Handing out business cards is one of the most annoying things that you can do to another person. Neil attended a lunch-n-learn session on Networking in his building last year. As some people entered the room they made a performance of putting their business card in front of each of the other attendees in the room and the empty seats in the room. Neil’s eyes scanned left then right to see what other people were doing with the cards as he wondered, “Should I be distributing my business cards?” Of the 12 people at the session, 6 had piled their cards in front of him. What is he going to do with those? What would you do with them?
Neil was doing the best thing by seeing that he connected with someone before exchanging cards with them.
Putting your business card in someone’s hand before you have a good reason is:
- Confusing. Why are you giving a total stranger your card?
- Useless. Without some sort of credibility there is no reason for the recipient to keep your card.
- Wasteful. Is there is a possible return on the investment of even this little inexpensive card?
- Risky. You might just be offering your contact information to someone who wants to recruit your for their multi-level marketing project and now you’re on their recruiting list.
- Good for firestarting. Most people could start a blaze with the box of ‘dead’ business cards they have around their office. But is that why you gave them your card? People just don’t throw out the cards of people who handed it to them but they don’t do anything with them either.
- Misguided. Someone along your career path said, “Get your card into as many hands as possible, you never know what will come of it.” Come on people, nothing will come of it. That’s the ‘throw it on the wall and see what sticks’ technique. You appear desperate doing this.
The key to good form when handing out your business card is the mindset of exchanging cards. You’re offering your card as a second step to connecting with another person. The first step is talking so you find that you have something in common, a follow-up action to take, or other connector. Similarly, you’re asking for someone’s business card because you have something he values to give to him. That something could be business, information, a referral, or other useful thing. Using this approach you might walk away with only one or two cards from a business gathering. However, they represent the start of real relationships not just passing of paper.
When you’ve determined that you have a reason to exchange cards with someone you could do the following:
- Initiate the exchange by saying, “May I have one of your cards? I’d like to get an article to you and this will ensure that I do.”
- If you’ve only had conversations on the phone with someone
(the initial connection) and are seeing them face-to-face for the first
time it is appropriate to offer your card as you’re shaking hands. This
verifies you are who they expected and is a touch of credibility. - State: “It sounds like I could help you by introducing you
to my accountant. Why don’t you give me your card and I’ll write an
email making the connection.” - Suggest you’ll call to follow-up on your conversation so,
“Let me give you my card and I’d like one of yours. When I have my
calendar in front of me we’ll find a day in the next two weeks to have
breakfast.”
Finally, it is possible that you should just skip exchanging cards. If someone interests you be thorough in getting their name and employer. Then, do a Google search, locate him, and write a thoughtful email as follow-up. Business cards are a method of communicating and exchanging information you must follow-up with cards you receive or they are valueless. But that’s the topic of a different article.
