Don’t Pass Up Those Gems Sweating Inside Your Business Card Case
Don’t pass up those gems sweating inside your business card case. No matter what you do, there are certain moments when you will receive a call that requires you to be more than prepared. The chances of the caller being someone who needs your expertise is much higher than those of them being someone who just wants a free consultation. If it's the latter and they're not coming to see your office, then it's very likely they won't even make it as far as taking out their card and seeing who else is available in town.
The numbers of potential clients have been dwindling over the years, but the number of business cards being exchanged remains to be high. One person dies, two people are buried and three people are married, but four people are always calling each other for a consultation. Maybe I've dated more people than anyone else I know, but I still believe that there's always someone out there who needs my advice or assistance. It was the same way when I was in school: if one of my classmates needed advice on how to write an exam essay and he didn't take it home with him, then he had no hope at all getting a good grade regardless of what he wrote.
With the internet being a major source of information for most people, why are business cards still as important as ever? I feel like I'm more likely to get a call from someone who has mailed in an application, than from someone who has sent it through an email. In fact, the websites I usually browse through only show me the contact information of people known to me or those that I have contacted before. I think the only advantage for me and others is that we can do business with others without putting our names on paper.
I don't have any intention of leaving this profession immediately because I have invested so much time and money here, but I think it should be a very hard decision to make if there are other factors at play. I enjoy my work, but I would never want to sell myself out just because of that. There have been way too many times when I've taken on projects that have had little or nothing to do with my field of expertise. The worst part about it is that these are the ones that end up being the most profitable for me.
There's a point where you just have to pass on an offer; and in my case, it's usually when there is no order involved. Even if the potential client has given up and doesn't know what to do anymore, I still walk away from them and give them nothing more than a business card for their troubles. I have never had the intention of scamming people so I find it difficult to continue raking in their money even if they don't mind that I'm only providing them with a disservice.
I'm not saying you should pass up on every card you receive, but you should be selective with the ones you choose to keep. If someone has no interest in your services then let them go and focus your attention on those who do. Some people are not interested in hiring others because they might get nightmares of being taken advantage of or cheated. You should never expect to receive anything from these people and only consider yourself lucky if they ever get back in touch with you later on.
Besides, there are companies that actually do business by sending random people to various offices in order to make a sale. Having a card for them means you will be contacted regularly until your time is up. I've seen countless number of business cards like this and it's not even worth trying to get one from them now because it won't help you in any way. If they are really interested in you and they want something they can't obtain easily, then they would have gone through these steps long before now.
So how can you tell if the person on the other side of the line is someone who needs professional assistance? It's no secret that the easiest way is through their questions and online presence. You don't have to be one who is always surfing the internet all the time especially now that you have a smartphone. You can tell if they are genuine and why they're interested in what you do by asking them a couple of questions each time you speak with them and seeing how they respond. The truth will always shine through so don't let them hide behind their words, but ask directly what matters at the moment and how can you help them.
I've received business cards from people who are so unprofessional that it's impossible for me not to laugh at how ridiculous their claim is. I think I've received at least three in my lifetime, though most of them were from people who were as honest about their intentions as possible. It's what they do on the other hand that is truly disheartening and shameful. I think it's better to stay away from these people when they come knocking at your door. If you can't help them then don't bother wasting their time and yours by pretending that you can.
It's not too late for me, but what about everyone else? I'm sure there are countless number of professionals who cringe with disgust whenever they receive an email from someone asking if they are available for a meeting or consultation. As I see it, there is a major difference between someone who is genuinely interested in your services and someone who has the intention of wasting your time. I think it's already very bad enough when someone does not take the time to look at your website and find out what you do so they can prepare themselves for any appointments they might schedule. They deliberately choose to ignore this information simply because they don't care and they just want to get what they want immediately.
I've spoken with my cousin about these two types of professionals, but even he thought I have been a little over-reacting with my view of the situation. What the two of us agree on is that it's very rare to find someone who isn't even aware of what it means to be a professional right off the bat. Whether they are self-proclaimed experts or students, there should always be some sort of level of professionalism they should abide by. After all, we spend so much time and money on our education that we should uphold its standards too.
The real question at hand is how can we keep the trend going so that these people will eventually shun from our profession? I think there are ways you can make it hard for them to do business with you even if their intentions are not as deceiving as mine. My first suggestion is to always have your information updated and posted on your website. It is easy to think that having this information posted on your contact page is enough, but for some people, it's not a convincing enough factor to make them feel less apprehensive about trying to get a hold of you. If you want to make things more difficult for the wrong kind of people then I urge you to come up with other ways of gathering your clients' information and organize them accordingly. For example, if they contact you through your Facebook page send them an email asking for their information instead. Having options soon becomes scarce once they've tried different methods without any luck and they soon give up on the idea entirely.
Conclusion
The old saying states that if you don't have anything good to say then don't say anything at all. If you can't compliment someone, then keep your silence and walk away. I have seen a lot of people do this when they are extremely pissed off and most of them regret what they've said later on. If they are really interested in you, then they will take the time to see what it is you do instead of wasting their time by figuring things out on their own.
In the end it's up to whether or not if you want to maintain a certain level of professionalism in your industry, but there are some whom I think have already abandoned all traces of it for several reasons.