Why Are YOU “Really” In Business?

“I wanted to be an editor or a journalist, I wasn’t really interested in being an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going” - Richard Branson

If you are a true entrepreneur, you will know that to succeed, it helps that you enter a line of business that you naturally enjoy, and would gladly do even if you did not get paid(as tends to happen during start up). The truth however is that you are(I hope) in business to make money in a manner that is profitable - which will in turn enable you stay in THAT business you enjoy, for the long term. To achieve the foregoing purpose, you will need to do cost-effective and results-focused business marketing. One very important - but I believe grossly underutilised tool - for doing that is the Business Card.

I discuss in this article how you as a business owner, can better design your own business cards, to significantly improve your ability to market yourself to those who really need your services and/or products.

Marketing is about creating an impression - a positive impression - in the mind of your intended customer - that YOU or YOUR BUSINESS are more capable of meeting his/her perceived need or want than any others. The more successful you are in creating this impression about yourself/business in the mind of your target audience, the greater the chances that they will choose you over others who may offer the same products and/or services you do. This in effect means, you will be better able to achieve your major business goal of making MORE money, MORE profitably.

This Article Is Meant MAINLY For Non-Employees

Just before I continue, I wish to make the following clarification. The ideas I offer here are mainly for use by self-employed individuals (independent contractors, consultants, entrepreneurs/business owners) - i.e. people who are their own bosses and therefore take decisions that affect how their company is perceived or operates.

For those who work as employees in companies, it is likely that decisions about the type and design of business cards used will be taken with considerations relevant to the company’s preferred mode of operation and business vision. I will therefore only say that persons who fall into this latter category, if they find what I say here of potential usefulness to their organisation(e.g. sales/marketing personnel) explore the possibility of bringing it to the attention of appropriate decision makers for consideration.

Is There A Rule Book For Business Card Design?

I am not aware of any rule book that actually spells out what information or details should or should not be on a business card: But if you know of any, I would appreciate your sending me a note about where to find it.

It appears instead, that most people seem to have come to some tacit agreement on the most relevant pieces of information and features to adorn their cards with. Or maybe they just adopted what they found others doing when they entered into business for themselves. Either way, the point I’m making is that I believe each person needs to try and design a business card that works for him/her.

What Does The Conventional Business Card “Say”?

What I would call the conventional business card typically contains information that “says” the following(in addition to some graphics such as a logo, or artistic effects for aestetic appeal):

1. Who you are: Your name/title/business name, and possible qualifications that lend credence to your claims.

2. Contact Info: Phone numbers, postal/physical address, web URL/email(you do have these don’t you?).

3. A Tag Line: Punchy phrase about your biz. BUT will these help achieve your purpose?

But the question could be asked: Does the conventionally designed business card work as well as it could be made to? I say NO. I say NO. In fact, after thinking about this issue, I have come to the conclusion that one word best describes the conventional business card - and that’s “Passive”. It’s contents are not designed to be response-generating or action-inducing. I however believe one can adopt a card design that is more “Active” — hence my efforts at finding an alternative that works, which eventually led to this article being written.

I have always been a bit of a non-conformist - with a penchant for “playing devil’s advocate”, “rocking the boat”, “stirring things up” etc in a bid to challenge others to re-evaluate accepted norms for possible refinement - or total replacement. If I find that the status quo does not offer me what I consider optimal returns towards achievement of a set goal(s), I immediately begin exploring alternative options to adopt, till I find something that gives me the results I want.

Based on the above, the question, for me - as a performance enhancement advocate - on the issue of business cards and how to get the most value from them is: What information do business persons NEED to put on their business cards, to help them MORE successfully achieve their intended purpose for handing such cards out to prospects ?

By the way, with a few possible exceptions, I assume here that the reader - like most people who give out business cards - does so because s/he expects that the cards will further impress(or remind) the recipients to make contact at a later date in relation to the product or service discussed. In my view the business cards many business persons give out are not properly equipped to achieve the full marketing impact potential they possess. Business cards, I believe, can be designed to play a more active - even though silent - role in the marketing and/or selling process.

