nt. How can you position your product or service to be different enough that someone will want to buy from you, not their brother in law? Give them a reason to make the change.

Action Step - Be different, be in regular contact and be credible. Incidentally just being in regular contact can "cause" credibility.

4) They lost your card.

If they were touched moved and inspired they probably would have hung onto your card. To solve this, you need to collect their information. You just can't rely on someone else to call you back.

The ultimate solution to all the problems above is;

a) Get their information – Get over the awkward feeling that not having a card is unprofessional. You know the truth – they won’t call you anyhow s

When I hand out a business card my response rate is really low. Consider how many times you give someone a card and they never get back with you. There are a few reasons why they don't. Here are the most common in order.

1) They don't need your product or services right now.

Odds are when you are handing someone your business card their exact need and your timing aren’t perfectly aligned. They are most likely not in the market for your product or service. Forcing them to buy your product or service is called duress and you can be thrown into prison for this. So, as you have heard before don't take their lack of desire personally – sales, really is a numbers game. Sure you can tip the scale in your favor but know that it takes more time and effort to coerce people into buying something they don’t really need right now than it does to just be there for them when they need you. The trick is just being in front of more people and better yet being the one they think of when they think of that purchase. How do you do this? The easiest was is to be the recognized expert which takes some time to do. Be the one people go to for a better understanding of the process or the service or product you are selling -- be the expert. Things that come to mind include; writing articles and getting them published, sending out cards or notes to your prospects possibly including tips or helpful hints and my favorite (because it's free) doing all of the above by sending regular informative newsletters via email. Action Step - begin getting contact information from potential prospects and letting them know you'll put them on a contact list and send them some occasional information. Yes... keep it simple and a little vague so it doesn't seem threatening. Then, follow through.

2) You gave them no compelling reason to call you back.

Make yourself different. It is possible many people are selling something similar to you. So it is important that you stand out. It is important that you are not homogeneous. When you answer the phone or leave a voice greeting stand out (everyone knows to leave a message by now so don’t waste your greeting on that). When you provide your service or sell your product go the extra mile with a follow up call or a free gift. People expect the basics from you already, they can get that nearly anywhere. "Good food" or "great service" for example are platitudes and they mean nothing to the American Consumer. As a small business coach I used to respond when asked what it was I did with "I'm a small business coach". Yipee, boring, vanilla - who cares? Now I answer with my UVP (Unique Value Proposition). “I help entrepreneurs get off to a fast start” or “I help entrepreneurs determine which steps to take next to grow their business”. Doing this gives prospects a reason to continue the conversation. What's your UVP?

3) They already know someone that does what you do.

People will buy from "people they know" if all things are equal (or darn close). So the challenge is to be different. How can you position your product or service to be different enough that someone will want to buy from you, not their brother in law? Give them a reason to make the change.

Action Step - Be different, be in regular contact and be credible. Incidentally just being in regular contact can "cause" credibility.

4) They lost your card.

If they were touched moved and inspired they probably would have hung onto your card. To solve this, you need to collect their information. You just can't rely on someone else to call you back.

The ultimate solution to all the problems above is;

a) Get their information – Get over the awkward feeling that not having a card is unprofessional. You know the truth – they won’t call you anyhow so

e people into buying something they don’t really need right now than it does to just be there for them when they need you. The trick is just being in front of more people and better yet being the one they think of when they think of that purchase. How do you do this? The easiest was is to be the recognized expert which takes some time to do. Be the one people go to for a better understanding of the process or the service or product you are selling -- be the expert. Things that come to mind include; writing articles and getting them published, sending out cards or notes to your prospects possibly including tips or helpful hints and my favorite (because it's free) doing all of the above by sending regular informative newsletters via email. Action Step - begin getting contact information from potential prospects and letting them know you'll put them on a contact list and send them some occasional information. Yes... keep it simple and a little vague so it doesn't seem threatening. Then, follow through.

2) You gave them no compelling reason to call you back.

Make yourself different. It is possible many people are selling something similar to you. So it is important that you stand out. It is important that you are not homogeneous. When you answer the phone or leave a voice greeting stand out (everyone knows to leave a message by now so don’t waste your greeting on that). When you provide your service or sell your product go the extra mile with a follow up call or a free gift. People expect the basics from you already, they can get that nearly anywhere. "Good food" or "great service" for example are platitudes and they mean nothing to the American Consumer. As a small business coach I used to respond when asked what it was I did with "I'm a small business coach". Yipee, boring, vanilla - who cares? Now I answer with my UVP (Unique Value Proposition). “I help entrepreneurs get off to a fast start” or “I help entrepreneurs determine which steps to take next to grow their business”. Doing this gives prospects a reason to continue the conversation. What's your UVP?

3) They already know someone that does what you do.

People will buy from "people they know" if all things are equal (or darn close). So the challenge is to be different. How can you position your product or service to be different enough that someone will want to buy from you, not their brother in law? Give them a reason to make the change.

