Adam Johnson/ ARC Design

Stop all the mailings and get green. Yes, you too can save the environment and still market your business. Many small businesses are still taking on the expense of mailing out printed materials that detail their products or services, and fighting the dismal 3-5% return rate. The truth is:

1. Most mailings end up in the trash and are never opened. They are discarded as junk mail.
2. Most never reach the right hands; the secretary or the finance officer sweeps them into the waste basket before they ever reach your intended target audience.
3. A call or a reply mailing almost never follows-up your mailing.

But an effective e-mail newsletter tool is an environmental-friendly marketing machine. The options are unlimited!

1. Delivered in seconds.
2. Changed monthly, weekly, or even daily.
3. Full color and exciting.
4. Very inexpensive and flexible
5. Constant reminder of your business and services.
6. Paperless format. Thus saving trees, fuel, and waist.

Get with the program.

E-mail newsletters are managed and sent using web-based applications that are easy to use. In an hour or two we can put together a newsletter that matches your website or other collaterals… moments later it can be in the in-box of your clients or prospective customers. Use your newsletter to highlight events, correspond with potential clientèle, and sell upgrades to clients you already have.

Once upon a time, many years ago, I was having trouble finding new business. In an attempt to find help, I decided to visit the local community college’s Small Business Development Center. It offered free advice, so I figured: why not?

Upon walking in the door that afternoon I was met with an older, retired man who volunteered his time there once a week. A crazy man with nothing better to do then sit around dispensing arcane business wisdom did not inspire much confidence, but in desperation I stayed around. A few minutes of grandpa’s story time couldn’t hurt.

I sat quietly and listened to him ramble about his business and “what a waste of time advertising could be.” Angrily, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into—all I wanted to know was the most effective ways to spend my advertising dollars.

What I didn’t realize was that this old man gave me the most important piece of business advice I would ever receive. He told me that in forty years of business he never once advertised. “All I used for marketing materials,” he recalled “were my business cards.”

“Get your card right…” he warned “Nine times out of ten, it will be your one and only shot.”

It wasn’t until years later that I put his advice to use, and saw its power. A graphic designer by trade, I created a powerful and aesthetically pleasing business card. I recalled the four basic rules he gave me:

1. A business card is your “miniature billboard.” People have to see it for it work. It is powerful, it is compact and it is designed to reach both the individual and the crowd.
2. It must be top notch—a salesperson’s first impression is everything. Put as much money into your card as possible.
3. Give your card to everybody you meet. Even if they already know you… word of mouth is everything.
4. Order at least 1000 cards at a time. Make it your goal to give each one out within two or three months. Don’t leave stacks of cards at local restaurants. Shake hands with someone, give them a card.
5. Re-order and repeat the process.

Focus on giving out your cards. Handing out 200-300 a month means you are meeting people. A design agency is nothing without a sales force that is marketing itself on a constant basis.

Although this man’s advice sounds simple, it is a rule I have held fast to in all my years of business. Using your business card is an up-close-and-personal networking technique that has potential to build strong and lasting business relationships.

In the past three years, I have spent many sleepless nights worrying about this self-created monster that I call a Design firm. It has been a wild ride. One that I would do again in a heart beat.

Most noticeably, my role in the firm has changed dramatically since we began. The transition went from creative and hands-on design work to selling design in the form of websites and advertising contracts. This change has brought to light one of the most influential realizations I have had: Design is about people.

Whether it’s communicating to businesses or clients, selling design is all about communication and relationships. The two go hand in hand.

And then it hit me: If you can design you can communicate, and those who can communicate can sell. A money making combination. An idea that I attribute to years of late nights brainstorming ways to present refreshing twists on age-old ideas.

Taking a start-up design company from spare bedrooms and cold pizza to a 9-employee, award winning firm takes an understanding of communication. Knowing how to get there is where lots of companies fall off the horse.

I hope that my “tid-bit” blog will help others understand communication… and make money. I want designers to utilize a proven selling strategy, one that makes them great. Over 20 years of selling lends to my credibility… I’ve been through what works and what definitely doesn’t.