Think about it this way. Someone you speak with about your work could say “Can I have your card?”, possibly because your conversation is interesting enough to them, that they want to be able to contact you at a later date to take it further. However, whether or not you do end up closing a sale with that person could depend on what your card “says”(if at all it has anything to say) to him/her AFTER you’ve parted ways.

Now, if s/he runs into ANOTHER person who “appears” to offer something similar to what you told him/her you could, s/he might just give that OTHER person the job. But if your card is THE type that “tells”(or reminds) her about specific unique benefits you provide that the OTHER person may not be able to match, s/he is likely to tell the other seller “NO”, and come back to you. I say the foregoing here on the assumption that you do actually have a Unique Selling Proposition(USP).

In essence, my argument is that business owners can do a little more thinking to MAKE MORE OBVIOUS, the TANGIBLE BENEFITS they offer, which prospective - and existing - clients would find attractive, and therefore be willing to take ACTION to get. The business owners can then highlight those benefits in form of keywords and phrases on their business cards. Such business cards would subsequently have a greater marketing “impact” on those who receive them, increasing the chances of the prospects making contact at a later date.

A Comparative Analysis Of Two Similar Restaurants With Different “Sales Pitches”

Let’s do a little comparative analysis. Say it’s 12.30pm and you are driving on a major highway to the next city to do a presentation scheduled for 2.00pm. If you keep driving at the same speed, you estimate you should get into the city in another thirty minutes, leaving you just enough time to check into “Clear View International Hotel”, take a shower, change clothes and move into the conference hall on the ground hall of the hotel where the presentation will hold. But you are feeling a bit thirsty and hungry, and worry that there might not be enough time to quickly order something to eat at the hotel(Please bear with me: for some reason, I could not think up a better “excuse” :-)).

Suddenly you get to a junction and notice road signs for two different fast food outlets poisitioned next to each other. For the purpose of this example, we assume that both places actually offer equally quick services and more or less the same variety of foods and drinks. The difference is in the way they describe - on their road signs - what they offer the prospect(traveller), who needs to make up his/her mind.

One sign says “Quik-Caterers! Get Our Quik Travel Meals & Drinks Pack™. Wait Max 15 Mins - Or We Pay!“. The other says “Welcome To Jazzy Jaff’s Fast Foods Restaurant And Bar“.

You will agree with me that if many travellers - who are in a hurry - had to decide which fast food restaurant to stop at, they would pick “Quik Caterers” - not because the name sounds better, or more appropriate, but most likely because their road sign offers MORE information - using catchy keywords/phrases - about TANGIBLE BENEFITS the prospective customers can relate to.

Customers are likely to PERCEIVE that “Quik-Catering” is more capable of meeting their NEEDS than “Jazzy Jaff’s”. Now, imagine the information said to be on the road signs(or some of it) is used on business cards given out by the respective owners of the two restaurants. Chances are that Quik-Catering MD’s business card would raise more eyebrows, and probably result in one or two additional queries or comments to him/her(regarding the service described) - creating “openings” for sales conversations to take place.

Look at it this way: Wouldn’t you be curious to know(and test?) if Quick-Catering could really deliver on its Wait Max 15 Mins - Or We Pay! promise? It’s an attractive - though unusual - offer, but if Quik-Catering only put it on flyers placed on the drinks counter in the restaurant(and not on the road sign or on business cards), less people would get to know about it and stop over.

What Does Your Business Card “Need To Say”?

A business card that keeps “selling” you to your prospect long after you’re gone, needs to say what you do in a way that makes those fitting your customer/client profile more likely to realize they actually NEED your product(s) and/or service(s).

You can design your business cards such that they cut down the amount of “work” you need to do to generate potentially valuable sales leads. This is particularly important because many times we come across people who qualify to be our “perfect customers or clients” in first time meeting situations that do not permit lengthy discussions or interactions. So, often times we end up using an elevator speech, answering one or two questions that arise from it, then exchanging business cards.

