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There's a restaurant in my city that has stapled the business cards of everyone who ever ate there over the years. I've always wondered how they get past a fire inspection. Business cards are stapled to the walls, the ceilings, every inch of space is covered in business cards. As you look at all those cards - most of them are standard, boring, white, and pretty much look like most of the other business cards out there - a few of them actually stand out. When I look at all those cards that stand above the crowd, I started to think about why those particular cards stood out to me.

First impressions count, especially in the business world. These days, everywhere is the business world. If you don't stand out, you're going to get dumped. Thrown into the trash, "eighty-sixed", tossed in the dumper, etc. Your business card is the first impression anyone has with you and/or your company. You need to know what makes your card stand head-and-shoulders above the rest, what makes you and your company memorable.

Your business card is a million-dollar winning lottery ticket

I remember a business man who told me the story of how a simple business card secured a million-dollar account. He had left the card with a client several years before. This business man almost didn't remember who the client was when he finally called several years later, telling him he saved this particular card because it seemed different than all the others. So why did this client keep this business card and toss all the rest? The card made an initial impression that actually caused this client to firmly grasp the card and place it in a file rather than toss it in the trash. That crucial first impression.

The first impression is made in the first few seconds

"It takes only three to five seconds to make a first impression," says Dana May Casperson, author of "Power Etiquette: What You Don't Know Can Kill Your Career". If your first impression is a sharp, professional looking, all-business, can-do-anything business titan, then you better make sure your business card backs up that great first impression. Your worst enemy is a standard, boring, forgettable business card. Your business card should reflect what you are all about long after you have impressed your client. So how do you make sure your business card attracts attention, gets filed, and actually used when your client needs your particular product or service?

The Acid Test for your business card

Take out your business card and look at it very carefully.

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