For many real estate agents who are new to the business or haven’t yet built up their confidence, passing out business cards seems like shortcut to success. They leave a business card with their check whenever they go out to eat or put one in the envelope when they pay bills and think, “Hey, at least I’m getting my name out there.”

Your Coldwell Banker business card is a valuable tool. It provides an instant boost to your credibility, reliability, and memorability. But handing out a card isn’t a shortcut to a building a connection any more than having your name in the phone book is. Prospecting, especially cold prospecting, is all about the long game, and you have to know the rules to play it well.

No Shortcut to Success

So how do you use your Coldwell Banker business card to make an impact on your market? The key is to treat your card as a way to continue a connection, not to substitute for one.

Let’s look at the example of leaving your card with the check when you’re at a restaurant. If you’re just leaving your card every time without fail, it’s a waste of time and money. The busser is almost certainly going to put your card in a pile with the used napkins and table scraps, and toss it all in the bin.

But if you’ve taken the time to have a friendly conversation with your waiter, gotten to know a little bit about them, and then you leave your card (along with a generous tip), you’ll have greatly increased your chances of being remembered. And all because you built the connection first.

This is especially true if it’s a restaurant you plan to visit on a regular basis. Even if the waitstaff themselves aren’t in a position to buy or sell (and you should never assume someone isn’t a prospect!), they could still be a valuable source of referrals.

The advice given to new agents on building a real estate business often boils down to pat one liners “Market your business to everyone you know and everyone you meet!” That kind of advice makes it seem like handing out business cards at random is a viable strategy. It’s not.

But when you know that your Coldwell Banker business card is a valuable tool – and you take the time to learn how to use that tool – you can see truly great results.