Some days later, the executive you gave your card to(and who at the same event went on to receive not less than four additional ones from “others like you”), sits in his/her office staring at your card. Among other things, s/he may struggle to recall where/when during that cocktail dinner s/he met you, and what again it was you said you could do for him/her that sounded so good!

This kind of dilemma faces many people who receive the conventional cards I earlier described. Of course s/he sees on the card that you are a CPA, or Certified Coach etc. What s/he does not see on THAT type of card is something(keywords, phrase etc) to help him/her see or recall the “slant” in your offering that sets you apart from others who may offer anything like you do. The result? S/he puts the card back in the desk drawer(or worse: the round filing cabinet - aka “Waste Paper Bin”) and (probably) forgets it. Why? Because s/he cannot find a compelling enough reason to take the relationship further by giving you a call.

Think back to the two fast food restaurant signs comparison I did earlier and imagine you are a decision maker for a large company that’s trying to choose a caterer to supply snacks to be served at their Annual General Meeting. Looking at the business cards given to you by the MD of Quik-Catering and that of Jazzy Jaff’s, all other factors being fairly constant, you are likely to get the “impression” that Quik-Catering will be able to meet your needs more readily, because they sound (from what they say on their road signs and business cards) that they’re already thinking along the lines of proving the value YOU seek.

What It Could Look Like: A business card that “sells” you looks different from any your prospect has seen, and creates a lasting impression that sets you apart from the crowd. You can print your information on the front - and leave the back blank, or print on both sides. From testing various designs, I have found that it is useful to leave some blank space on the back for writing answers to “Date We Met?”, “Where We Met?”, “Notes/Comments” etc prompts that are printed on it.

Actually Jeffery Meyer(http://www.succeedinginbusiness.com) suggests that you write answers to the earlier listed prompts on the back of cards you get from others - so YOU can remember them, and what they are about. I have taken it a step further and designed cards that let me, “the giver”, write that information on the back of cards(which I take with me, as Meyer advises, to important meetings/events) I’m giving out, so as to “help” my prospects remember ME.

Click here to view a web page showing images of sample business card designs that incorporate the features I have discussed in this article(I also offer a FREE downloadable copy of the Corel Draw template I used to create them). Incidentally, my business cards have sort of “evolved” over time as I played around with the ideas I had - until I settled for a particular design/layout. You may also find it useful to let your creativity loose so as to arrive at the best design for your work.

A Business Card That Works Will Help You Market More Effectively & Efficiently

Jeffery Meyer once wrote that to avoid the “feast-famine” syndrome that can plague a business which fails to ensure steady inflow of new work, one must continually search for new customers - and “weed out” hopeless prospects who cost you marketing effort, time and expense, but give you no jobs. For instance, he advises that you take the repeated non-return of your phone calls by a prospect as a sign that s/he does not feel a compelling need for your product or service. Instead, divert that marketing energy and expense towards recruiting NEW prospects.

I believe a business card with the right balance of USP information and aesthetic appeal, can help a business owner use his/her business marketing time/effort more effectively and efficiently. This is because s/he will be able to use the card to create opportunities for discussions about useful benefits of the products and services s/he sells, in a way that will impress a prospective client or customer who happens to be looking for such returns.

It is true that “buyers” tend to be undecided when considering a purchase, but when the “seller” points out the USP s/he offers, AND IF they coincide with the buyer’s felt needs, the buyer can become quite “sure” of what s/he wants, to the point that other “sellers” would be unable to influence him/her. Think about some products or services that many people use year in and year out(inspite of the presence of many competing brands), and you will find that they do so because certain needs they consider important are being met through the continued use of those products and services.

Designing your business card the way I describe is more likely to result in the card continuing to “sell” you to a prospect, even after you’ve parted ways with him/her. The card - each time s/he looks at it - will through its contents remind him/her that you offer THAT unique benefit s/he wants or needs. Of course not everyone you give your card to, will call you back to give you work! Life itself is about percentages. So, what I am saying is that a higher percentage of those you give out your cards to, are likely to get a better understanding of what you can do for them(or for someone they know), and so call(or recommend you). You’ll consequently get more sales leads, and/or opportunities to close more sales.

