Best business cards

What document is most important to a growing business? There is a good case to be made for business plans, brochures, partnership agreements, even rate sheets.

But the more I work with growing companies the more it seems the compelling choice is a document measuring just 3.5 by 2 inches.

Small in size, yet big on metaphor, the business card speaks volumes about your ability to connect with success.

Connecting Your readiness to make new associations is shown by asking: How many layers stand between your business card and another person? Ask a woman for her card and this commonly follows: She lifts a flap on her purse, unzips the purse, rummages through three main pockets, deals with yet another zipper, pulls out a tiny case, opens the case, then at long last, she pulls out a card and hands it to the person observing this demonstration of business efficiency.

That's about 10 steps 10 layers between her and a contact.

Men aren't much better: He taps each pant, shirt and jacket pocket before retreating to his wallet and rummaging through layers of plastic, other people's cards,money, receipts and little pieces of assorted notes.And worst of all, this searching often ends with nothing.

Any purse I buy has a small pocket, immediately accessible, just for cards.

And I consider it a significant sign of losing focus on making positive connections with people should that pocket have less than 10 cards waiting there.

Momentum Your commitment to generating momentum is challenged by asking: Do you have cards in abundance? A potential client told me she needed help in changing her company name and creating a new logo (within six months) and was holding off reordering cards until then.How many cards did she have on hand? Twenty.

That amounts to just three new contacts per month.

Not much of a business-building mindset.My first advice to her: Get thee to a printer now! Never let your supply drop below 100, and think of 20 cards as a day's supply.Always better to throw away cards than to put yourself into a hoarding and rationing position.

Thriving Your openness to thriving is revealed by asking: How liberally do you share your cards? Anytime you find yourself in a conversation that has you identifying yourself or what you do, automatically hold out a card.Don't ask.

Don't ponder.

Just do.Having removed the layers hiding your cards makes this a smooth, easy, comfortable event.

A person who believes in abundance does not look for reasons to exclude someone from being a positive connection.

I once gave a card to a cashier when scanning cat food led to conversation.Was I thinking she had a compelling need for business development services? Nope.

But it turned out her sister did, and she called a week later.

Excellence Your dedication to excellence is tested by asking: Is your card up to date? Never cross out text to rewrite your contact information.

First, it simply looks shoddy.

But worse, it acts as a metaphor for inattention to detail, acceptance of just making do, and not being organized.You wouldn't show up for a meeting wearing pajamas with your suit jacket, would you? Then please don't hand out a rumpled, outdated card.

Words on paper linger longer than those in the air, so always strive to look impeccable in print.

If your card is outdated, throw it away, right away.Without a doubt,most entrepreneurs act penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to cards.

Then again, most entrepreneurs go out of business within two years.

Message Having rethought how you handle your card, now you should rethink the card itself: What is your card really saying? A segment of my "Marketing Orienteering" workshop includes showing real card makeovers to demonstrate how much is communicated often poorly, then perfectly.

This always leads to requests for me to rate cards on the spot.

It's an exercise that delights and stuns onlookers.

Like conjuring from beyond, I may suggest company history and explain specific sales challenges.Most often the cardholder deems my guesses right.Mystical? No.

Instead, a knack for turning the visceral into bullets points.

The basic work of a card is to convey contact information and perhaps say what you do.

The card's higher aspiration is to inspire confidence, to convey personality, to suggest a benefit and to intrigue.

This power only appears when you focus on how the card communicates beyond mere words.

Start with a list of the salient features (three traits in priority order) about which people (your ideal target audience) need to experience to feel good about your product or service.

Then make sure every attribute of your card balances saying that: Ponder color, texture,weight, layout, reflectivity, even the back.

Instead of writing "professional" on your card, your card should radiate professionalism.

(Hint: No laser-perf edges, ever!) At the heart of garnering customers is the need for them to be inspired by your ability to deliver on a particular promise.Yet a frequent mistake with cards is to make the card a statement about the cardholder's personality and forget about the offer.You love bold pink but does your ideal client? As for cute icons, Microsoft offers these for your entertainment not as a promise of business value.

Big dreams spring from small stuff Every client I've worked with has been amazed that the fulfillment of big dreams comes with attention to activities so small they at first seem inane.Want more clients? Want frictionless momentum? Indeed! Then I encourage you to develop the kind of congruence where big ideas are linked to small acts.

And small cards.

Hold your card and ask: Is this readily connecting me to ideal clients for building a business where I thrive? An immense question requiring insight along several fronts: the meaning of ideal clients, connecting, thriving and promise.

But figure it out and you've probably nailed your branding and your ideal destination.

Your business card is small.

But ponder it wisely and it will lead to thriving.

Anne Lazarus is a Reno-based business coach and speaker.

Reach her at anne@mindstep.biz or 775-852-4973.