 Greetings!
The year seems to be whizzing by but I've been trying to make more time for networking. Matt Kendal of MK Printing is one of my favourite "serial networkers" and he seems to know everyone! He's very kindly written us a Top Tips for Business Cards - amazingly Matt sold me on printing up 5,000 and would you believe it I did actually have to do a re-order recently? Mind you, it's worth testing and measuring what you have on your business cards - we tweaked the content several times before going with a big order.
Some other really exciting news this month was the publication of the first ever UK Virtual Assistant Survey. Brilliantly, we scored rather well against the other VAs and we actually scored in the Top 4% of VAs in the UK. We're looking forward to improving on that, but it was a fantastic boost to our team! Well done!
See you soon,
Caroline
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Networking events are full of business card exchanging but how many terribly poor business cards have you been given? And for that matter, are yours up to scratch? Here are a few pointers on how to design business cards that will get you a great response and not cost you work:
Firstly, it is essential to make sure that you actually say what you do. People tend to think that others will know what their company does, this isn't true. It's happened before that all that's written is the guy's name, phone number and the line "x company, the right choice". It begs the question, what choice does he think I am making?
Another important point is clearly stating what your company offers. An example of a great business card is of a car rental firm. The card had the company details and a strap line of "offering a range insured and maintained BMWs and Mercedes to professionals from as little as ... a week". It got right to the point and therefore prospective customers aren't going to call up trying to hire an SUV for the day.
The next important thing is the quality of the cards. If you were given a card from a solicitor who represents high-end clients, and on the reverse of his card it said "printed free at xprint", wouldn't you think - if he can't afford to have business cards printed, then I can't afford to do business with him. Business cards and anything you company gives out, directly reflects upon you.
Many people don't realise the psychological impact business cards have. So how and why do people buy from each other? Would you turn up to a networking meeting in a suit with "supplied free from x shop"? Why not? Because it looks cheap and tacky. A business card is what people have to remember you by, so don't give them something which says you can't even afford to have business cards printed.
The next important factor is the contact details that you put on. It is strongly advisable that you do not put a mobile number on a business card - especially if it is the only number you put on. It can cause several issues such as, hesitancy to call a mobile number of someone they do not know. It also shows that you don't have an office which can cause trust issues. And for females especially, it can often be dangerous to give out your personal phone number to lots of people you don't know. Good advice is to get a land line number (not 0870 or 0844).
The final point to be made is to use both sides of the card. You can use the reverse to list services or give general advice about your business type. For example, a known nutritionist uses business cards with 5 tips to combat snacking on the back.
In conclusion, when you design your business card think about the following questions:
- Does the card say what I do?
- Does it look professional?
- Does it include sensible contact details?
- If I was given this card would I keep it/contact the person?
For creating or redesigning business cards try Online business card designs
And for any questions, you can email at info@mkprinting.co.uk. |
 Outsource Your Life
By Emma
The Spice Girls said, "Spice up your life". We say,
"Outsource your life". We all have those little chores that stay on
the To Do list like an annoying red shirt lurking at the bottom of the
laundry basket - but no more!
Now
you can outsource your life - not just the annoying little jobs but
everything... yes, everything. You can get someone to do your accounts,
marketing mail merges, wedding planning, arrange for your dry cleaning
to be picked up and returned to you (yes even the afore mentioned red
shirt...) you can even get someone to queue for you! One guy even
arranged for a virtual assistant to apologise to his wife for him.
Well, a virtual assistant is much cheaper than a divorce lawyer!
Yes,
we can all book flights online or order a bunch of flowers to be
delivered, but it takes up valuable time and, in these "time poor" days
it is important to spend your time productively, doing what you are
best at and allowing someone else to be your invisible helping hands.
A Virtual Assistant can source prices and options just leaving you to
make the decision and reap the rewards. After all, your time is money.
I'll
give you a couple of real life examples of where we've saved clients
money. The first is a consultant who usually charges her time at £75
per hour and spent two hours wrestling with a Word document. She
sheepishly handed it across to us and we had it looking perfect in 15
minutes. Our hourly rate is £25 - so by "saving herself" £6.25, she spent
£150. Talk about false economy!
The
second is the example of a marketing guru who was working full-time but
wanted to run a seminar. We acted as his office for the princely sum
of £100 per month making bookings and sending confirmations. Each of
the 12 delegates paid £500 - but without someone to take bookings and
answer questions, he wouldn't have been able to do it.
To start outsourcing your life CLICK HERE
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