Business Card Litter Form a plan to handle all the cards you collect at business functions.
By Mary Ellen Vincent
Julie is a friendly, vivacious and successful insurance agent who does a lot of networking and constantly collects business cards. Her space is overflowing with business cards. Two desk drawers are dedicated to nothing but business cards. There are piles of them littering the top of her desk. There are cards in her purse from networking events, more cards in a pile next to the computer, and cards in her car that never made it to the office. Although Julie has a system of putting the cards she collects into business card binders, she’s six months behind. When she wants to contact one of the people she has met, it may take her a half hour or more to locate that person’s business card. Julie’s card collection has become a liability rather than an asset. When business card litter becomes a problem, either because it clutters your office or because of the time you spend to locate the right card, there are steps you can take to get them under control and keep them that way.
Control the Flow Think through why you are collecting business cards. How you will use this card when you get it back to the office? Is this person a potential referral agent, resource or client? Resist keeping a card unless you can think of a way you can use the contact information. Limit the number of cards you save after an event.
Corral the Cards To begin the process of organizing your business cards, gather all of them in one spot along with the sorting system you are currently using (e.g., rotary file, business card holder, etc.). You can use an empty box, a box lid or a clean surface in the office.
Sort Your Cards Keep the cards in their piles with a paper clip (small pile) or rubber band (large pile). Attach a sticky note to each pile with the name and date of the event where you collected the cards. Decide how you recall a person to determine whether you will file their card based on the name of their business, their last name or their first name.
Purge Your Cards Play a game with your business cards invented by Judith Kolberg, a professional organizer specializing in chronic disorganization. Conjure the image of the person for each business card and decide whether that person should stay or be asked to leave (i.e., should the business card be kept or tossed). Reasons for asking the person to leave could be that they are vaguely remembered, they are arrogant or rude, or their service is no longer of interest.
Choose a Storage Container Choose a container for collecting your cards and from now on put every card you bring back to the office into this container. A small container will force you to organize your cards more frequently. A large container will allow you to collect more cards before you need to organize them.
Choose your System Your organizing system should be based on your need for the information outside the office and the number of cards you refer to. * Mobile or office-based and small/medium number of cards—Add a few pages of business card holders to your current appointment planner or purchase a small business card filing binder. To keep it simple, don’t categorize or alphabetize; just look through the pages to find the card you need. * Mobile and medium/large number of cards—Use a card scanner and a database program that works with a phone or PDA. If you have a large number of cards to scan, consider hiring a professional to do the data entry and teach you how to maintain the system. * Office-based and large number of cards—You could use the technology described above, but a Rolodex-type system may be quicker and simpler.
Schedule a Time to Review your Cards Set a time or a strategy (e.g., each time you attend the same event) to review your cards. You could choose to wait until your storage container is full. This is the most important step in preventing business card litter from recurring. If you’re like Julie and you also have scraps of paper or even napkins with people’s names and phone numbers, you can organize this information the same way you would a business card. By following the steps above, you can eliminate business card litter and the problems it creates. Mary Ellen Vincent is a professional organizer and owner of OrganizeME. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. You can reach her at (816) 529-6901 or
