Mastering the Business Card Handoff

A Smooth Hand-off
Lets face it: knowing how to share your business card isn't exactly life-or-death stuff. But in the moment, when we're face-to-face with a decision-maker or a gate-keeper and we want to foster the relationship, many of us feel anxious, then flub the hand-off itself. 

Like so much of networking, the business card hand-off is a set of techniques that you can - and you should - master. Lets get started.

That moment when two minds meet for the first time is ripe with opportunity, so treadling lightly is advised. Mastering the hand-off allows Pros to tread lightly, be themselves, and take care of business - all at the same time.

Great stories often have three acts, so I use a three-part structure to script this technique: Initiate, Qualify, and Hand-off. Memorize the Pro's lines, recognize those moments when your inner Entrepre-nerd pops out, and the rest will come with practice.

Concept Into Action
Imagine we overhear the moment that two strangers meet a networking event. One is a Polished Pro. The other is an Entrepre-nerd. Their chat might go something like this:

ACT 1 - Initiate (two people meet)
 
Pro: Hi, I’m Steve Jones (Steve could have also played a gambit here, but for now lets keep things simple)
 
E-nerd: Hi, I’m Mark.

Pro: Hi Mark, nice to meet you. What do you do? 

E-nerd: (Talks about himself without any particular focus)

Pro: (Listens. Asks a question or two. Stays present.) 

E-nerd: What you do…? (oops, Mark has already forgotten Steve's name)

Pro: Thank you for asking Mark. I... (gives her one-liner and pauses)
 
E-nerd: (typically has one of two reactions: flummoxed, shy, and unsure how to respond; or gushy, triggered, and oversharing)

Whenever someone you just met doesn’t follow up on your one-liner (ie, doesn't ask a qualifying question), you're free to politely excuse yourself and move on. But when your new Pal shows some interest in what you do, its time to give them a 10-second version of your elevator speech.
 

ACT 2 - Qualify (identify mutual opportunity)
When two Pros meet for the first time the conversation move forward much more quickly, and can go in several directions. Below are a few of the more common qualifiers:

Pro: (might ask any or all of these questions...)

• "What brought you here tonight, Mark?" (a Pro notes: Is their motivation clear?)

• "Tell me Mark, who is your Ideal Client?" (a Pro notes: Is their target market in-line with their marketing message?)

• "Who are you interested in meeting tonight?" (a Pro notes: Does their answer correlate with what you already know about them?)

• "Tell me about a recent client experience…" (a Pro notes: Is their offering reflected in the story they share?)

The Pro notes (above) reflect the fact that Polished Pros have also mastered listening while discerning, or bringing their intuition into play while also remaining present in the moment. Some people come by this this skill naturally (they have what is called High Emotional Intelligence). The rest of us need to practice those skills, but just know and trust that most of us can learn and master listening while discerning.

Moving on - when your new Pal shows an understanding of what you're up to (i.e., exhibits trust-based networking skills like reciprocation) the potential for mutual opportunity is clear and its time to shift to the hand-off.
 

ACT 3 – Business Card Hand-off (after some mutual opportunity is revealed)
More than anything else in the Hand-off, the next few steps (below) separate the Polished Pros from the Entrepre-nerds. Pros have a very specific series of steps they follow when they are accepting a business card. These next seven or eight actions shouldn't take more than 5 seconds.

Pro: (moves to complete the conversation) "Do you have a card?"

E-nerd or Pro #2: (pulls out a card and hands it off)

Pro: (accepts the card and follows the protocol below)

• Accept their card with eye contact
• Thank them, holding eye contact
• Take the card with both hands
• Look closely at it, pause
• Look back into their eyes
• Look back at their card, then put it away
• Generally speaking you should wait to be asked before you hand them your card. If they don't ask, then you'll need to be the judge of whether or not to offer one. I generally opt not to. My thinking is this: if they don't understand the protocol here (i.e., know when or how to ask me for my card), then they're not likely to become an Ally, so there's no point in pushing a card at them. There are certainly exceptions to this.

E-nerd: (forgetting to ask for the Pro's card) "Well it was nice to meet you!"

When two Pros meet for the first time, they will trade cards by taking turns following the protocol above.

Also - after handing over their own cards, a Polished Pro will pause and wait for the other party to look up again. Entrepre-nerds will often chat nervously in this moment, oblivious that they're distracting the Pro from the task at hand - reading the E-nerd's own business card!

When a Pro is considering a deeper business relationship in this situation, they'll ask “Do you mind if I write on the back of your card?” and begin noting pertinent facts about their new Pal: marketing message, who this person wants to meet, personal affinities, their family and college and work history, and other reminders. These notes will go into their CRM later on. 

Do you have a 'sales buddy' that you can 
practice your Business Card Hand-off with?

Your comments are always welcome.

See you there!

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