Thursday, November 09, 2006
That Business Card - How To Get It Kept And Read!
Your Prime Opportunity To Design A Pocket Poster That Works For Years..
A female motivational keynote speaker is not a unique commodity - far from it. So when I hand someone my card, I have to make sure it’s not just destined for the nearest bin. My card is in every way my advertisement, and it must mark me out from the competition, favourably and memorably.
Whatever business you’re in, you’ll face the same situation. So, keep front-of-mind that your card is your advertisement. And apply the rules of good advertising. Of which the first and best is… the safe way is the wrong way!
For example, that plain white card with your name and title in copper-plate lettering to indicate reassurance and gravitas… What are you, for goodness sake? A funeral director in 1950?
Short of actual silly gimmicks aiming to shock and without a real message, you’ll be amazed at how well people respond to a less-usual business card.
Let me give you an example from my own career - not as a motivational speaker this time, but as a stress consultant. Now it is a fact that stress will restrict blood-flow, making your hands colder than normal. So I often give my clients a tiny peel-off sticker that shows a different colour for each temperature-range when they place their finger on it.
One day I experimented with the idea of applying this tiny sticker to my business card, and explaining the significance of it to new contacts. As many of these people were senior blue-chip management, I reckoned that some of them might possibly reject it as a bit gimmicky, but that more of them would find it interesting and memorable. As it turned out, the response was 100% favourable. Not a single person reacted negatively. One director actually kept it on his desk for five years, showing it to all his visitors, while another stored it in his wallet as reference for when he wanted a good keynote speaker. (We’re still doing training courses for his employees - years on).
Truly the safe way is the wrong way!
Let me offer you a few other ideas for making your card stand out from others, while adding that an advertising art-director will be able to give you professional advice that could easily pay for itself in weeks.
· Double-sided card - twice the impact
That blank reverse-side is simply a waste of good advertising space. It’s like publishing a magazine with its outside back cover left blank, when that slot actually goes at a hefty premium. At the very least, you could duplicate the same image on both sides, for almost no extra cost, so that your message is seen whichever way up the card is left lying. But you may also take the opportunity of displaying a different message on the back, so that you make two impacts, not one.
· 4-pager - the perfect mini-brochure
If you have an interesting story to tell, consider a 4-page version of your card, whose inside spread will make an interesting ‘reader’ element, absent from most cards. (For this, it is worth investing in a high-quality illustration.) I heard of one client who printed his cards in a 4-page version, using some of the artwork from his 6-page DL brochure. He found the card worked so well, he almost didn’t need the brochure!
· My own preferred format
Front for persuasion. Back for information. Let the front be your poster, expressing one message with great clarity. If you’re going for a witty and memorable strapline (which often invites a good accompanying photo), make sure it doesn’t obscure the basic fact of what you do for a living. On the back, display your contact details in a straightforward but tasteful way, with phone and e-mail in bold, and summary of your services, perhaps in two listings, e.g. products one side, locations the other.
Finally…
Don’t wait… till you’ve used up your existing cards before you re-design. That’s a false economy and a short-sighted policy.
Don’t wait… more than a week or so to follow-up a contact to whom you’ve given your card. That can cost you vital momentum.
A creative card could be the first step towards a full-scale programme of successful promotion for yourself and your business, all conducted in the same bold spirit. In fact, your card may well signal this attitude to an important new-business contact - a big part of that formative first impression.
Carole Spiers – inspirational motivational speaker occupies a special niche as an expert in Personal Development. She brings together the separate cultures of individual empowerment and executive management - proving to corporate business that empowered employees improve performance and output. Carole’s keynote presentations have educated and inspired audiences all over the world. She is also a high profile broadcaster, journalist and President of the London Chapter of the Professional Speakers Association.
