What do you do with business cards you're given?

I have received the following question from 'Connecting is not Enough' reader Theresa Summers:

How do you deal with business cards you’re given? Currently I write on the back the date, location and maybe a couple of buzz words. Then technically I put them in a database, and then file the card. Although am not sure why I file the card really. Anyway, would be very interested to hear what you do, or what other people do.

The most important thing you can do is follow up as soon as possible. It does surprise me how many people will ask for your card and never follow up personally. It may be that they then add your details to a marketing database, but that's not the purpose of networking. Buying a list for such a purpose probably works out less expensive in terms of time and equally ineffective.

You're absolutely right to put some brief notes on the back of the cards you are given at events. Make sure that you ask people's permission to write on their cards at an event, or do so shortly afterwards while the information is still fresh in your mind. Also be aware of cultural differences. If you are exchanging cards with someone from South East Asia for example, writing notes on their card would often be seen as a sign of disrespect. This is a good article if you'd like to know more about business card etiquette.

Whatever you do, make sure you keep a good record of what you said you would do during your discussion. If you made a promise it is important to keep it, otherwise your reputation for reliability will suffer a hammer blow at an early stage.

Once you have followed up and established the relationship, the business card plays a much less important role. I'm often offered three or four cards by people who hope that I'll then hand them out to other people as a referral. First of all, that's not a referral, it's a recommendation (the subject of another blog perhaps). Secondly, I can't carry the cards of everyone I meet around with me! If you want me to recommend or refer you, you need to be foremost in my mind and that comes from developing a relationship.

I scan all of the cards I receive using cardscan software (available here). I then import the contacts into my Outlook and file the cards. It is worth keeping hold of them, if you are a visual person like me you might remember someone by their business card. However many cards I have, I often know exactly where to look and what the card looks like, but can't remember the name!

The card scanner I use allows us to record the notes saved as well, which helps update your CRM system quickly. You do need to keep a close check on each record as you input it though, as it's not foolproof.

The Disappearing Card Trick

In a recent meeting with a client I was told that a number of companies are dispensing with business cards to be 'environmentally friendly'. I'm not sure this is such a good idea.

My views on business cards are fairly well known. I think they are given away too freely at networking events and in a meaningless way by many people. All too often cards are exchanged at the beginning of a conversation, hastily pocketed and then binned because there was no reason for the exchange.

That doesn't mean I would dispense with them completely.

Perhaps it's the case that the companies who have made this decision haven't clearly thought through why they give people business cards. I remember the first job where I was given a business card, it was almost like a right of passage. I had no need for them whatsoever, but it made me feel important.

That's not what cards are for, I'd have no problem with those cards being dropped for environmental reasons.

Similarly, cards are often exchanged at the beginning of a meeting where the participants have been exchanging phone calls and emails for weeks beforehand. They have each others' full contact details and have no need for any further information on a business card.

I'd have no problem with those cards being dropped for environmental reasons.

Cards do have a use though, particularly when networking. They serve as an aide to enable people who have just met to follow up with each other and as a tool to remind us what we promised. They can also be passed to third parties as a form of referral.

Scrapping business cards altogether is simply short sighted and an overreaction. The companies involved should have simply looked at what cards are used for, who needs them and educated their staff how to use them effectively.

That would be good for the environment, and for their business.

Do you hand out more than one business card to a new contact at a networking event?

Someone has just commented on one of my videos on a social network with the comment that they always hand out two or three business cards whenever they meet someone. This is my reply:

I never, ever hand out more than one business card. In fact, I don't even do that unless they have asked for it or there is a specific reason why I want them to have it.

Why hand out more? In the hope or expectation that they will pass the spares out to others? That may happen occasionally, but in most cases your spare business cards go in the bin and you are your printer's favourite client!

I must have collected thousands of business cards over the years, some of which I actually wanted! There is no way I could carry them all around with me, and duplicates, to hand out when I see the opportunity.

If you want people to refer or recommend you, they need to see your face in their mind, not your business card in their wallet. If they then connect you by email, you are in far more control of the connection than if they had just given your business card to the other person.

Two Golden Rules for Business Networking

Regular readers of this blog may not be surprised at what is to follow!

I gave a brief talk last night at Business Scene's Herts Connections networking event. Some two hundred local businesses attended to meet representatives from a range of local business networks and to listen to a number of speakers, including Syed Ahmed, who originally found fame on The Apprentice.

My task was to get everyone networking, and to help them do so effectively. I frequently rage against people who treat business cards like confetti, but twice recently I have seen extreme behaviour by people whose sole reason for attending networking events seems to be to see how many business cards they can hand out. On one occasion recently, one person simply stood by the door giving every guest one of his cards as they came in!

I also wanted to help people have conversations they could enjoy, enabling them to get past stilted elevator pitches into genuine rapport-building.

So I made two rules for the rest of the evening and set people a task. I told the group that they should only exchange business cards once a genuine interaction had taken place and there were grounds for following-up on each other. And I banned the phrase 'what do you do?' as the ice-breaker for conversation.

As you may know, I call 'what do you do?' the networking equivalent of 'do you come here often?'! So, instead of 'what do you do?' I told the businesses present to ask each other 'do you come here often?' A few people seemed to like the idea!

An ice-breaker should be designed to stimulate conversation, not kill it. To do that, you need to find something in common. 'What do you do?' doesn't achieve that, there's no guarantee that the person you're speaking to is in the same line of business as you and, if they are, that they are the person you want to meet.

In a networking context, 'Do you come here often?' gets you talking about the group you're in, the people who invited you and your reasons for being there. You may not phrase it quite like that but the idea is key. Either way, it is much easier to find common ground.

As Business-Scene events offer the opportunity for local networks to showcase themselves, I suggested that people introduce themselves and discuss which local groups they attend and their merits or drawbacks.

Faced with this challenge, the room started buzzing again with more networking. This time people seemed more relaxed and conversation was flowing.

Just before the speeches were about to start again, one businessman came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and said...

"It works!".

It does, I just wish that more people knew.