Welcome to the first episode of Engage To Win!

This is our new video blog series that is all about helping you engage better in your business. We are going to be looking at a variety of topics, from engaging staff all way to engaging prospects and engaging current clients to retain them to get better results.

So, in this series, we are going to have a look at everything; things that have popped up in my life, things that I see that are awesome and you could get value from, and I’m going to share them with you.

There is so much information out there! There is a way of me collating it and giving you a different perspective that will help you.

In this first episode, we are going to look at business cards. I’m in the process of getting some new ones designed and I am doing my research on how I can create a business card that is truly engaging. You know, I am sure you have got a pile of business cards you have had over the years. You have probably thrown a hundred times that out.

You know you go to a networking event just to hand them out like candies on Halloween and 9 times out of 10 they just sit there and go to waste. It’s a roll! Why would you print something that is just not engaging? It is just a mental thing we have got and we have done for so long. So, how can you do that a little bit different? How can you create an experience with your business card that makes people remember you?

Because that is what it ’s about! You want to be remembered. That is what a business card should do. In my belief, you would be better invest a little more in your business cards so you can get a better result. So, I’ve been hunting around and looking for some great blogs with some good examples. I’m going to start off and look at some of these examples. This one is brilliant.

This is basically a cosmetic surgeon business card. They are trying to get wether to remember them. Now if you get this business card, you know beyond the initial shock of getting it and going ‘wow that’s a bit crazy”! How awesome is that!

Now this guy, this cosmetic surgeon, he is making a track out of mind so he can invest on his business card to integrate. This would not be cheap to print, design and create, but he knows in every

few dollars he makes, every few cards he gives out he might get work. You definitely would remember this, you pass it on and his card is listed in here so it’s more exposure. Isn’t that awesome?

You think of some cool stuff, like this yoga trainer business cards. You know, how cool is that? How simple is that? It’s not an expensive card to create.

What we are trying to look at is a business card that is successful, it is one that engages the person who gets it. It’s not just your information, to be honest, 9 times out of 10 if I want your information I just go on LinkedIn.

You know business cards are not what they used to be. If you invest in some, make sure you do something different.

I am just going to run through some of these quickly. You’ve got the Cheese Grater, isn’t that brilliant? You can actually grate cheese with a business card! It’s brilliant.

And this is my favourite, the divorce lawyer. It basically splits down in middle. How funny is that? And you’ll definitely remember that. You know, it’s not a fancy business card - except for that - but it does make a difference, doesn’t it? So, basically, you split it down and hand one side to one person one filler. Isn’t that great? I absolutely love it.

The Yoga mat looks like a miniature yoga mat as a business card, how cool is that.

This one, the fitness trainer one. The tear able business card where you can actually tear off the fat, oh stunning!

You have the seedlings, there’s a few of this out there, different ones with packs of seeds in the card for gardeners; the landscapers, we're going to run through a few of these, some of them are great, some are 50-50; the stretchable cards; new industry opening up in America, maybe at the moment; the straw, isn’t that crazy? It’s something different; this lego one is also great!

This one wouldn’t work for everyone, it’s basically a little lego piece of the person. You’ll remember this person, you’ll keep that. Would you not have a lego piece sitting on your desk for at least a period of time?

That’s brilliant, the one with a face; great ones in here. This is probably the last one, I’ll finish on this. The multi-tool, something functional is really a good idea. If you can get some functionality of the business card that you could use, they’ll keep it. You have to try to think ‘why would they keep it?’ Why would they keep it in front of mind? A lot of what we do with engagement is how you stay in front of mind.

You know, people think sending a newsletter is all about content and that’s a key part of it, a very key part. Another key part is your name and your details in front of the person. This is the same with business cards. How can you stay in front of that person’s mind? They look on their wallet to get their coffee club cut out and they see your innovative business card there because they kept it. You know, you’re a friend of mine, next time an opportunity comes up, they might refer you on or when they need something, they’ll be like ‘uh that guy, that girl, or that lady, that man’.

So, I want to share up with you guys, this is the first engage to win. So if you are thinking of buying new business cards this year, start getting creative, use google, have a look and apply something that is absolutely awesome.