Your Home Story Business Card

Business card created for real estate agent at Vibrant Branding Agency

The Best Business Card Practices

With the right card, you’re ready to network your butt off. Here are some strategies that can make sure the handing off of your card doesn’t go to waste. After all, you don’t want to go through the trouble of making—or buying—the perfect design if they’re not going to get good use.

• Be prepared: Always have business cards on you. Always. Even when you’re on vacation you might make a connection with someone. Keep a few in your wallet and you’ll be good to go.
• Be selective: You may have a thousand cards, but that doesn’t mean you need to use them all at one conference. Tossing your card at every single person you meet will get them tossed in the trash and waste your cards. A good rule of thumb is if you shook their hand after making a connection, hand off your card.
• Be interested: If you hand off a business card, try to get one back. Most of the time they’ll try to reciprocate when you give them a card, but if they don’t, ask. Showing your interest in them can increase their interest in you, and it never hurts to have their information for reference.
• Be proactive: When you do get their business card, take some time to look them up on LinkedIn, Twitter, or wherever else they may have listed themselves. Doing this will help you remember the names of the people you meet and often let you put a face to the name. Now when they shoot you an email, you’re not trying to decide if it’s the guy you sat next to or the guy you talked to outside of the bathroom.

Keep these business card basics in practice and you’ll come across as professional while potentially saving yourself a headache down the road.