The next time you go to a business meeting, where people are handing out their business cards, take a closer look.
Let’s assume you don’t know any of these people or their businesses in any great depth.
Does their card tell you what they do? And if it is clear, such as for an accountant or solicitor/lawyer (attorney for our US cousins), what makes them stand out from all the other cards you have for people in the same profession? Do you know instantly exactly why they are different and what benefits you could enjoy by doing business with them?
Now look at your business card? What does it say about you? About your company?
Is there a clear message that describes what you offer and the results you deliver? If your answer is “No” you are missing a vital marketing opportunity…
Having said that, the content of your business card depends very much upon how you use it. If you only ever present it to clients or prospects you’ve spent some time with then the minimum amount of information is all you need. That’s because these people already know you and the purpose of your card is purely to serve as a reminder of your contact details.
But if you attend business meetings, networking with other business people (as we’ve been discussing over the past few weeks of posts) then your card has to fulfil a completely different purpose. It has to work harder for you.
The challenge you, and your business card, is facing is making sure the people you meet briefly do remember you and are able to distinguish you from other businesses who apparently offer the same type of product or service. What makes you stand out?
You want to know that when someone else returns to their office or place of business and glances through the, possibly hundreds, of business cards they’ve collected, yours gives a complete picture.
Now I don’t mean it has to be a vivid colour, or a garish design or have wacky graphics on it (although if this is appropriate for your business that’s fine).
What it does need is information that clearly explains why you are the ‘go-to’ company for whatever business you are in.
What Does Your Business Card Say About You?
- Does it clearly show what you do or offer? (Your Company name / logo may not be explicit enough).
- Does it give a testimonial from a happy client/customer?
- Is your photo on there?
- What’s on the back of your card – it isn’t blank – is it?
When I explained to a client the business card is a marketing tool and should include a photo, his response was “I don’t want my ugly mug on there” (actually he’s quite good looking, but modest). I told him being a ‘shrinking violet’ was not going to help his business to grow. The intention of the photo is to make your card stand out and make it easier for people to remember you afterwards.
Plus, if you send your card with your literature (and a letter) in the post it gives the person receiving it a sense of confidence they are dealing with a ‘real person’ – not an anonymous company. Remember ‘people buy from people’ no matter what size company they own or work for.
The Alternative to Your Photo
If, like my client, you really feel embarrassed about having your photo on your card – try this idea:
Get a photo of you with a happy, smiling client/customer. Ask their permission to use the photo and a testimonial from them in your marketing. Make sure the testimonial is specific, not “Great company, would use again” but something like
“I had problem with the manufacturing costs of our main product line, but the productivity solutions you provided reduced our costs by 31.6% and turned it into one of our more profitable lines”.
Put the photo, with the testimonial underneath, on your card. (N.B. if you are a guy get a female customer to pose with you and vice versa).
Designing Your Card
You may decide to get a graphic designer to create the layout for your card. Regardless of who comes up with the design this is what your card should include:
Front:
- Company name
- Your name / position
- Your contact details
- Your photo*
- A descriptive strapline
Your descriptive strapline is a single ‘headline’ style sentence that encapsulates what your business does. (It could be your 1-liner from your elevator speech that we talked about in the post Your wow! introduction). And of course, this is where your copywriting skills come to the fore 
Back:
- Your marketing message: a description of what you offer.
- Testimonial(s) from happy clients/customers (with photo if you don’t like your photo on the front)
- Key benefits you deliver
If you are planning to use your cards extensively at business and networking meetings include some space for people to make a note:
We met at……………. On (date)…………….
We spoke about………………………………………..
* If you decide to use a photo with testimonial on the back of your card then you don’t need the photo on the front.
Make Your Card More Memorable
Another way to make your card stand out from the crowd is to have a tri-fold card, just slightly bigger than the normal business card size, and include some useful tips or expert advice. People are more inclined to keep a card that has some valuable information on it and it demonstrates your expertise.
In the next post I’m going to describe things you shouldn’t do with your business cards – especially if yours is a start-up company.
~ Carol Bentley
technorati tags: business networking business tips copywriting
In my post Do people remember you? I promised another example of an elevator speech and powerful insights to making your elevator speech ‘hit the hot spot’- so here goes…
Have you ever been introduced to someone and when you ask what they do they’ve replied “Oh, I’m an accountant” or “I’m a solicitor/lawyer (attorney in the US)” or “I’m a financial adviser”. Ya-awn! Bo-oring!