Our publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. To sign up for our FREE success quotations http://tinyurl.co.uk/yhgv, or for more information email info@carolespiers.com to telephone +44 (0) 29 8954 1593 www.carolespiers.com
A female motivational keynote speaker is not a unique commodity - far from it. So when I hand someone my card, I have to make sure it’s not just destined for the nearest bin. My card is in every way my advertisement, and it must mark me out from the competition, favourably and memorably.
Whatever business you’re in, you’ll face the same situation. So, keep front-of-mind that your card is your advertisement. And apply the rules of good advertising. Of which the first and best is… the safe way is the wrong way!
For example, that plain white card with your name and title in copper-plate lettering to indicate reassurance and gravitas… What are you, for goodness sake? A funeral director in 1950?
Short of actual silly gimmicks aiming to shock and without a real message, you’ll be amazed at how well people respond to a less-usual business card.
Let me give you an example from my own career - not as a motivational speaker this time, but as a stress consultant. Now it is a fact that stress will restrict blood-flow, making your hands colder than normal. So I often give my clients a tiny peel-off sticker that shows a different colour for each temperature-range when they place their finger on it.
One day I experimented with the idea of applying this tiny sticker to my business card, and explaining the significance of it to new contacts. As many of these people were senior blue-chip management, I reckoned that some of them might possibly reject it as a bit gimmicky, but that more of them would find it interesting and memorable. As it turned out, the response was 100% favourable. Not a single person reacted negatively. One director actually kept it on his desk for five years, showing it to all his visitors, while another stored it in his wallet as reference for when he wanted a good keynote speaker. (We’re still doing training courses for his employees - years on).
Truly the safe way is the wrong way!
Let me offer you a few other ideas for making your card stand out from others, while adding that an advertising art-director will be able to give you professional advice that could easily pay for itself in weeks.
· Double-sided card - twice the impact
That blank reverse-side is simply a waste of good advertising space. It’s like publishing a magazine with its outside back cover left blank, when that slot actually goes at a hefty premium. At the very least, you could duplicate the same image on both sides, for almost no extra cost, so that your message is seen whichever way up the card is left lying. But you may also take the opportunity of displaying a different message on the back, so that you make two impacts, not one.
· 4-pager - the perfect mini-brochure
If you have an interesting story to tell, consider a 4-page version of your card, whose inside spread will make an interesting ‘reader’ element, absent from most cards. (For this, it is worth investing in a high-quality illustration.) I heard of one client who printed his cards in a 4-page version, using some of the artwork from his 6-page DL brochure. He found the card worked so well, he almost didn’t need the brochure!
· My own preferred format
Front for persuasion. Back for information. Let the front be your poster, expressing one message with great clarity. If you’re going for a witty and memorable strapline (which often invites a good accompanying photo), make sure it doesn’t obscure the basic fact of what you do for a living. On the back, display your contact details in a straightforward but tasteful way, with phone and e-mail in bold, and summary of your services, perhaps in two listings, e.g. products one side, locations the other.
Finally…
Don’t wait… till you’ve used up your existing cards before you re-design. That’s a false economy and a short-sighted policy.
Don’t wait… more than a week or so to follow-up a contact to whom you’ve given your card. That can cost you vital momentum.
A creative card could be the first step towards a full-scale programme of successful promotion for yourself and your business, all conducted in the same bold spirit. In fact, your card may well signal this attitude to an important new-business contact - a big part of that formative first impression.
Carole Spiers – inspirational motivational speaker occupies a special niche as an expert in Personal Development. She brings together the separate cultures of individual empowerment and executive management - proving to corporate business that empowered employees improve performance and output. Carole’s keynote presentations have educated and inspired audiences all over the world. She is also a high profile broadcaster, journalist and President of the London Chapter of the Professional Speakers Association.
Our publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. To sign up for our FREE success quotations http://tinyurl.co.uk/yhgv, or for more information email info@carolespiers.com to telephone +44 (0) 29 8954 1593 www.carolespiers.com
# posted by Carole Spiers @ 10:37 PM 
