I recently went to a sales training seminar and the speaker was talking about building strong relationships to close a sale. As he was outlining this point, the lady sitting next to me (who I have never met and had not introduced herself to me before) nudged me. I looked at her and she handed me her business card...she was handing out business cards to everyone sitting around her.
She really needed to listen to the 'building strong relationships' speech instead of passing her business cards around randomly.
Hereis some advice I read on a WIC discussion about best practices for business cards:
Sometimes you find people who are not really interested in talking with you and getting to know you at these networking events. I think that something people should always practice two things:
1. The art of listening – Don’t just talk about your own business. Ask the other person about their business and engage in a conversation.
2. Relationships – Don’t just take run around and grab as many business cards as you can in one evening. Networking is about building relationships.