Your Cards Cost Money - Aim To Get A Return On Your Investment In Each!

Print Them Cost-Effectively: I believe most individuals who work for themselves might find it more useful to design and print their own business cards in the quantities they require them. Due to the unpredictability of business generally, one or more bits of information on the card you use may change in a way that will make it necessary for you to re-print another set. If you already have thousands of cards printed, and suddenly discover a need to re-print, all the money spent producing the obsolete set would effectively go down the drain.

You can avoid this. If you have a template setup in Corel Draw to print ten standard size business cards on an A4 sized embossed card paper, for instance(and have used colors economically in the design) your home/office printer should be able to generate a set of cards for your use over a few weeks at a time. As your business operations grow, and you become more certain for the long term about the information you have to put on the cards, you may be able to more safely produce larger quantities of cards.

Think Before Giving Them Out: Considering that you would want the cards you give out to have a pleasing appearance, that complements the USP information printed on them, one expects they will not be “cheap” to produce. That’s why you may want to make sure every one you give out counts.

If you can form the habit of thinking of your business card units in monetary terms(each of mine costs approximately $0.143 US Dollars equivalent), it might help you decide whether or not to put it in an envelope to just about anyone you’re mailing something to, even when you don’t know who they are or what they do. That would be like shooting in the dark - only this time you would be doing so, with MONEY!

If I send out twenty five letters in envelopes to different prospects for instance, and put a card in each, I know it implies I have spent at least $3.575 US Dollars(aside from the cost of envelopes, paper, stamps etc).

Business marketing yields better results when properly targetted at the right audience. You could for instance staple your business cards, to letters you are sending out to CEOs of certain organisations you hope will find your products and services potentially useful. Every time I want to give out a card, I ask myself: Am I sure this is going to help me get increased marketing exposure for my work, that could lead to more business? You might want to ask yourself a similar question periodically.

ONE LAST THING: Read Michel Fortin’s Ten Commandments E-book

What I have proposed in this article will require anyone who wishes to try out my ideas to re-visit his/her business concepts and philosophies with a view to distilling the “value” s/he is truly capable of delivering to customers. To do this successfully, I want to seriously suggest you download and READ Michel Fortin’s “Ten Commandments of Power Positioning” e-book.

Visit his website at http://www.successdoctor.com and learn how you can get a copy of his excellent e-book(I got mine about 4 years ago). It offers many very practical and tested ideas about how you can market yourself or business more effectively to customers, so that they see you as their preferred provider of your product and/or service range.

To accurately define keywords and phrases that best capture the VALUE you can deliver to your customers, the “Divide and Conquer” concept described by Fortin in his e-book, when properly applied, will help you arrive at the most appropriate ones. Fortin also provides practical real-world relevant tips for crafting YOUR OWN tag lines and elevator speeches; developing press kits etc.

Read that e-book(I actually printed mine out and had it sprial bound) from first to last page as many times as you need to fully understand it, and try applying what you learn to your business through the exercises suggested. By the time you are done, you will know what to say about your business(and also HOW to say it) in your speech, and on any of your business marketing media such as business cards, signs, flyers, letterheads, website etc.

Question: How will you judge whether it’s working or not?

Answer: (1). If more prospects make contact with you as a result of your re-vamped business marketing - which incorporates your re-designed business cards - THAT will be evidence that it’s working. (2). When your newly acquired clients/customers continue to patronise you and DO NOT express any regrets for doing so(by way of product returns or unwillingness to give referrals/repeat business), THAT would reasonably suggest they are satisfied you deliver the value you “promise”.

Self-Development/Performance Enhancement Specialist - Tayo Solagbade - works as a Multipreneur, helping individuals/businesses develop and implement strategies to achieve their goals, faster and more profitably. Download your copy of his 25 Articles Ebook from http://www.lulu.com/content/268555. You get full reprint rights for each article.

