How do you organize your business cards? 1

[kingnero]

As the topic title says,
do you organize them alphabetically by name, by firm, ... ?

I've come to a point where my current system (throwing them all in a cardboard box, and I know roughly who's in there) does not work anymore: when looking for someone, sorting out the box just takes too much time.

Problem with organizing them by name is that if I want to search for someone that works in a certain firm, won't go.
Problem with organizing them by firm they work for, is that, if someone jumps ship, it won't work either.

A friend of mine started an access database, so you can search for whatever keyword you want. I might get around to do this, but when looking at my shoebox 1/4 full of cards, I don't quite feel like spending some days doing nothing but inputting data...


How do you organize them?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

I add them to my email contacts as & when I receive them.

Phone apps and special machines exist which use OCR to convert the information on a scanned card to a database.

http://www.scanbizcards.com/?gclid=CJPj9-iGyrYCFaxaMgodun4ALQ

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/category/category_slc.asp?MfrId=0&CatId=299

 

[FlashSet]

Type them into outlook. If you are years (or decades) behind in this task I could see how it may be overbearing.

Your computer can search for last name, first name, city, company, or state much faster than you can. The only thing the computer can't do is separate the card stock cards from the fancy vellum cards (unless you enter that tidbit as a note!).

 

[DRWeig]

I put 'em in a big stack. When the stack gets too tall, I toss the ones on the bottom into the box my business cards came in and stow it away. If I am handed business cards at a higher rate than I buy them, somebody around here will have an empty box for m I punch

Clients and potential clients get punched into Outlook contacts. Important resources like specialty consultants get punched in too. Sorry, other vendors and consultants -- when I need something I'll look you up on the web. You're in the stack, later in the box.


Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[DRWeig]

I forgot to mention - especially intersting cards have a small stack adjacent to the tall one. I've received a really nice brushed-aluminum card from a fellow at Alumax. A guy at the Hardwood Lumber Association in Memphis had cards made of oak veneer.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[truckandbus]

Start by going through the pile and seeing who you already have as an email contact. Usually you only need to add the mailing address or a phone number to make the record complete. Do the rest 10 cards at a time during lunch

Another thought would be to see if coworkers already have the contacts and have them email you a vcard

 

[FreddyNurk]

Theres an interesting consideration to all of this that really lends itself well to DRWeig's method.

Business cards expire too. I don't know how many times I've pulled a card out of the stack (or had the contact in Outlook) only to discover that they've moved on.

Only put as much effort into your contact management as you think you'll get out of it. No point in putting all the cards into an access database if you're going to have to spend just as much time updating the db when things change (also the sticky issue of finding out when things change, is it better to call each card and ask?)...

 

[SLTA]

I use CamCard on my phone, where I take a picture of the card and then it recognizes the text. It does pretty well for normal cards but fancy ones need some manual input. It lets me sort however I want (name, business, date of entry, etc) with a search feature too, and I can call or email straight from the app. It also has "folders" so I can generally categorize groups.

 

[kingnero]

So far, all of the suggested solutions are digital ways, noone with a rolodex ? and I'm not even that old!

I guess that alone (all in favor for digital) already proves a point.
Thanks for all of your suggestions, I might actually do the same... Now all I have to do is convince myself to pick up that shoe box...

 

[SomptingGuy]

I chuck them in my desk drawer. Each time we have an office move, I throw away the boring ones.

- Steve

 

[brandonbw]

I try to input the contact info into gmail contacts as soon as I get them. I have a separate gmail account setup just for business that I have on my cell. Another good method I saw was sticking them in business card sheets that go into a 3 ring binder. Never got around to that and they just sit in a box too.

I have been meaning to buy a rolodex but gmail seems so much easier.

B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer

http://bwengr.com

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http://bwcivilengineer.com

 

[cvg]

I have a rolodex, in a box somewhere under my desk. I pulled it out a couple of years ago, dusted it off and reminisced. then it went back under the desk...

