Are Business Cards Now Obsolete?

Opinions fully cover the spectrum: business cards are everything from indispensable to obsolete. This Inc. magazine article highlights a range of beliefs.

One quote stands in my mind:

“Coming home with 30 or 40 cards is not nearly as effective as having half a dozen [that were from] really good quality conversations where having the business card and the ability to reconnect was important to you,” Ross Parker says. “I think people miss that.”

Do you think business cards are obsolete in the internet era? Let’s hear your take!

How’s your pitch?

It’s your 15 seconds of fame, and you’ll likely get a shot almost every day. Is this your frequent nightmare: walking out on the Carnegie Hall stage not having practiced once?

Winging it doesn’t cut it. Instead, spend a few minutes right now working out your own pitch. Here are a few starter questions, from 15secondpitch.com along with my answers. Obviously, you’ll need to make this your own.

Who you are
my name is…
i am a…
specializing in…

what you do

why you’re the best

your call to action

My name is BILL and I am a MARKETING COACH specializing in HELPING BUSINESS OWNERS SLEEP AT NIGHT. I HELP YOU FIND YOUR STORY AND TELL IT IN A COMPELLING WAY. I’VE LEARNED FROM EVERY MISTAKE THAT CAN BE MADE AND SPENT A LIFETIME WORKING WITH BUSINESS OWNERS.
If you’re all over the map, let’s START GETTING ORGANIZED. If you don’t know where to start, let’s make a plan. JOIN ME ONLINE next week for about 30 minutes to find out how we do it at BrandOne Marketing

Mommy Taught Me How to Sell

Bottom line is I don’t care much about the mega corporations that want to sell me products and services. I really don’t feel like calling one of the two dozen CSRs newly assigned to my account. Their corporate acquisitions don’t impress me, nor does their website.

If I want to place an order, I call Dwayne. He’s more helpful to me than a battery of order takers on the switchboard. He helps me sort through the options, and is always around, long after everyone else goes home. I love it that he drives up in a cool vintage Lincoln, and is a real mensh, not just another sales zombie. It’s impressive that he’s still at it, through thick and thin, and lately very thin.

Corporate sales training always seems to leave out the most important part: being an authentic, kind and thoughtful person. The corporation doesn’t teach people empathy and compassion. Perhaps those qualities don’t fit neatly into the “Mission Statement.”

You’re the human face of your company, be it one employee or a million. And these days humanity goes further than ever, as the economy will crush you if you’re just one more corporate sales clone.

13 Ways to Steal an iPad (Marketing Secret)

Something like a half million Apple iPads have been sold to date. It’s a remarkable number, considering that many people have yet to see an iPad, and many more have no idea of why they would even want one.

In this post, marketer Seth Godin generously shares a baker’s dozen of ideas on how to incorporate Apple’s ongoing success into your own marketing.

At the heart of it all, today’s marketing bears little resemblance to the largely superficial approach of yesteryear. Instead it asks us to dig deeply into our own talents, and to be more generous with our customers.

Today’s marketer is learning to give up some control, and let her best customers spread the word virally.

Today’s marketer must find clarity in what he stands for, for only in this clarity will the customer be clear.

Today’s marketer isn’t afraid to make some noise, take a chance and constantly create new art. Yes, there’s great art in business.

Why did a half million people spend $300 Million on iPads? The answer to that question belongs in your own company.

You Lie!

On Building Trust:

The world doesn’t trust you. It no longer believes the claims you make about your business. Why should it? Capitalism at it’s worst makes a big splash in the media almost daily. Product claims are made at the expense of our health and safety. Even everyday events drive home the point: pay more for a smaller package… EPA Highway Mileage (downhill with a tailwind)… immunity boosting cereal (it doesn’t), and the list goes on.

To an increasing extent, talking up your own company doesn’t matter.
Instead, listening seems like a better strategy these days. Find out what customers are saying about you, both online and face to face. The reality (not the spin) of your place in the marketplace is now more than ever the space where success lies. Beyond that, an attitude of sharing and generosity goes a long way today. By freely sharing your expertise, you provide value and build relationships. And you get people talking.