The Meaning Of Cards
What does it mean when
you give people your business card or they give you theirs? You see it happen at networking events,
social functions and other gatherings.
Scenario: afterwards, you find your email “Inbox” inundated
with newsletters, product adverts or other inconsequential traffic. You spend the next hour “unsubscribing”.
In the drive to grow business, people often email anyone
whose card they obtain. They don’t
realise that this is both self-destructive and that it also has potentially
wider “ripple effects”. Not only do you
irritate a potential customer by sending unneeded “junk”, you also run the risk
that they will mention you or your business in uncomplimentary terms to
others.
So what does it mean when you give or receive someone else’s
card?
First: many exchanges happen at functions out of simple courtesy. You give me your card; I give you mine
(unless I’ve run out). It doesn’t mean
that you or I become a potential target for mailings.
Second: it’s not necessarily an invitation to contact unless the giver specifically says so. “Call me and we’ll do lunch”, “Send me your
product brochure - we’re looking for …” or some other such phrase is the clue
here.
Third: it’s not a request to add the giver to your database. It may make your “contact activity” for the
month look good, but a huge database of useless leads won’t benefit anyone.
Fourth: it’s not an invitation to send unwanted
“newsletters” or adverts for your product. By all means, ask if they’d like a copy
of your newsletter/product advertisements if you think they’ll be interested.
Fifth: if it was given
with a request to “contact me”, do it. I’ve given my card to people whose services I
needed. No follow up, despite the
invitation. They won’t get my business;
I won’t recommend them; if that person comes up in conversation I’ll tell
people (who ask) about their failure to follow up. Finally, if they contact me in the future for
business, I won’t be going with them as I’ll already have seen how good they
are at follow-ups.
Unfortunately, it looks from the above as though you’re
caught in a difficult position when you get someone else’s business card. Here’s how to handle it:
Ask if you may contact
them if you think you can help them:
Ask if they’d like you to send some material. If they agree, follow up within 2 business
days. If you get no response, follow-up
once more, then leave it. They’ll
respect you more, and you won’t waste time on unproductive leads. And who knows, six months later they may
contact you out of the blue when they definitely need you?
Write to them and
just say “Nice to meet you”:
Nothing else. They’ll
remember you for the right reasons.
Finally, if someone who gave you their card did you a favour
(e.g. introduced you to someone else at the same event), write and thank them. That’s professional courtesy and they’ll recommend
you to others as well.
Labels: Career, Customer Care, Productivity, Selling, Strategy
posted by William Martin @ 08:23
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