What Logo Should
You Put On Your Business Card?
We get asked this question all the time:
What logo should be on our business card?
My answer is nothing!
I suggest that you don’t have a business card. Traditional business development would dictate that this advice is horrible, unmerited, and completely insane, but I beg to differ.
We’ve made thousands of dollars with our clients by teaching them how to be unstoppable in their follow-up—how to stop waiting by the phone and serve into a follow-up system that feels good to your clients and to you.
Quick story . . . one day I looked at my desk and noticed 29 business cards sitting there annoyingly on the corner of my desk. I hated how the cards looked so messy piled up there and, not to mention, how bad I felt because I hadn’t had time to contact anyone back.
That’s when it dawned on me.
I hadn’t called one of those people, and not one person had contacted me. What a bad strategy this card thing was. We put so much effort into creating the prettiest, most clever cards possible. Sometimes months of agony go into creating the perfect card. For what? They produce such random results.
Go to your drawer right now and pull out the twenty-something business cards that you have sitting in there.
- How many people have you stayed in contact with?
- Or even better yet, how many have you called or e-mailed?
… Probably very few.
Well that’s what happens to the people that you give your card to as well. In fact, when you get a few new cards in your collection, don’t they just get reshuffled around your office or home until they end up in a drawer too?
Here’s the main reason why you want to NOT give your cards out…
Because you are giving your power away to another person and expecting that they are going to contact you back.
Haven’t you learned by now that EXPECTATIONS are the fastest way to lose traction in your life? Most of the time they lead to fights or disappointment possibly divorce. The bottom line is that things rarely turn out as planned, and the more people you add into the mix, the more variables that ensure something WILL go wrong.
Control the transaction.
This means when you receive someone’s card, write something on the back to remind you of why you want to contact them. When you return to work, take the first part of your day and do your follow-up. You see, you are controlling what happens next. That’s creating a point of connection for something to manifest from!
No matter what people say about giving out your card, my advice is to take more responsibility and initiate the next step. You’ll find that you will make more new friends, your business will increase, and you will be a happier woman just by making that small shift in your strategy.
Did this help take the edge off having to have a business card?
You can let me know below in the comment section.
Much Love,
Shanda Sumpter
Much
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I no longer use business cards, either. I do take them from people at events or I just write their name and contact info in my notebook along with a few notes. This weekend at a workshop people threw out their cards on a table in the lobby. What a waste!
I have about 10 people I am excited to follow up with. The rest? I don’t need their card or their information because we either didn’t make a connection or we just aren’t a good fit to work together. It’s about quality, not quantity.
For me this strategy works great too. I’m glad to see we have similar ways of working! Kick some A*SS!
Have seen a similar message before. Business cards are a clutter but people seem to want them and yes sometimes they do actually follow up with a contact. The glossy expensive cards though I think are DEAD. But good branding is essential, especially as you are often the brand people believe
You are 100% correct Roberta… however if you take their information you are completely in charge of your experience. Otherwise you can follow up and see if there is a good connection between the two of you. If you hand out your card you are leaving too many things to chance.
This almost made me laugh as I was on another site about to make a business card order. Maybe I’ll wait! Thanks!
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Go to an event and try this strategy. Make sure you are set up to receive financial gain as you execute your plan! Much Love – Shanda
As I was reading this I looked over at a pile of business cards on my desk and my head was shaking in agreement with you. I generally pick one or two people from the cards I collect and do a one on one with them but the rest of them end up in my card box or in that drawer.
thanks for a powerful article Shanda. I was starting to think about my new business card and now I will allow my focus to be on more productive projects for my business.
You got it Diane. They can be a major distraction if you don’t have a good strategy!