I wanted to share the story of how things changed for me and how it can hopefully help you as well. It involves three portrait photos of me, brilliant business cards and a professional website that when combined create a fantastically powerful impact.
I used terrible business cards for ten years. I'm sure you've seen them, the ones you print at home and everyone knows it. Cheap, thin cards with no pizazz. Just an ordinary, bland card. About six months ago I found a print company called Moo.com. They specialize in printing business cards that leave an impression.
Not only are the cards bigger and thicker than most anything out there, they feel silky to the touch. As soon as someone receives one from you, they know you are someone of-note, someone different.
Also, during the last two years I've been getting reasonably good at photography and was able to get some great, professional self-portraits to use in business. I uploaded the photos to Moo and put three different photos on the backs of my cards.
Not only did people start to act more engaged as soon as they touched it, but sometimes even before I got back to the office I would see they had already been online, signed up for my blog and sent me a thank-you e-mail about meeting me.
But there's one more piece to this puzzle. I had the same photos on my website as well and one big one on my home page. Something about a nice, large, clear photo of you makes people feel they know you better.
It created the perfect complement of seeing me in person, having my business card as a visual reminder and then seeing me again on my site along with my full bio. This synergy has a powerful impact on people and I believe signifies you've reached a different level in business.
The best thing is, it's under your control whether you achieve it or not. No one to ask, no marketplace to figure out, just your decision to do it and gain the synergy from it.