Visit Tayo’s Creative Business Solutions(CB Solutions) mini-site - http://www.cbsolutions.v27.net - to learn how you can get affordable Freelance Writing, Rapid Website Design/CGI Automation, Website Marketing Strategy Development and Custom MS Excel VB Spreadsheet Automation Services.

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Bad customer service is everywhere these days — unmanned front desks, surly servers, clueless staff, employees talking on the phone, and managers who refuse to acknowledge a customer. It’s no longer an exception … poor service has become the norm.

In an all-too-typical scene, a customer walks into a retail store with a question about where to find a product. The employee, who is busy and doesn’t want to be bothered, gives the customer a curt answer and continues what she is doing without even looking the customer in the eye. The customer persists, so, with obvious annoyance, the employee begrudgingly turns around and points the customer in the general direction of the product’s location. Instead of buying the product, the customer leaves the store, frustrated, vowing to never return.

Most business owners and employees recognize this as a classic example of bad customer service. And yet, this scene is repeated endlessly in modern society. Negativity breeds negativity, and eventually, nobody is happy.

“Never, never, never ignore a customer,” says Art Waller, Regional Department Head for Utah State University. Waller provides tips on how to improve customer relations, a vital segment of any business.

“It’s important to be accessible,” Waller said. “Everything is an interruption. A phone rings, someone comes into an office, that’s an interruption. But if a customer is right there, do that first. That’s why you’re there.

One of the single most important aspects of a successful business is good customer service. Waller cited recent findings in customer service. A typical business only hears from 4 percent of its dissatisfied customers. The other 96 percent quietly go away. Of this 96 percent, 68 percent never reveal their dissatisfaction because they perceive an attitude of indifference in the owner, manager or employee.

Waller said this statistic is particularly dangerous for businesses because if a dissatisfied customer can’t express their complaints to a business, they’ll express them through other outlets such as friends, neighbors and family. A typical dissatisfied customer will tell eight to ten people about their problem. One in five will tell 20.

“It takes 12 positive service incidents to make up for one negative incident,” Waller said. “Seven out of ten complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favor. If you resolve it on the spot, 95 percent will do business with you again.”

Waller said these statistics speak to the importance of taking action. Often an employee perceives dissatisfaction in a customer, but chooses to ignore it and hopes that the problem will go away. However, if the customer then goes away with the problem, the customer will likely never return to the business. This trend is what hurts businesses more than anything.

“We don’t have the ability to keep people that are already happy with our product,” Waller said. “The average business spends six times more to attract new customers than it does to keep old ones. Yet customer loyalty is in most cases worth 10 times the price of a single purchase.”

The first step is recognizing tendencies toward bad customer service. But how do businesses improve their overall customer service? Waller offered some basic tips:

Like what you do

“If you don’t love what you do, get the heck out,” Waller said. “If you love what you do, it will be evident and people will know it.”

People who have a bad attitude about what they do will reflect their attitude onto everyone around them, including customers. Like most everything in life, good customer service always comes back to attitude.

“If you believe your customers are a pain in the butt, guess what — you’re right,” he said. “What you say, what you do, and what you think are the same thing.”

Learn to adjust your perception

Because good customer service depends on a good attitude, a bad attitude will surely diminish any facade of friendliness. Waller recommends that employees analyze what is causing their negative outlook and make a conscious effort to change, rather than cover it up with a false smile.

“How do you change a belief of certainty?” Waller asked. “You take out references and change it. Over time, it changes that belief system.”

Establish Rapport

Customers will do business with people they like. Employees gain this approval by establishing rapport, or a positive connection, with a customer. Rapport can be established by simple gestures such as calling a customer by their name, recognizing mutual interests, asking questions, and making eye contact. The customer instantly recognizes the employee as someone who cares about their well-being, and is more likely to do business with the company,

“Won’t you spend more money to go to a car dealership where you’ve been treated well?” Waller asked. “Develop a genuine interest in and admiration for your customers.”

