Todd Renae covers great tips for using business cards to network.

2. •
•
•

3. •
•
•

4. GET A BUSINESS CARD CASE
- THIS WILL KEEP YOUR CARDS FRESH AND CLEAN LOOKING WITH NO SIGNS OF WEAR AND TEAR.
KNOW WHERE YOUR BUSINESS CARDS ARE AT ALL TIMES!
- IT DOES NOT LOOK GOOD SHUFFLING THROUGH YOUR POCKETS OR BAG LOOKING FOR YOUR CARDS AND
KEEPING YOUR POTENTIAL CONTACT WAITING.
HAND OUT YOUR CARDS SPARINGLY.
- HANDING OUT STACKS UPON STACKS OF YOUR CARDS IS NOT ONLY A WASTE OF MONEY, IT SHOWS
POTENTIAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATES THAT YOU DO NOT VALUE YOUR CARDS VERY WELL, THUS SUGGESTING THEY
ARE OF POOR QUALITY.
WHEN RECEIVING A CARD MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THE CARD
- COMMENT ON THE DESIGN, COLOR, FONT USED, OR EVEN THE SHAPE AND CREATIVITY. DO NOT MAKE A
COMMENT ABOUT THE NAME, TITLE, BUSINESS OR LOGO. THIS SHOWS THE PERSON HANDING YOU THE CARD
THAT YOU APPRECIATE THE WORK PUT INTO THE CARD AND NOT ABOUT THEIR STATUS.

5. KEEP YOUR CARD UP TO DATE
- CHANGE THE INFORMATION ON YOUR CARD EVERY TIME SOMETHING CHANGES. YOU DO NOT WANT TO
HAND SOMEONE FALSE INFORMATION AS THIS CAN HURT YOUR REPUTATION.
AVOID BEING AGGRESSIVE
- ULTIMATELY YOU WANT TO BE ASKED FOR YOUR CARD BUT IF THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN DO NOT PRESSURE
SOMEONE INTO ASKING. ASK THEM FOR THEIR CARD FIRST, THEY WILL BE MORE INCLINED TO ASK FOR YOUR
CARD WHEN YOU ASK FOR THEIRS.
SHOW INTEREST WHEN RECEIVING A CARD
- SAY THANK YOU AND COMPLIMENT THEIR CARD. THIS WILL SHOW RESPECT AND HELP ESTABLISH A GOOD
RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS PERSON.
ASK FOR CARDS
- INSTEAD OF GOING OUT OFFERING YOUR CARD TO HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, HOPING TO GET A CALL THAT MAY
NEVER COME, ASK THE PEOPLE WHO YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MEETING FOR THEIR CARD! THIS WAY YOU HAVE
THEIR INFORMATION AND CAN CONTACT THEM, SHOWING INTEREST AND APPRECIATION.

6. FOLLOW UP
- WHEN YOU GET A CARD, ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU FOLLOW UP
WITH CONTACTS. THIS CAN COME IN A COUPLE FORMS:
- SHORT EMAIL
- PHONE CALL
- SAY HOW NICE IT WAS TO MEET WITH THIS PERSON, AND HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH
THEM.
BE CREATIVE!
- THERE IS A LOT OF COMPETITION OUT THERE, SO MAKE SURE YOUR CARD STANDS OUT FROM THE REST.
YOUR CARD IS ULTIMATELY YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION. TRY TO AVOID MAKING IT TOO CLUTTERED AND CRAZY,
BUT USE EYE CATCHING FONTS AND DESIGN. EMBOSSING AND HATCHING ARE POPULAR TECHNIQUES. ALSO
THE TYPE OF PAPER YOU CHOOSE TO HAVE YOUR CARDS PRINTED ON CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
AVOID HOARDING
- BUSINESS CARDS ARE MEANT TO MAKE BUSINESS EASIER. DO NOT JUST PILE YOUR CARDS UP AND FORGET
ABOUT THEM. USE A FILING SYSTEM TO KEEP ORGANIZED AND SEPARATE CARDS YOU’VE CONTACTED FROM
THOSE YOU HAVE NOT CONTACTED YET.

7. •

8. ANDROID: FREE VERSION
PAID VERSION: $9.99
iOS: PAID VERSION: $6.99
OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION
FREE VERSION IS SEVERELY LIMITED, ALLOWING
ONLY ONE NAME AND NUMBER FOR EACH
CONTACT.
ROTATES TO LANDSCAPE VIEW
BI-LINGUAL, OVER 21 LANGUAGES
ROBUST AND COLORFUL INTERFACE

9. BUSINESS CARD READER
MORE FEATURES AVAILABLE FOR iOS USERS
WON'T SCAN SOCIAL MEDIA INFORMATION
LISTED ON BUSINESS CARDS
OTHER APPS OFFER BETTER FLEXIBILITY
NEAT DESIGN AND INTERFACE, SET UP LIKE
BUSINESS CARD CASE
ANDROID: NOT AVAILABLE
iOS: $6.99
BLACKBERRY: $9.99

10. CamCard
ANDROID: $11.99 (FREE TRIAL)
iOS: $2.99(iPHONE) $7.99 (iPAD)
BLACKBERRY: $9.99
WINDOWS PHONE: FREE VERSION
VERY APPEALING INTERFACE
CROSS PLATFORM COMPATIBILITY
ALL VERSIONS INCLUDE CLOUD ACCESS
MINIMIZES TAPS AND FLICKS REQUIRED
EXTREMELY EASY TO EDIT CONTACTS
AUTOMATICALLY SYNCS TO CONTACTS

11. - MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE ADDING THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS TO THEIR CARDS BECAUSE OF
THE POPULARITY OF SOCIAL MEDIA. HERE ARE A COUPLE EXAMPLES ON HOW TO ADD YOUR SOCIAL
MEDIA ACCOUNTS WHILE STILL KEEPING CARD PRESENTATION NEAT AND ORGANIZED.