Did you know there are different aspects to accountancy, finance and the law that can be quite fascinating? No, really! But only if they hit your hot-spot. Because when someone says ‘accountant’ or ‘financial adviser’ it is so-oo easy to assume we already know all there is to know, isn’t it?
But how about…
“Well, you know how some business owners are just too busy to keep an eye on the financial aspects of their business, which means they are often paying too much tax or worse, missing the danger signs of the business heading for insolvency, don’t you?”
“What I do is keep an eye on the business finance, save on taxes and provide timely management reports, which means the business owner can still keep their finger ‘on the profit pulse’ whilst driving their business growth.”
Don’t you think that sounds more interesting than “I’m an accountant”?
And once you’ve got your main ‘Elevator Speech’ sorted you can distil it down into a 1-liner like this!
“I stop companies over-paying on taxes!”
Developing Your Own Elevator Speech
Find the answers to these questions and you have the start of your elevator speech.
Step 1: What is the real problem you solve for people? If not a problem, how do you enhance their life or experience – home, personal, health, wealth or business?
If you’re not sure, ask your existing customers or clients what problem they were specifically looking to resolve when they purchased from you.
Step 2: What is the consequence of this problem or lack of something? Are they losing sales? Friends? Income? Home comforts? Experiencing embarrassment? Financial loss? Or loss of status? Again, ask your existing customers if you are not clear about the ‘which means…’
Step3: What do you supply (product or service) that addresses this need? How can you resolve their problem?
Step 4: What benefits do your customers enjoy? What are the consequences of taking advantage of what you offer? Are they happier, richer, healthier, more profitable or more productive?
Now hone the answers you’ve got into short, succinct statements and precede each with the template words:
Step 1 “You know how…
Step 2 “Which means …
Step 3 “Well, what I do is…
Step 4 “Which means …
Use the template I’ve created to help you formulate your introduction speech – if you provide solutions for different problems or situations, craft a different speech for each one. You can get your PDF template here.
Nuances to Consider
A few things to keep in mind;
1) Always say “You know how some people/companies/businesses…” Nobody likes to be told they’ve got it wrong.
You have to be subtle; saying some people or some companies implies it’s a problem other people or companies have – not you or the person you are speaking to. If he identifies with the situation you describe he can ask questions and if he doesn’t, you haven’t insulted him by implying he has that lack.
2) Being an observant sort of person, you probably noticed in the examples I included the words “don’t you?” at the end of the first ‘which means’, didn’t you? Including these words gets the other person nodding his head (or thinking “Yes”) in agreement with you. It involves him in what you are saying, starts to create rapport and opens him up for the ‘solution’ you are about to describe.
3) Be specific wherever possible. If you can quote figures that catch people’s attention it makes your speech more memorable and people seek you out to learn more.
The figures you quote, which must be truthful because you may be asked to substantiate them, makes your speech far more credible and intriguing.
Develop and Practice
Work on the real solutions you offer, especially if you can identify something that is unique to you or your company. And use the speech whenever you can. At first you will feel awkward giving this little ‘speech’. But after practising and saying it a few times it becomes more natural.
At this stage you might be tempted to change the wording. Apart from trimming it down to an impressive 1-liner, do be careful – the structure is important. You don’t want to lose the opportunity to intrigue new people you are introduced to, and gaining the possibility of expanding your business contacts and your profitability. Creating a very ‘woolly’ version of this powerful technique could decimate your opportunities.
In my next post I reveal Your Hidden Marketing Tool… until then keep working on your Elevator Speech and, if you would like to share yours, feel free using the comments link below… you never know someone who reads this blog might be looking for exactly what you offer!
~ Carol Bentley
technorati tags: marketing business tips copywriting networking
Are you memorable? When someone asks “What do you / your company do?” is your answer instantly forgettable? Or do you find their eyes start to glaze over as they switch off because they think they’ve heard it all before.
If so, then it may be an opportunity lost for you.
Imagine – what if you say something that makes them ask “Really? Tell me more…” now you have a great chance to shine and maybe forge new, profitable business relationships.
This is where having a powerful, succinct – perhaps even intriguing – elevator speech works magic for you.