So what happens when an employee doesn’t establish rapport? The customer automatically meets that employee with more suspicion, which leads to distrust, which leads to potential conflict.

Avoid a standoff

Many times businesses find themselves locked in an argument with a complaining customer that becomes impossible to resolve. Waller said the way to prevent this is to avoid the argument in the first place. His advice is to step back, analyze where the customer is coming from, and form a solution from their standpoint, not yours.

“I never fought with them,” Waller said. “In fact, I went into a dance with them. You’ve got to dance with them. You have the empathize, and get into their world.”

Be reliable, be responsive and be credible

Local cable and utility companies are a prime example businesses that do not possess these qualities, Waller said. When a customer calls up in need of service, they give vague ideas of when they’ll be there (”sometime between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.”), sometimes don’t show up at all, and are generally indifferent to customers’ concerns. Because of this behavior, they have lost nearly all credibility in the public eye.

On the other hand, businesses such as Mercedes-Benz, Ritz Carlton Hotels, and Disneyland have all gained reputations for immaculate customer service, where employees are always nearby to cater to customers’ every need at any time. These businesses gained this reputation with years of training their employees to put the customer first.

“The customer’s perception is everything,” Waller said. “People pay for peace of mind. They want security, integrity, and the assurance that if there is a problem, it will be promptly handled.”

All of these tips come down to the platinum rule, or to “treat people like they want to be treated.” This rule takes the Golden Rule a step higher, forcing the employee to assess exactly what the customer wants and act accordingly, not just act as they would want to act in the same situation.

“You can’t reach everyone the same way,” he said. “You don’t deal with reality. Nobody does. We deal with our perception of reality.”

Waller said any attitude in good customer service fits in the “as if” clause. Always act “as if” you are the only personal contact that the customer has with the business, and behave “as if” the entire reputation of the business depends on you.

“The ‘as if’ clause puts you where you need to be,” Waller said. “The bottom line comes down to relationships and how you treat others.”

About The Author

Jill Homer is a freelance writer who is happy to provide articles and ad copy for business and financing specialties. For more information, contact her at jill@biketoshine.com.

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Pharmaceutical companies always look for exceptional sales people to represent them. A college degree, a strong work ethic, and good communication skills, both verbal and written, are some of the pre-requisites for a pharmaceutical sales representative. There are around 85,000 pharmaceutical sales reps in the United States. In this brief article, we’ll discuss how you can achieve a position as a sales representative and tap into this great market.

* Word of mouth - The best way to fill an opening is through a word of mouth recommendation. By keeping your eyes and ears open, you might find an opportunity where you least expect it. For instance, one representative learned about an unadvertised position from her physician.

* Hire executive recruiters - You can get a good job by coming through a recruitment agency. Many recruitment agents specialize in pharmaceutical sales and they know about the positions before they’re even advertised.

* Answer newspaper ads - Make sure that you check out your local newspapers. Although a great many positions aren’t advertised, companies will occasionally need to hire someone quickly and will go the newspaper route. If you’re on the lookout for these advertised positions, you won’t miss out on these great opportunities.

* Network with sales reps - Take some time to network with current representatives. Take some time to get to meet some sales people and they will not only provide you with valuable information but might steer you toward advertised and unadvertised career opportunities.

* Go online - There are literally hundreds of job search boards that are available. Some, like Phamboard, specialize in matching employers with qualified companies. Make sure that you visit these on a regular basis and be prepared to submit your resume.

In conclusion, you can obtain the pharmaceutical sales position of your choice. By going online, networking with sales reps, answering newspaper ads, hiring executive recruiters, and utilizing word of mouth advertising.

Ryan Stewart has coached hundreds to pharma sales success(and he’s done it all for free). To jump-start your pharmaceutical sales career go to pharmaceutical-sales-representative.com

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If you are considering switching to a career in pharmaceutical sales there are a number of factors to take into account. Pharmaceutical sales is a rapidly growing field, and one with impressive potential for success. However, it is also highly competitive and demanding, requiring a high degree of dedication and ongoing learning in order to be successful.

