Want a low-cost, high-impact selling tool that stands out from other marketing avenues? Consider the lowly but versatile business card. Attention to color, texture, and type style can make a distinctive card, especially if it contains information your customers consider indispensable. By designing a quality card that's both useful and informative, you'll increase the likelihood that it'll be saved instead of tossed.

So where does one begin in designing an impressive low-cost, high-impact business card, especially in the sign industry? First, give consideration to the shape. Don't be hemmed in by the usual rectangular type. A card shaped as an automobile, a crane truck, an antique sign, or a Rolodex card add pizazz as well as set you apart. For just a little extra expense, a foldover design gives you additional advertising space. Info cards contain even more sides to fill.

The color of your background and lettering is another decision that can make the difference between an eye-catching advertising medium or a run-of-the-mill business card. Drawing on your knowledge of the sign business, you already know which background and lettering color combinations stand out from the rest. Use that information to create a stunning visual effect.

A sign shop should emphasize its specialty, too. Whether banner production, auto identification, or custom graphic design, choose a slogan that best describes the business you're in. For instance: "Let Signs by Dave make your vehicle a moving billboard!"

Here's a small note of caution: Jokes and anecdotes on your business card can catch a customer's attention but they can also give the wrong impression. Use them with care. Remember, what you think is funny and cute may even offend someone else.

Now with what else do you fill your card? Something more than just your business name, address, and phone number, of course. A small map pinpointing your location is handy. If you accept credit cards, logos of the charge companies are an incentive for the customer to do business with you.

Don't forget the back! On the flip side, offer a promotional coupon for a discount. Make use of that forgotten space by including a price list of the most popular size banners and magnetic signs. A delighted customer's testimonial extolling your expertise makes for interesting copy, too.

If you distribute your business cards in a timely fashion, a local team's game schedule on the reverse side may be the trick to keeping your card in the client's wallet longer. A list of Tollfree hotel, airline, and auto reservation telephone numbers are an invaluable addition. Postal rates and area codes may be included, too.

Now that you've designed and printed your business cards, what are you going to do with them? Target the market you want to address and begin to formulate your plan of action. One way to distribute your cards to potential customers is simply to mail them attached to an introductory letter. With card in hand, also briefly visit prospective clients whose businesses are just starting up. Exchange a stack of cards with another business that targets a similar market, such as a quick oil change stop, a tire dealer, a real estate office, or a restaurant. Offer to keep their cards on your counter as long as they prominently display yours.

And when you visit those prospects, don't forget to leave your card even if no one is there. Can you insert it in the door or punch a hole in the corner so you can hang it from the knob? Afterward, follow up with a telephone call or visit the next day and make sure they received it.

Yes, a business card can be more than just a form of identification; it can reach out and command attention. Follow many of the same rules designing it as you would a customer's signage and then move those stacks of cards off your desk and into the hands of potential clients. It won't take long to see this low-cost, high-impact selling tool generate impressive results!