Organizing business cards

What do you do with all of the business cards that you collect from networking functions and business meetings?  Do they stack up on your desk, while you try to determine what to do with them next?  That’s what happens for most people.I will be the first to admit that sometimes when things get hectic, I can accumulate stacks of cards, waiting for me to do something with them.  However, I do have a great organizing binder for housing them so that they don’t take up precious desk space.

It’s my pleasure to share some tips on how I organize and store my own collection of business cards, with a simple binder system.

I created a short and simple tutorial video which will tell you step by step exactly the supplies that you need, as well as how to organize your business cards. 

Watch the tutorial video here (and be sure to stay for the “blooper” at the end!)

Or, if you’d rather just jump on this project, you can continue reading here for written supply list and directions.

Whichever you choose to do, it’s very important to do something with the business cards you collect at networking functions and in your daily travels.  You’ll feel much more organized, and will enjoy having all of your contacts at your fingertips.

You will need the following supplies, all of which can be purchased at an office supply store:

A binder: if you have a lot of cards, go for a 2” or 3” binder; mine’s a 3”

Clear business card holder sleeves:  Recommended Avery 76009, Business Card Holder pages (they come in packages of 10 sheets, holding 200 business cards)

Binder tabs:  1 – 12, multicolored (you can buy this in one package – I highly recommend the multi-colored for easy identification)

Step 1:  Weed through your business cards and determine what you’re going to do with each contact.

Many times, you will be given business cards that you may not actually need.  It’s perfectly acceptable to “weed” through your business cards and determine who you are going to follow up with, and who you are not.  If you have a card that you know you’re not going to follow up with, simply either pass on that card to someone else you think might benefit from that connection, or recycle the card.  Don’t just save cards for the sake of “collecting” business cards; your goal with this business card binder is to build a resource made up of strong networking connections.

Step 2:  Enter the contact into your contact management system.

Whether you use Outlook, a database or spreadsheet, it is incredibly important to put that contact directly into your contact management system right away, before it goes into the binder.  Your binder is to be used for archiving purposes, not to actually manage your contacts.  I personally use an online contact management system called Highrise, and if you’d like more information as to why I prefer it, I’m happy to share that with you, just give me a shout.

Step 3:  Sort your business cards into 12 types of business categories.

Make a list of the most common business categories in your collection, and then prioritize them into 12 categories.  I used the following categories listed below, but you’re welcome to organize them however you wish (you may have higher numbers of cards in various industries, different than mine).

1 – Accounting & Bookkeeping / Auto
2 – Banking / Computer Services
3 – Construction & Building / Education
4 – Food Service & Events / Furnishings, Home & Office
5 – Government & Nonprofits / Health & Sports
6 – Home Mortgage & Loans / Hotels & Motels
7 – Insurance & Financial / Internet Services / Legal
8 – Marketing / Medical / Miscellaneous
9 – Packaging & Mail / Personnel & HR / Phone & Communications
10 – Photography & Film / Promotional / Publishing / Printing
11 – Real Estate / Retail
12 – Travel / Transportation / Utilities
  
Step 4:  Fill in your Table of Contents page with the list of your 12 categories.

Designate a “business category” for each tab to help you with sorting and organizing your cards in the binder.  You can organize them by any category you wish, but mine are arranged by category or business type, alphabetically so that they’re easier to find when using my binder.

Step 5:  Create a page for each “type” of category.

As you can see in my example list, my Tab #1 is for Accounting/Bookkeeping & Auto.  I don’t want to mix together accounting/bookkeeping and auto all together in that tab, rather it’s best to create a page for each specific category – 1 page for Accounting/Bookkeeping and 1 page for Auto.  However BOTH pages will go under tab 1 – Accounting/Bookkeeping first, Auto behind it.
 
Step 6:  Start putting together your pages.

Go through your business cards and start creating pages for the various categories.  It’s easier to keep the Table of Contents page in front of you, so that you can flip easily between tabs to build the pages.  Don’t worry about alphabetizing each individual card on the page, unless you’re into that sort of thing.

Step 7:  You’re done!

Once you’ve placed all the cards in their pages and within their respective tabs, you’re done.  Lastly, remember to put the Table of Contents page at the very front of the binder. 

Congratulations, you’ve just organized your business cards.  One of the reasons I prefer sorting by business category is that I can use these categories as a resource for target marketing.  I can simply pull out my binder, go to the category or categories of specific business industries I want to send a targeted message too, and they’re all in one easy place to find!

When you’ve set up your binder, please let me know!  You deserve a pat on the back!  And, if you found a different way to organize them to your preference or tweaked these suggestions, please let me know!  I’d love to hear your ideas!

Would you like to use this fresh tip for your newsletter or website?  You absolutely can, as long as you use this complete blurb along with it:  Barbara Lopez, "The Elevator Pitch Coach" with Brightfarm Introductions, helps business professionals introduce themselves with high impact.   Everything in business starts with an introduction.  If you're ready to learn how to introduce yourself and your business professionally and comfortably, visit Barbara at www.brightfarm.com.

Comments

[Natalie Conrad]

Great video Barbara! I also recommend scanning the cards into your database to save time. For more information about my favorite scanner, give me a call!

Natalie Conrad
www.Organizedhabits.com
info@organizedhabits.com

[The Elevator Pitch Coach]

Fantastic idea, Natalie! I've heard that scanning cards does save quite a bit of time! Thanks, Natalie!

[trudy scott]

Love the video - so professional! (and love the blooper too!) Thanks for the great organizing tips - simple yet so important.
Trudy

[The Elevator Pitch Coach]

Thanks so much for the feedback, Trudy! I'm glad that it came across as simple - sometimes it's easier to SEE what to do, to inspire action! Thanks again!

[Jennifer Ellis]

This is a great system. I can't wait to try it. Also, I really love how one of our agency's business cards is in your photo. Thanks for free marketing ;)

[The Elevator Pitch Coach]

Hi Jen! I'm glad you're going to try it out - I think you'll really like it! I was wondering if anyone would recognize themselves in the binder - that's funny!

[Angie]

Thank you for the complete break down! I was afraid I was about to (lol) with all the business cards I've been collecting doing some local marketing for our restaurant! This has been an all new experience, but I love it, and I have a lot of fun!
Angie

[Sue Seward]

Barbara really appreciate the video on organizing biz cards! Will pass it on to my team and colleagues!

Sue Seward
Entrepreneur &
Online Marketing Coach
1996-2010

[The Elevator Pitch Coach]

Hi Angie and Sue - my apologies for just now responding, I somehow missed the notifications of your comments. I'm so glad to hear that this process is helpful for you. It seems like a bigger project than it really is - once you get started it's super easy. Good luck and let me know how your binders turn out!