Taming the Business Card Monster

Taming the Business Card Monster
Chances are good that you leave networking events with a pocket, purse or briefcase full of business cards that you collected. While the temptation to leave those cards in a pile on your desk or in a drawer to deal with later can be great, don’t do it! We’ve already discussed the importance of following up after networking events, and dealing with business cards systematically is an excellent way to start.

First, use business cards to makes notes as soon as possible after meeting someone. You can make notes immediately if you set up a meeting with them or promise to follow up. Otherwise you might want to wait until you get back to your car or your office. Include information such as the date, where you met, who introduced you, conversation highlights, physical characteristics and any other relevant information – whatever helps you remember the person and any action you promised to take.

Next, enter information into your contact management system. If you don’t currently have one, now is the time to do something about it. Talk to others in your network to find out how they manage their contacts, or hire a consultant  to assess your needs and recommend a solution. People deal with those they know, like and trust. It takes time to build and nurture relationships, so a system that helps you track your contacts and your interactions with them is essential.

You will also want to categorize your contacts according to what makes sense for your business. Possible categories include client, prospect, referral source, supplier, newsletter recipient, etc. Your goal is to be able to find contacts easily and to save time when performing tasks such as sending out your newsletter or other communications.   After you’ve entered the information from the cards you collected, decide how you are going to follow up with each and every one of the people you met. Then schedule your follow up and do it – by phone, email, hand-written note or other means.

As with everything in life, knowing what you “should” do and actually doing it are often two different things. If you know that you won’t enter business cards into your contact management system, then purchase a card scanner or hire one of your ki1ds, a student or a virtual assistant – whatever it takes!

P.S.  I tell my members  ” If you don’t have a database,,,, you don’t have a business”  Even if you put everything at least, in an excel sheet, you can often download that into a contact management system when you decide which one you want.