Do you have lots of business cards cluttering up your office that need organising? Even in today’s digital world, the exchange of business cards continues to be the norm. However, these small cards find their way into bags and desk drawers and you can never find the one you need when you need it.
Contact information is fundamental to networking and business communications. By organising your business cards effectively and uploading their information to your contacts, you’ll be able to find key people quicker, leading to long-term relationships and increased sales.
Before you begin to organise your cards, look through them and discard any that may no longer be of relevance. This applies particularly if you’ve been in business for some time.
Once you’ve established the cards you wish to keep, here are some suggestions for organising them.
1. Scan cards with an App
Business card apps are very useful and suit all budgets. Simply download the app to your phone, scan your business card and the information is instantly transferred in a digital format. There are many to choose from and when researching you should consider these three things. Firstly, consider the stability of the app (you don’t want to upload the cards, discard them and then find it loses all the data). Secondly, consider its ability to sync with your preferred cloud technology or existing contacts app. Lastly, you should consider the transfer ability of the app and whether or not it’s capturing the information adequately.
Apps such as SamCard allow you to exchange E-cards and the Premium version allows integration with Salesforce. Scanbizcards is another option and allows the integration of multiple CRM services such as Salesforce, SugarCRM, Mailer and Oracle Fusion.
I tried scanning my own business card using the free version of SamCard and the result was pretty good.
2. Business card scanners
Another convenient but more expensive option is to use a business card scanner. This is particularly useful if you find yourself sorting through dozens of business cards after each event you attend. Popular options available are Avision Portable and Fujitsu Scansnap.
3. Rolodex and Business card books
The good old fashioned way! If you prefer to see your business cards filed in one place then one of these may be the option for you. A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information. Cards are organised in sections from A-Z and placed in the card file holder. A Business card book or wallet contains clear plastic sleeves for holding each individual card.
4. Manually add business card information to your Contacts
If you don’t have time for this, a Virtual PA can offer this as a service.
Best advice, don’t allow your business cards to pile up. Being organised is key to running a successful business.
Blog originally published here.