To differentiate yourself begins with your business card. From the weight of the card, to the color, to the font, to the graphics and to the actual message being displayed is the first opportunity to separate yourself from all those other Gray Suits and truly be the Red Jacket. So right now, grab your card and look at your title. What does it say?

Are you:

• CEO?
• COO?
• CFO?
• CIO?
• CTO
• Owner?
• Principal?
• Customer Service Representative?
• Business Development Representative?
• Government and Public Affairs Officer?
• Creative Designer?
• Office Manager?
• Sales Representative?
• Product Manager?
• Regional Vice President
• Or...?

Regardless of your title, the question to be asked is how does your title connect to the results that your organizations delivers? The title is truly a limiting differentiator and becomes even less so if the entire business card fails to follow these 4 simple marketing guides.

Attract Attention
How many times does a business card fail to attract attention. It is one of many instead of being one of the few. Some savvy marketing entrepreneurs will spend up to $4.00 a card to showcase their unique and truly stand out in the crow. Of course, it probably took them years of testing and re-testing until they finally go it right. From a color standpoint, the colors of the card should consciously attract the other person. Research has proven that colors are connected to emotional receptors in our brain. Given that the sales process is all about emotions, make sure your colors are attracting positive attention and not "turning off" potential customers (a.k.a. prospects).

Incite Interest
Does that small piece of paper incite interest? Possibly it is the graphic or maybe the card was one of the few that have been die cut. Color is important within all four guides. However, within this specific guide, the impact of color should be both conscious and subconscious. You want the card to stay with the person even when they are throwing out all the other cards they have collected over the years.

Develop Desire
Now how much desire are you developing within those typical seven (7) square inches? Here once again color is important as well as your overall message. When you can link the results your products or service deliver, then you have a competitive advantage not to mention potentially a unique selling proposition.

Create an Action commitment
The final step is to create a call to action and preferable a commitment to take action. One easy way is to use the back of the card to schedule an appointment because it makes sense to strike when the iron is hot so to speak. Cold calling sales research suggests that you have no more than 20 minutes before a lead becomes ice cold.

The title on your business card can be a choice or a matter of necessity because it all depends upon the overall big picture. There are not hard or fast rules as to whether to include or not include your title. If you are unsure, return to your overall marketing executive summary, your marketing plan and sales goals. Make sure there is alignment between all of these critical elements necessary for business success and not to mention to increase sales.