone your business card and they ask, "So what do you do?" This is an indication that Red Man baseball cards time to update your business cards. At a quick glance, people should be able to tell what type of product and/or service you offer. For example, if your business is beauty and hair care, then your cards should show images of beauty products, tools or images. The word and graphics should be a short infomercial of your company and reflective of what you offer.

4. Keep your cards neat and ready for distribution. Because you always want to make a great first impression, store your cards in a secure pouch or holder in the front or zippered pocket of your purse. If you are fumbling through your purse trying to remember where you put the cards, the prospect is wondering in what other areas are you unorganized and unprepared. Keep your cards accessible and always ready for distribution by preventing them from becoming loose, crumbled or stained as a result of being at the bottom of your purse.

5. How do I get in touch with you? Always keep your business cards updated with current information. Inevitably- life happens and we change addresses, telephone numbers, or our businesses goals change. The problem is that our cards should always be current with updated information so that they are ready for distribution at all times. Instead of hand writing the updated information on your cards, recycle the old ones and invest in some brand new cards. You never want to risk leaving a bad impression with potential clients.

6. Keep a plentiful supply of your business cards. You can never have an overstock of business cards. Ordering more is certainly better. In fact, there are so many opportunities for you to distribute your business cards (to staff in local stores, doctor's offices, post offices, or even in envelopes with bill payments and etc...), that there is absolutely no excuse for you to not have plenty available. Never miss an opportunity to give out your card. Keep cards in a compartment in your car, purse, wallet, home office, pants pockets and etc... There should be a business card accessible from everywhere you are.

7. Connecting businesses with names and faces. Upon receiving business cards, read them, say the person's name and/or ask a question about the company. I find that this technique helps me to remember the person long after departure. I also have a habit of making notes about the person, the place where we met, and/or any conversation notes. We only have 15 seconds to make a great first impression so I find that this technique helps me to remember the person and put a face with the experience. This is also really good for follow-up.

8. Follow-up after every encounter. Following up (and mentioning the notes you made to yourself on the back of the card) is a courteous and impressive way to imbed the memory of the encounter and help the potential client to feel like royalty. As a result, you may not only gain a customer but you'll assure them that you have developed the habit of treating your Bakugan with respect, thus provoking customer loyalty and healthy relationships.

9. Be a giver of your business cards. Don't keep them to yourself- even if it's your last business card. The purpose of having a business card is to tell others about your products and services. Let them be free to brag about your company and bring in more business. It's not profitable to keep the cards hidden in your pocket. The more you tell others about your business, the more successful your business becomes.

10. Set goals for distribution. If you go a day without giving someone your business card, you have gone a day too many. Every day someone should be learning about your business. You can't expect a high rate of return without making an investment. Realtors say, "You can not be a secret agent and be successful in business". You must give out your card to someone every day. The average person goes many places in one day. Think about it- you wake up and see your neighbors while checking the mail, go to the store for eggs, stop to get gas, remember that you need to go to the bank, pick up the dry cleaning while you're out, see a yard sale on the way back home and stop on the corner to purchase a newspaper. You have just encountered at least 10 people in that short amount of time. Develop a plan to tell someone about your business every day. Make the goal specific, for example, I will give 5 people my business card over the course of 5 days.

11. Make good use of all of the space on your business card. In addition to having your name, title, address, telephone number, web address and maybe your email; include a few bullets listing the products and services that you offer. Also, utilize the space that's on the back of your card. You can use this space to include your mission statement, an infomercial summarizing what your company does, appointment reminders, slogans, photographs, request for referrals or other helpful information about your business.

12. More is better for referrals. Referrals are the lifeline if any business. When giving someone your business card, instead of giving just one, leave two to three extra and ask them to give some friends. This is a great way to spread the word about your product and services and network for referrals as well.

13. Jack of all trades but master of none. Target one business need at a time. I have met entrepreneurs who have more than one business and a card for each venture. As you meet prospective clients, listen carefully for the need and target it by giving cards for that service only. As the client comes to know you as creditable, you can then introduce other services. If you introduce too many business ventures at a time, you run the risk of, not only appearing to be a jack of all trades and a master of none, but you may leave the impression that your business operates for the sole purpose of making money and not to sincerely meet the needs of people.

14. Add life to your business cards. People are visual beings who love to look at graphics and photographs. Ask any real estate expert and they will tell you that statistics show that homes with photographs are more often viewed and likely to sell quicker than homes without pictures. Likewise, advertisements that include graphics are more appealing to readers. It's the same with your business cards. Adding graphics and photos make your cards attractive for clients to read, and brings life and identity to your business. Spark their curiosity by adding photos and graphics to your cards; thus, causing them to want to learn more about your business.

15. Create storage options for business cards. In your purse, keep a personal business card holder separate from a multiple card holder used to collect business cards. If you are networking effectively, your purse will soon run out of space to hold all of the business cards you've collected plus your personal belongings. Having alternate storage options in your home office, such as a binder style business card holder, an index card box or even a cosmetic bag is a great solution for keeping the cards organized, gathered, and readily available for follow-up or to invite the entrepreneur to networking events. It also prevents you from having to look for business cards in a junk drawer.

In closing, remember that your business card helps set the tone for creditability and is the first impression of your business. If you are not impressed with the style of your cards or don't feel excited about the statement that your card makes, the person receiving it will not be impressed either. You want to always leave the person, not only wanting to learn more about your business but also encouraged to take it a step further and visit your website or come to your office. Assuring that your business cards are professional looking and well-designed are well worth the investment and can result in or bringing in more business and making a lasting impression.

I'd love to hear from you. Please write and tell me about the most impressive business card you've ever received? Tell us what the wow factor was. Send your responses to mailto:sistersinchrist02@yahoosistersinchrist02@yahoo

Brenda Douglas is the founder of Royalty, Inc. an organization that emerges, empowers and inspires women to be effective and influential leaders. She is the publisher of Elegance, a personal development & confidence coach, integrity teacher, workshop facilitator, and an author. For booking, contact Brenda Douglas or visit the website at YouareRoyalty.orgYouareRoyalty.org