Offline Business - business cards question

Alex, I totally disagree with the idea of having anything related to "website design" or anything close to this on a card or any ad you do. As soon as you do that you have become a commodity and you will be price-shopped to any Tom, Dick or Harry who says they can give you website for 86 bucks.

I have been in business, online and off, for over 20 years. And I have always just put my name and no title on any card I do. Titles are for egomaniacs and weenies. Just have a professional, clean looking card with your name and contact info and leave it at that. You'll end up getting more respect than having some made-up title that no one understands anyway.

Just my 2 cents.

I second that

Go with either one of Amy's suggestions

Thanks, Amy!

"Marketing Consultant" rocks my boat... although "Problem Solver" is a very nice one as well

Amy's right: go with what you DO, which is marketing.

I'd also agree with the others and say nix the title. It doesn't matter. You have very limited space on a business card, so sometimes you have to get really creative to use it wisely.

As Andrew mentioned, stay conservative, but I'd also add that it's imperative to add an OFFER to your business card. A business card with just a company name, personal name and title (with maybe a tag line) would be a LOT more effective if you added an offer to it.

We've all seen the free reports designed to get us to opt in to a list. It's Direct Response Marketing 101: for every message you send out, ask your audience to take an action. Nothing goes out of your office without an offer. (Dan Kennedy instruction from his book "No B.S. Direct Marketing for Non-Drect Marketing Businesses.") So offer your free report or audio on your business card. Better yet, dream up a good domain name and use it ONLY for your business cards so that you can track which leads come from those business cards.

Make sure that your domain name is easy to remember and makes sense -- preferably, it should make a PROMISE. For example, my domain name for my offline activities is BoostBusinessOnline.com. I love this domain name because it makes a specific promise without being very salesy. No cheese or hype in that domain name.

My offer is a free report titled "3 Simple Secrets to a Web Site That Attracts More Clients and Makes You Money." Dream up something similar and write the report. Now takethat same piece of content and record it as an audio. Offer it as a digital download on your site, but also burn the recording to CD and give people the option of a physical kit they can request. No need to come up with different content. Use the same content that's in the report. You might add insights or stories/examples to the audio which aren't in the report, but other than that it can be exactly the same. Just don't sound like you're reading it! Make it sound more like a conversation with them; you're sitting down with them over a cup of coffee and sharing your insights on how they can attract more customers and clients through the power of online marketing.

Big tip here: Your title is the most important part of your freebie. The title alone should make your prospect want to read/hear it. Make it a good one.

As someone else mentioned, a company may need an OFFLINE solution to their marketing problems, but unless you're billing yourself as an all-purpose marketing consultant, I'd be bold about it and advertise yourself as an ONLINE marketing consultant. It helps niche you and once you've got your foot in the door with prospect or client and they know, like and trust you, you can certainly offer offline marketing services. In fact, integrating offline with online marketing will really boost the power of your marketing campaigns. But to differentiate yourself from the crowd and help define a USP for your business, I'd advertise yourself as an online marketing consultant.

If you still have room, you might add a good tag line to your card. Just make sure it's full of promise and benefits. One marketing consultant I know has this tag line:

"More clients in record time...every time."

I love that tag line. It's excellent because it's full of benefit for the prospect.

I know this post is a bit lengthy but I hope it helps.

Sincerely,
Michelle

All of my sales reps have business cards as "Account Executive", including myself when I go out on sales calls. Business people know you are a sales person, so hiding behind a fake title is not very effective. This generic title also allows a wider approach if you are able to provide several products and services to businesses.

Most of my business actually is generated offline from advertising and direct sales reps. What closes the deal ultimately however for my web design and online marketing services is not the business card as much as a good personal presentation along with an online demo or website.

Generally speaking you put something conservative with your name and contact details on one side and an appealing offer with a call to action on the other side of the card.

Phrases like "problem solver" in your title sound good to you but to business owners they tend to brand you as a salesperson or someone who's a bit desperate.

Successful professionals that business owners are in the habit of trusting tend to be conservative (think of accountants and lawyers).

So the more conservative the better when you describe yourself. No MEGABUCK BILLIONAIRE BUSINESS MAKERS cards.

You don't necessarily have to put a title on your card at all if you don't want to.

Your name and contact details on one side and a compelling offer on the other would do it.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

I am also designing my Business Cards for the Offline consulting I have been doing.

Here is what I was thinking about putting on the card as far as a title goes:

ROI Marketing Specialist
Making your marketing $$$$ work for you

As far as using the $$$, I am undecided. But I do like the the Title ROI Marketing Specialist. I figure it will stand out in peoples minds and get them to pick up the phone which is the name of the game.

I don't have a title on my card. I just have "Want More Customers - Call For Free Consultation"

I get the what everyone is saying about being conservative, but sometimes people relate conservative to dull and bland. I've seen sales author Jeffrey Gitomer's card where its his picture on a super hero body, Dan Kennedy's is a cartoon, and others.

I think a business card should bring out your personality a bit since people don't know you from all other white cards with black type.

Just a thought.