You know how it is when you preach, preach, preach and when it comes time to practice what you preach there’s that Universal Trombone in the background going, “WAH wah waaah … “?

Yeah. That’s what happened to me last week when I didn’t have my business card game face on.

What happened was a lady pulled up next to me at the Post Office. She had a window decal on her van advertising her massage practice. I’ve been wanting to talk to massage therapists who use these to see how it works for them (anyone wanting to give a little input there, email me).

I thought I would give my card to the MT after I picked up the mail. Maybe she would be agreeable to making some time to talk about the efficacy of her window decal.

What I did NOT do is get into the Business Card Handing Out Zone. That Zone where you not only know what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. BUT you have also taken a few seconds to rehearse.

I just marched up to this poor, unsuspecting woman, handed her my card and said, “I’d love it if you would call me after Thanksgiving. I’d like to talk about your window decal and how it’s working for you.” She blinked at me for a moment and said, “Who are you?”

Oh, yeah; I’m the professional. I wanted to flee. After some stammering and stuttering on my part, I explained myself and then retreated to my car.

That was when it hit me: I have not been practicing what I preach. I preach thinking about who you are marketing to. I preach thinking about what you should be saying to your Ideal Clients. When it came time for me to practice what I preach … WAH wah waaah …

In the sanctuary of my car several realizations hit me:

1. I think I see why I get so much resistance from people when I encourage them to hand out cards.
2. I have never talked to you about how to hand out business cards, ie: getting in the Business Card Handing Out Zone.
3. I have never talked about what to say when you hand out your cards. I’ve done a few examples in the middle of bigger articles, but nothing specific.

Now I have a mission. Diana and I have both talked about alternate uses for your massage business cards and ways to fine-tune your message on them. But we have not really covered the basics.

That’s my focus for the next couple days. Until I get an article together, I’m begging you to rehearse what you plan on saying to people before you hand out more cards (don’t be like Eileen).

Also, if you have anything you would like me to address on this topic, NOW is the time.

All my best,
Eileen