What Goes On a Business Card?

I recently attended a state convention for a group where I presented a class on “How To Get Your Phone To Ring”. One of the topics was business cards, we spent several minutes reviewing the value of a business card and how it can help promote your company.

There is a reason I cover that topic. As usual, when I asked everyone to pass their business card forward for a drawing at the end of the class, I received business cards from half the attendees. And only half of the cards received had a mailing address.

This is so common with construction-related businesses. A business card shouldn’t just announce your name and your phone number. You should have at least 4, preferably 5 ways for a customer or potential customer to reach you. Your business card should tell others:

• Your company name
• Your name
• Your address, including city, state and zip
• Your office phone number and/or cell number
• Your email address
• Your website

That information should be on the front of the card. What you do and how you do it can go on the back. Hopefully, your company name also tells folks exactly what you do.

Now, many construction-related businesses operate out of their home, and the owners are uncomfortable with putting their home address on the card. In that case, use a private mailbox service for your business. Most of them offer a street address, not a PO Box, and it protects your privacy. If I was your client and wanted to mail you a check, wouldn’t you want to make it easy for me to do that?

Michael Stone

The knowledge and experience Michael Stone gained in his 60+ years in construction has helped thousands of contractors improve their businesses. He is the author of  Markup & Profit Revisited, Profitable Sales, and Estimating Construction Profitably, and is available for one-on-one consultations. More here.