Double Business Card Approach

Recently, I was asked to speak to a group about networking. Not new news, huh?

The talk I was planning to give is a general all-around presentation that I have entitled Planning for Purposeful Networking.

I can change the talk according to the needs of the crowd.

Just before I started, the person who had asked me to speak said, "Now be sure to talk about giving out two business cards to everyone they meet."

Because I didn't want to insult the person who had asked me to speak, I took advantage of the speech's flexibility and eliminated the part about business cards from this talk.

You see, I don't think you should ever give out more than one business card, unless the person specifically asks for more.

Typically, if you think about it, the most likely time to exchange business cards is when you are meeting someone for the first time. If you shove two business cards at this person ("one for you and one to give to someone else"), you are asking them to be a referral source without even taking the time to develop the relationship. It makes my skin crawl to even think about it.

There, now I have to climb down from my soapbox before I fall and crack my head open!

How do you feel about the "giving two" advice.