The Ivan Zoot 500 Business Card Challenge
I posted my Ivan Zoot
500 Business Card challenge a few years back. It was and remains one of my most popular blog posts. I frequently cut and paste the link into social media and use it as an answer to questions on business building. I think it is time to update the original post with a fresh rewrite.
Here you go. You are welcome. Get busy.
The 500 Business Card Challenge – 2018 update
The biggest news in this update is that there really is no update. The update is needed because the original post had time sensitive info. The concept never changes. This is an old school marketing idea that will never alter, never go out of style and never be replaced with anything that will ever work better. That is quite a claim, but it is true. Below is the 500 Business card Challenge concept, pure and simple.
1. Get a box of 500 business cards.
2. Give them all away within one month.
That is it. That is all.
500 business cards in one month is 18 business cards per day every day for 30 days. Count them out in the morning. Put them in your pocket. Leave the house. Do NOT go back in the house each night until the pocket is empty. It is tougher than it sounds. You must speak to and hand a card to 18 different people every day.
This is not asking for referral from your existing clients. That is a different, all-the-time, every day card project. This is new people. On the street, in the stores, at the park, along the way, by the train, everywhere.
You do not need a fancy speech prepared. Just do the following.
1. Smile.
2. Say, “Hello my name is Ivan and I want to cut your hair”.
3. Hand over a card.
4. Smile some more
If the target starts to speak engage in a conversation. If they do not simply seek the next target and repeat. That is all there is to it. Do not attempt to complicate it.
This works. This works insanely well. If you pass out 500 cards in one month the next month will be the busiest month of your career. Period.
The only thing that works better than asking people to let you cut their hair is asking for referrals from existing clients. More on that in a separate post.
Take the 500 business card challenge THIS month. Let me know how it goes after next month. I do not expect you to have time to call me. You will be too buys cutting hair.
For more great ideas and support to grow your business buy my book Be A $100,000 Haircutter or contact me through my web site at ivanzoot.com to set up some phone coaching. Remember, your 1st call is always FREE!