I'm collecting all the business cards to see how high a stack I can get.

 

[MikeHalloran]

I've got them in my gmail/Android contacts list,
tagged as 'business'
and one of these:
'family business' (i.e. we do family business with these, e.g. our drycleaner)
'coworker'
'former coworker'

I have special tags for
'car sales persons'
'recruiters'
'deceased'
'friends'
'family'
... and more,

but mostly I just search for whatever I can remember.

The Android apps that take a picture of a business card and extract information from it,
mostly work well enough to say they work, but not well enough to just flash a pic and go,
so I still do a little editing.
The nice part about syncing with Gmail is that I can do much of the editing on a computer, not a tiny screen.
A reverse search on a business phone occasionally produces interesting results.
They go into the note associated with the contact.

I usually save the actual business cards for a couple of weeks, which is enough time to back-check my entries, and usually enough time to lose track of the cards regardless.

I tried the binder sleeves, and some nice bizcard book/holders that I got at trade shows, but I needed a bunch of them even decades ago, and they're slow to search; the phone is much faster, and can include an image of the card, or of the actual person if you like.

I never got used to using or maintaining a Rolodex or a DayTimer.

I used to use Windows' Cardfile, but the amount of data you could put on the cards was too limited.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[fel3]

Years ago, I learned from my boss to write the date on the card when you get it. That way you always know how old it is. Now that I use Outlook, I enter the date received in the NOTES section.

I still keep the actual cards for some reason, but I stopped filing most of them. Now, when I get a bunch of cards specifically for a project, I put them in a business card binder sleeve and keep them with the project files. Other cards get tossed in a box, which I cull about once a year. In the old days, I filed cards by company, then name. I also don't toss the really interesting cards.

==========
"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill

 

[JedClampett]

I've got our mailroom to order clear inserts that are business card size. I then put them in a three ring binder. Each insert holds twenty cards (10 in front, 10 in back). A binder can easily hold a thousand cards.
I don't put them in any order. When I need one, I kind of do a visual sort. The issue with sorting them is if I can remember the company name, I can't remember the persons name and that's what I have them sorted by. And vice versa.
I do sort a little for anchor companies (Hilti, Red Head, etc.). I only started doing that when I noticed the same guys would come in, but they were working for different companies.
I like to put the date I got the card and reason we met on the front of the card to introduce myself when I call.
I bought one of those Rolodex holders and still have it. but I never liked it. It seemed to fill up very fast and not have much flexibility.

 

[bridgebuster]

I just make stacks and put rubber bands around them. Maybe once a year I throw some out. I still haven't ordered new cards. I was moved to my present location about three years ago; it was supposed to be temporary. Now, I can't be bothered filling out the paperwork.

 

[lookintomyeyes]

I'm 29, and I use a binder from Staples (office supply store) that includes sheets you slide the business cards into.
I sort mine alphabetically by Company name, and right the year I received the card in the top right hand corner, to keep track of how likely it is to be out of date.

Works well for me, I can't be bothered to update all my contacts in outlook!

 

[ivymike]

I have a pile of cards on my desk, a little tin of them in a cabinet, and a folder w/sleeves as above. The folder is where I have the cards I think I'll need. I try to make notes on each about where/when/why I met each person. They mostly serve as memory cues to help bring me back to a discussion/job/opportunity when I need to recall it later.

 

[looslib]

I used to use the plastic pages in a binder. This job is so isolated, I have only picked up 3 new cards in 3 years, so they sit on top of my computer. I still haven't even had cards made for this job either.

I used to have pages in the binder for different companies. Related businesses that I only haed a few cards from would be after the main company page(s).
I like the idea of dating the card when you recveived it and maybe where.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[SomptingGuy]

Don't know if this is an urban myth or not, but when we started doing a lot of work for Korean customers, we were instructed never to write anything on their business cards using a red pen.

- Steve