The idea is very simple, but extremely effective. Use your copywriting skills to give yourself a powerful or intriguing introduction. Get people to ask for more information – rather than ‘switching off’.
The name; ‘Elevator Speech’ originates from the US and refers to the time it would take to ‘ride the elevator’ to the top of a high-rise building – about 30 seconds.
And that’s about the maximum amount of time you have to keep someone’s attention after they ask “What do you do?” (sometimes even less, but I’ll explain how to handle that in another post). If your answer is boring or long-winded he starts looking for a way to ‘escape’ from you.
There are many ‘elevator speech’ structures and theories around. I first came across this particular one at a Jay Abraham’s seminar in London in 1994. It was introduced by one of his co-presenters and the structure made it so easy for a beginner to use.
The ‘speech’ has 4 specific elements:
- “You know how…”
- “Which means …”
- “Well, what I do is…”
- “Which means …”
I thought this was such a brilliant way of introducing yourself I enthusiastically ‘spread the word’ amongst my own business colleagues.
And something suddenly struck me… an awful lot of them just ‘didn’t get it’.
Oh, they got the idea OK, and they seemed to understand the principle. But when they tried to put it into practice for themselves they either went on for too long (in some cases the lift could have gone up and down a dozen times before they finished!) or they missed the point of highlighting a serious problem and demonstrating a solution with a real benefit or an intriguing notion.
Let me tell you about one example…
I’d agreed to give a presentation on business networking with a good friend and business colleague of mine, who organises corporate events and exhibitions and offers training on how to get the most out of attending an exhibition.
Our presentation was at an important business meeting. Now, Chris is absolutely brilliant at networking, but he hadn’t come across the ‘Elevator Speech’ before. We decided it would be a good tool to share with the delegates and Chris agreed to write his own Elevator Speech as a demonstration.
This is what he came up with…
“You know how some business people attend exhibitions but don’t know how to work their stands”
“Which means they don’t get the business contacts they need”
“Well, what I do is train them how to work the stand properly”
“Which means they get new business from the exhibition”
Although this was OK; it does actually describe what Chris does for the exhibiting company, it is unlikely to hit any ‘hot buttons’ for anyone listening.
You see, the first statement “You know how…” must reveal a hot problem – whether real or perceived. Chris’ first attempt just didn’t state a problem people could identify with.
So what is the real problem businesses see in exhibiting?
Well, for smaller businesses there is a barrier to taking part in exhibitions (at least there is here in the UK, maybe elsewhere as well). Entrepreneurs and business owners find it difficult to justify spending the money and time on an exhibition.
And it is purely because they don’t have a clue of how to get the most out of it. Chris does – he and his associates have over 50 years of experience between them. So the ‘real’ problem here is not ‘how to work the stand‘ it’s ‘how to justify spending the money on an exhibition stand‘.
After talking it through, this is what we came up with:
“You know how some businesses regard exhibitions as a complete waste of time and effort because they never seem to get any extra business, which means they don’t exhibit and lose out on the opportunity to make a high number of business contacts in a comparatively short time, don’t you?”
“Well, what I do is train business people on how to prepare for the exhibition beforehand, how to work their stand on the day and follow-up afterwards, which means they maximise their opportunity to make good contacts in a focussed environment, know how to follow-up and get good sales results by exhibiting, making the exhibition a cost effective way of increasing business and profit.”
It needed more refining – but the perceived problem for prospective exhibitors had been established.
I’ll show you how to create your own elevator speech and give you some important insights on how to make yours even more powerful… plus you can download the template to help you create your money-making introduction. That’s all in tomorrow’s post.
~ Carol Bentley
technorati tags: business tips copywriting networking
This post is completely off-topic, but I felt it was so important I decided to add in an extra post so you don’t get caught by this telephone credit card scam.
It came to me from the Federation of Small Businesses (UK), of which I am a member. It was and experience reported to them by a local member. It is a very worrying telephone scam designed to get confidential information from you about your credit card. It may even be happening in other countries.
Here are the details – please pass this to your friends and colleagues:
“This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want. The callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.
One of our employees was called on Wednesday from someone purporting to represent VISA, and I was called on Thursday from MasterCard.
The scam works like this:
Person calling says, “This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My badge number is 12460.
Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank) did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for £497.99 from a Marketing company based in London?”
When you say “No”, the caller continues with, “Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from £297 to £497, just under the £500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?”
