Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that all networking is bad.

In fact, the opposite can be true.

For a good local business, networking effectively in and around your local area can be a really smart way to find new people and new introducers of business to you.  However, as with many things in life, it has a downside.  You see, in my experience, a lot of the businesspeople that go to local networking events are “little thinkers” who will be forever stuck in a “little world”.

Now I don’t mean this to be derogatory, although some of you will no doubt take it that way. It’s just a statement of fact.  Go to any series of local networking events in any town in the country and you’ll start to see some familiar faces.  There are businesspeople who spend a lot of time at different networking groups and they never achieve any real success with their business.  They are losers and wannabe’s. (Sorry to be so frank, but it’s true, and we both know it.)

It is dangerous to spend too much of your time with these people.

You see, it’s my belief that you become an amalgam of the five people that you spend most of your time with and this means, in a business context, that if you hang around losers and wannabes then over time, as sure as eggs is eggs, you’ll become a loser and a wannabe.

If, on the other hand, you put energy and effort into ensuring that you spend big chunks of your time around successful people, individuals who you aspire to be like and whom you respect, then, over time, you’ll become more like them and that’s why if you become a prolific networker and you mix with the “wrong” type of people too often it can be a sure fire way to ensure that you become poor.

If you think that’s harsh and it offends you then… tough – cos it’s true.

Direct mail has got a bad reputation. Actually, direct mail has earned a bad reputation.

We’ve all seen companies use the same old tired dead-end techniques for mailer after mailer—month after month, year after year. They’re so busy churning out mailers to stop and ask, “Is this even working? Can we do better?”

Direct mail can work. And it can be better. It can catch us off guard and get our attention when it’s used creatively.

Pay attention, entrepreneurs and marketers. Direct mail can drive your business.

A non-traditional example

H20 Car Valeting regularly sends letters and postcards to their customers. This isn’t piquing your interest? It gets better.

The mailers are addressed to the car. They read something like this, “Dear Range Rover, we hope your owner appreciated how nice and shiny you looked after your visit last week.”

The customer keeps reading. After all, he loves his Range Rover enough to have it professionally cleaned by a top notch valeting service. He reads his car’s mail.

The purpose of the mailer is simple: to cross-sell owners to return again and again. They use a pull like: “Come back within the next two weeks and your owner will receive £10 off his next purchase.”

Even if you’re not in the business of valeting cars, you can learn a lot from H20. They’re a progressive company selling car valets for direct mail, for chrissake!

Competitive edge

H20 knows their customers can get their cars valeted anywhere (or leave them dirty!). But they’re willing to put in the effort to make sure people come to them – and it works.

Creativity sells

This service isn’t a necessity for consumers. It’s not like selling groceries. H20 knows they have to stay top of mind, hit buyers with what motivates them, and do it all creatively – hence the ‘Dear Range Rover…’ letter.

Keep making the sale

H20 captures information on customers and their vehicles. And . . . wait for it . . . they use this information! Customers receive “loyalty points” and free upgrades to encourage their repeat business.

What’s it all mean?

• They use direct mail to stand out from the crowd and build customer loyalty.
• They reach out proactively and incentivize their customers to come back more quickly than they otherwise would.
• Do you get it? They make more money from their existing customer base. Brilliant!

So many businesses forget about existing customers and spend buckets of money trying to acquire new ones. Bonkers.

What do people say about your business card when you give it to them?

If they say nothing, that’s your answer. That’s what your business card says about you. Nothin’.

If they comment on how flimsy the paper feels or the difficulty of reading the font because of the poor design or print job, that says something too. And it’s even worse than saying nothing.

Maybe they puzzle over your convoluted logo, trying to figure out why there’s a globe and a bunch of squiggly lines and . . . what’s that . . . is that a dog? That sends a message too. (Also, not a good one.)

Or maybe, just maybe, they say, “wow, that’s a great card!”

That, my friends, is what your business card should say about you. It should say, “I stand out! I’m better than everybody else. I’m serious about my business. I belong in your rolodex.”

Your business card is a marketing tool!

Your card isn’t a commodity.

It’s not a stapler or a tape dispenser.

Your business card is your most prolific marketing piece.

Don’t get the cheapest, flimsiest most useless card you can buy. Or worse yet, get them for free (what does that say about you – with an advert for the printer on the back!). Unless, of course, that’s the impression you want to leave!!

Your business card helps—or hurts—as you sell. If it looks amateurish, plan to work a lot harder to be taken seriously.

I worked with a company whose business cards were so hideous that employees were ashamed to give them out. Some industrious folks made their own cards to spare themselves embarrassment. They understood what their card said about them.

Don’t skimp on design . . .

Have your card professionally designed. Professionally. By a professional. Unless you are a designer, leave this to pros.

Your (here’s that word again) professional logo should appear prominently on the card. Just because your wife’s sister’s son took a course in graphic design and can design your logo doesn’t mean he should.

A hard-hitting tagline that speaks to your audience and differentiates you is another must-have for a proper business card.

. . . Or cut costs on paper

This one really gets me. A company will spend the money for high quality business card design. Then they go to the cheapest printer they can find and get the cards produced on the flimsiest paper trees can produce. All that money invested in sophisticated design is wasted.

Think functional

What are people thinking when they produce cards you can’t write on? Anyone who does business knows cards must be functional. You should be able to take and share notes and follow up details.

Make an impact

Check out some fabulously clever business cards here http://designerscouch.org/show_news/481/taking-business-cards-to-a-whole-new-level.html

This is how you make an impression.

Serious must-haves for your card

If you’re trying to run a business, you need a grown up email address. Not Yahoo!, not Gmail. A real honest to goodness domain name. Your website URL has to match it.

If you’re on the sales or service side, you better believe your mobile number needs to be on that card. Customers should believe they’ll be able to reach you.

If you’re using social media, include your Twitter name and Blog URL. Send the message that you’re on top of what’s going on in your industry.

This is what your business card should say about you.