To get you started, you can join numerous trade associations that oversee the training and development of professionals in pharmaceutical sales. These organizations offer certification, create professional and ethical standards, and help industry professionals stay on top of current information including FDA regulations, legal issues, clinical research updates, and so on.

In order to get into pharmaceutical sales, a science background is recommended, and a college degree is the norm. It is essential that pharmaceutical sales representatives be able to discuss their products with a wide range of individuals including other medical professionals. For some, this challenging and ever-changing aspect of the job is what makes it exciting, while others may find the nature of the job too demanding. It is important to take into consideration other lifestyle commitments and priorities when considering this type of career move.

Fortunately there is plenty of information available to help you make the decision to pursue a career in pharmaceutical sales. Books and websites created by industry professionals are many, in addition to the information made available by the associations. There are also lots of options for pursuing certification, with training at all levels available online, through correspondence, or by direct study at hundreds of colleges and universities.

As with any type of sales career, there is a certain amount of stress involved in this line of work, and individuals in this field need to demonstrate a positive attitude, persistence, resourcefulness, and dedication. You are likely to spend a large percentage of your time on the road and must decide if this lifestyle will work for you and your family. The good news is, due to the nature of the industry, there is a high degree of repeat business. Orders need to be refilled consistently, and the large profit margins of pharmaceutical companies means there are large commissions to be made.

If you think you have what it takes to be successful in this competitive market, do some research into the jobs available by browsing company websites, and information posted by the industry associations. As with any major career decision, consider your options from all angles, ensuring a good fit for your interests, skills, and natural strengths. Numerous possibilities await your discovery.

Ryan Stewart has coached hundreds to pharma sales success (and he’s done it all for free). To jump-start your pharmaceutical sales career go to pharmaceutical-sales-representative.com

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Do you have piles of business cards from other people? Maybe they are neatly arranged in a Rolodex, cardboard box or business card case or in small piles around your office, in your briefcase or in the pocket of the suit you wore to the last event. Hint: they aren’t doing you any good there. But how do you take advantage of the gold that’s in those piles?

The key is to develop a system that makes sense to you and that you can mine for information when you need it. So dedicate an hour or so and collect all your cards from various sources. As you go through them, put them into piles. I’m suggesting some categories below, but you may also come up with some of your own.

I-Don’t-Know-Why-I-Have-This-Card Pile: When you look at a card and you have no idea why you have it and you can’t remember the face behind the card, it’s time to dump it in the recycle bin. If it is someone you are meant to work with, they will come back into your life.

Referral Pile: These are people you have purchased goods or services from that you might recommend to other people or use again. By referring others, you build good will both with the person you referred and the person whom you referred. At some later date you might sub-categorize them into types of service, or just keep them in alphabetical order. It’s important that it works for you.

Current Customer Pile: These are active customers who are using your goods and services. They are part of your gold in these piles. You want to keep these cards front and center in your mind, reaching out to these people on a regular basis.

Past Customer Pile: This is another part of the gold in your business cards. They used your services once; why didn’t they come back? It might be a good question to ask. These past customers are also potential future customers. This stack should also be available to you on a frequent basis.

Prospects: Be careful that you don’t confuse prospects and contacts. A prospect is someone with whom you’ve had more than one brief discussion. You’ve had several conversations and feel that they could definitely benefit from your services. This pile is also part of your gold — people to keep checking in with regarding how they are doing.

Contacts: Everyone else is a contact. To keep your pipeline full, it’s good to keep moving these folks from the contact pile to one of the other piles. Pick a few to check in with each week, sign them up for your newsletter or your blog feed. Remind them periodically that you are around and begin to develop a relationship with them.

So there you have it! A quick few hours work and you have turned business cards into gold. Rumpelstiltskin would be proud!

Casey Dawes is a coach, author and speaker who helps smart women reclaim their power over their lives and businesses. Learn more about Casey by visiting her web site: http://www.WiseWomanShining.com.

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