You say “yes”. The caller continues – “I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 0800 number listed on the back of your card (0800-VISA) and ask for Security.
You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. “Do you need me to read it again?”
Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works the caller then says,
“I need to verify you are in possession of your card.”
He’ll ask you to “turn your card over and look for some numbers.” There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card.
These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, “That is correct,
I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?” After you say, “No,” the caller then thanks you and states, “Don’t hesitate to call back if you do”, and hangs up.
You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of £497.99 was charged to our card.
Long story – short – we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them. Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or MasterCard directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.
What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a “Jason Richardson of MasterCard” with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn’t let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.”
You can read more about this type of scam at Urban Legends.
Have you received any calls like this?
As I said at the beginning – please pass it on. Thanks.
~ Carol Bentley
technorati tags: scams credit card fraud business tips
I’ve just read a 93-page report that made absolute sense to me.
It’s a free report from a guy called Rich Schefren. Have you heard of him?
He’s coined the phrase Attention Age and in his new report explains how trying to get someone’s attention through the old ‘in-your-face’ sales and marketing methods is doomed in this high-tech, information overload age.
He says the most powerful marketing vehicle today is word-of-mouth; viral marketing. Specifically on the net through forums, blogs and social sites.
Giving information that people can use; sharing insights that help people before they’ve even spent a single penny with you is the most powerful marketing activity you can engage in.
Sound familiar?
He also warns about the power of these social sites and gives examples of how 3 different big corporate companies were brought to their knees by the ‘man in the street’. That’s worth the read in itself.
But trying to manipulate this type of marketing is a definite ‘No-No’. You have to be genuine in what you do and what you give. And when you are the results can be mind-blowing.
Have I got you intrigued? If so, go get your own copy here:
Attention Age Doctrine Part 2 Released
Then come back and share your thoughts on the content.
~ Carol Bentley
technorati tags: Inspirational Attention Age Rich Schefren Business Resources
In my last post I mentioned how negative self-talk can be a hugely demotivating activity. And it reminded me of what my good friend, Max Eames, said in his presentation at a seminar I attended the weekend before last;
“Failure is not the falling down, it’s the not getting back up!”
and that really sums up what business, and especially being an entrepreneur, is all about.
Having the confidence and self-belief to stick at it; as some people would see it, being pig-headed and stubborn about making your business work, is crucial to its success.
So – expanding on from that thought – do you think about what you could do? See the opportunities as they arise? Or do you say “that’s impossible – I can’t do that!”
Have you heard the phrase “You cannot conceive what you cannot achieve“? As Max, who is a psychotherapist explained, “You cannot dream of achievement without having the inherent ability to do it.”
Isn’t that a liberating thought?
Yes, we may have to study and work hard to reach that goal, but it’s not impossible for us because we came up with the idea in the first place.
(Having said that, there may be some practical restrictions – I don’t think dreaming of flying without a means of doing so – as in para-gliding – is counted as a possibility).
Keep your eyes open for the chances that are out there for you and your business and eliminate the negative thoughts that turn those golden opportunities into impossibilities.
Become a ‘possibility thinker’.
~ Carol Bentley
technorati tags: business tips inspirational copywriting
Do you ever have a conversation in your head? Do you sometimes criticise yourself – perhaps harshly?
Have you ever stopped to consider the power the words you use have over you?
Because words do have power. If they didn’t we wouldn’t bother writing sales letters using words to persuade people to buy from us.
So what do you say to yourself when you’re mulling things over in your mind?
Do you berate yourself for your mistakes, rather than acknowledging you’ve just eliminated another way that doesn’t work for you?
Do you tell yourself you cannot possibly achieve what you see others doing, especially in business. Are the words you use negative and degrading – putting yourself down?
Or do you think of the glass as being ‘half-full’? Do you expect to achieve what you plan; use words that are uplifting, encouraging and supportive?
Your thinking affects the way you feel as well as what you achieve, which is why on my office wall I have this favourite reminder..
Watch your thoughts, they become words
Watch your words, they become actions
Watch your actions, they become habits
Watch your habits, they become your character
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny
Anonymous
If you look at any successful person, whether in business or some other field of achievement, they all have one thing in common – they do not regard themselves as a failure who will never get anywhere. And more importantly, they expect to achieve what they set their heart on.
Do you?
~ Carol Bentley
technorati tags: inspirational,copywriting
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