Action Step - Be different, be in regular contact and be credible. Incidentally just being in regular contact can "cause" credibility.

4) They lost your card.

If they were touched moved and inspired they probably would have hung onto your card. To solve this, you need to collect their information. You just can't rely on someone else to call you back.

The ultimate solution to all the problems above is;

a) Get their information – Get over the awkward feeling that not having a card is unprofessional. You know the truth – they won’t call you anyhow s

ion from potential prospects and letting them know you'll put them on a contact list and send them some occasional information. Yes... keep it simple and a little vague so it doesn't seem threatening. Then, follow through.

2) You gave them no compelling reason to call you back.

Make yourself different. It is possible many people are selling something similar to you. So it is important that you stand out. It is important that you are not homogeneous. When you answer the phone or leave a voice greeting stand out (everyone knows to leave a message by now so don’t waste your greeting on that). When you provide your service or sell your product go the extra mile with a follow up call or a free gift. People expect the basics from you already, they can get that nearly anywhere. "Good food" or "great service" for example are platitudes and they mean nothing to the American Consumer. As a small business coach I used to respond when asked what it was I did with "I'm a small business coach". Yipee, boring, vanilla - who cares? Now I answer with my UVP (Unique Value Proposition). “I help entrepreneurs get off to a fast start” or “I help entrepreneurs determine which steps to take next to grow their business”. Doing this gives prospects a reason to continue the conversation. What's your UVP?

3) They already know someone that does what you do.

People will buy from "people they know" if all things are equal (or darn close). So the challenge is to be different. How can you position your product or service to be different enough that someone will want to buy from you, not their brother in law? Give them a reason to make the change.

Action Step - Be different, be in regular contact and be credible. Incidentally just being in regular contact can "cause" credibility.

4) They lost your card.

If they were touched moved and inspired they probably would have hung onto your card. To solve this, you need to collect their information. You just can't rely on someone else to call you back.

The ultimate solution to all the problems above is;

a) Get their information – Get over the awkward feeling that not having a card is unprofessional. You know the truth – they won’t call you anyhow s

early anywhere. "Good food" or "great service" for example are platitudes and they mean nothing to the American Consumer. As a small business coach I used to respond when asked what it was I did with "I'm a small business coach". Yipee, boring, vanilla - who cares? Now I answer with my UVP (Unique Value Proposition). “I help entrepreneurs get off to a fast start” or “I help entrepreneurs determine which steps to take next to grow their business”. Doing this gives prospects a reason to continue the conversation. What's your UVP?

3) They already know someone that does what you do.

People will buy from "people they know" if all things are equal (or darn close). So the challenge is to be different. How can you position your product or service to be different enough that someone will want to buy from you, not their brother in law? Give them a reason to make the change.

Action Step - Be different, be in regular contact and be credible. Incidentally just being in regular contact can "cause" credibility.

4) They lost your card.

If they were touched moved and inspired they probably would have hung onto your card. To solve this, you need to collect their information. You just can't rely on someone else to call you back.

The ultimate solution to all the problems above is;

a) Get their information – Get over the awkward feeling that not having a card is unprofessional. You know the truth – they won’t call you anyhow s

nt. How can you position your product or service to be different enough that someone will want to buy from you, not their brother in law? Give them a reason to make the change.

Action Step - Be different, be in regular contact and be credible. Incidentally just being in regular contact can "cause" credibility.

4) They lost your card.

If they were touched moved and inspired they probably would have hung onto your card. To solve this, you need to collect their information. You just can't rely on someone else to call you back.

The ultimate solution to all the problems above is;

a) Get their information – Get over the awkward feeling that not having a card is unprofessional. You know the truth – they won’t call you anyhow so be smart and efficient.

b) Do something with their information. Get it loaded into a database so you have the info readily and easily available. Don’t throw their cards into a shoe box and pray for results.

c) Develop a plan, a strategy to stay in regular and predictable contact. A clothing store for example may send out a simple postcard with fashion tips on a regular basis. A business coach may do better by sending out helpful tips to his email subscribers offering words of wisdom to help people with their businesses (much like this article).

d) Don't get paralyzed by analysis. Instead of fretting over the perfect copy, get something out. The content you send them does not have to bring the dead to life but it does need to be consistent. It needs to be consistent so you seem reliable and you are in their face and on their minds often enough to be remembered.

e) How often you contact them really depends on your information and how germane it is to their daily life. I know many marketers that keep in contact even more often than monthly without "feeling" like a nuisance. It is because the information they are sharing is different enough that I don't mind getting it.

f) Be different and know how to separate your offering/s from your competitors. Develop a unique value proposition and use it in all your communications (phone, web, proposals etc).

So, the proof as they say is in the pudding. Consider "pudding" your business cards to rest in a roaring fire and make your time spent meeting people pay off.