What do you do with all those business cards?
This is an actual picture of all the business cards in the top drawer of a colleague's desk. He is going to KILL me for posting this :)
I know you collect business cards at networking events, client meetings, conferences, etc.
Here are my 3 questions for you today:
- Where do you put them?
- What do you do with them when you get back to the office?
- Do you have a plan to process them, or do you hoard them as my colleague does?
I want to hear from all business owners, but especially from you, Suzanne and Janet.
As for me, I actually only take a card if I...
- like the person and want to stay in touch socially :)
- want to network some more with that person - maybe send them a copy of my newsletter
- need the person's help professionally
- want to hook them up with one of my clients
- put them to the left of my keyboard so that they annoy me until I process them. I'm a visual person so I can't stand the clutter!
- schedule some time (10 minutes or so) to enter their details in Outlook, usually within the next week. I get myself in the mood and just work through the whole batch.
- connect with them via Facebook (my preference) or email
- throw the cards away! This is critical.
Over to you! Please answer my 3 questions.
5 are inspired:
1. Within a few days of meeting the person, I send an email to remind them who I am and where we met, sending them any information I may have mentioned during our conversation.
2. If it's someone I definitely want to stay in touch with or expect to have referrals for in the future, I enter the details in my Outlook contacts.
3. Unless I expect to pass the business card on to someone, it then gets recycled.
Do not throw the cards, instead build a business card wall. It may look nice.
1) Where do you put them?
I put them in a three-ring binder that is divided alphabetically. Behind each alphabetical section are card pocket sheets that are business card- sized. They hold 10 cards each.
What do you do with them when you get back to the office?
I keep them in this file, and then when someone calls me or asks me for a referral to someone who does the kind of work that my associates do, I look up their name and give the person their phone number.
Do you have a plan to process them, or do you hoard them as my colleague does?
I don't take the cards unless I feel I can refer them to someone. I send an e-mail later if it is appropriate. I let the person know why I'm taking their card if I plan to use it for that reason. If I don't, I just keep it in the binder for my own reference.
(I use the computer all the time, but I am a paper-based person - too many crashes in the past to ever "only" have a computer backup - no matter how many backups I have, including one off site.)
Polly Scott
http://ScottSecretarial.com
I keep customer's business cards so I can give or send them business. In networking situations, I write the date and function on the back of the card so that I know when and where I met them. I try to follow up with a phone or email to each person I meet- although, I admit I am not always perfect about this. I did buy a rol-o-dex specifically to address the storage of business cards- but need to use it....
Polly, what a great system you have and I love that you don’t take cards unless you know you can refer them!
Joyce, I find that if you schedule time for just after the event, it's more likely to get done. Great system too.
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