There are literally hundreds of ways to build and customize a business card, but one of the more interesting effects is the use of metallic foil.  There are metallic inks as well, but nothing comes  close to the shine and brilliance of actual metal.  For Prospectors Pouch, I built the card around the look of a gem they discovered, and mine, called Georgia Midnight.  It has a dark, onyx-like appearance and is speckled with silver and gold.  We used not one, but two colors of foil which is unusual, but was necessary to produce the gem’s likeness.  In addition to the use of metallic foil, we also used spot-gloss, which is the application of a gloss coat to certain areas of the artwork.  This gave me the ability to enhance certain features of the card without sacrificing a defined color palette.

We ended up with a visually interesting, classy, and unforgettable business card that will be part of an even larger graphics suite to help Prospectors Pouch refresh their look and bring in new sales.

- Pen and Pixel are One

Large sign artwork outside Falafel King

The family that runs these chains are great folks, and they can cook some excellent Mediterranean food.  If you’re in Athens, Decatur, or Atlanta GA you should stop in!

- Pen and Pixel are One

Sorry, nothing smaller than 800×600, but if you want something in particular, let me know and I’ll do it.

Click to open / Right click Save As / Enjoy

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- Pen and Pixel are One

I also received an email from Tom Heath, Web Content Manager at Grassroots Motorsports Magazine.  He really liked my design and told me that although he’s not a judge, I have his support.  Rock on!

Check out the weekly winners, and other contest details on Factory Five’s site.

- Pen and Pixel are One

I would have liked to have done a second entry, but I put all I had into these and it just took too much time for a second.  I don’t know how much I would have done differently a second time around anyway.

I can’t wait to see the 818 regardless of how it looks when it comes to life.  Considering the response Factory Five has gotten, the judges have their work cut out for them now!

- Pen and Pixel are One

One thing I hadn’t explored yet is showing a view with the targa top removed. This is a roadster after all! This rendering is to show the car is typical street trim. No number plates, air spats, tow hooks, or the like.

- Pen and Pixel are One

I’ve seen a few entries so far, and I think where I diverge from the typical entry is in the use of a lot of organic curves.  I really like the sports car designs from the 60′s and 70′s…very swoopy, curvy, and undeniably sexy.  I hope that my design would impart a special, exotic feeling to anyone who’d be driving it.  The best part is through the addition of some practical, modern touches, it would be entirely livable (although basic) for day to day driving and work well at high speeds on track.

I’ll be updating the blog over the next few weeks with teasers and limited views until the full design is submitted in June.  Believe me, I’ll be up against the deadline to finish…I’m going as far over the top with detail as possible!

This is the original sketch:

And here are the finals so far.  I love seeing how designs evolve over time, whether through conscious choices or not.

- Pen and Pixel are One

Structure and Content of Your Call

I’ve spoke about it before, but it becomes really practical here – before we get started, you need an “elevator speech” (and should have one handy for any meeting anyway)!  An elevator speech is going to allow you to quickly convey the basic, distilled version of what you do to someone in a minimal amount of time so that they have a clear idea of what the heck it is that you provide.  It should last the length of your average elevator ride; hence the name.

You may not necessarily need to recite your ES, or at least all of it, during a call.  After you introduce yourself, if the person on the other end is interested in what you’re offering and wants to talk about it, its at that point you’d dive a bit deeper into your services and give them an ES.  Your ES is like your virtual business card – you don’t shake a stranger’s hand and then immediately stuff a card into it, you talk with them, try to understand their position, and then ascertain if it’s appropriate to hand over your info.

So we’ve got a nice part of the “meat” of your call in the form of your ES, but what about the rest?

Call Content

Call during business hours, and if you think you’re calling a cell or home number, call after 10AM and before 5PM so you aren’t too intruding.  Afternoon is usually the best, although you probably want to call a little earlier on a Friday.

Put yourself in a comfortable state of mind and be yourself.  Odds are you will get a machine, which is fine because its usually less pressuring.

Dial up and after the line picks up, offer a friendly “Hi” or “Good morning/afternoon”.

State who you are and what you are.  Are you local?  If so, make sure you note that when you describe yourself.  Any time you can make it clear you’re in the neighborhood, you’re capitalizing on an advantage from a customer service standpoint.

Quickly move into why you’re calling.  Inquire as to whether you can be of service to their business.  Don’t ask if you can help them with their graphic needs though, you run the risk of insulting them if they already have a logo and other design work already being done.  What I would recommend is asking if you can “offer assistance” with their needs. This will make you appealing to those who need design work from the ground up, but also to those who already have graphic design work done for them, but could use additional work or help with overflow.

At this point its been about 10 seconds into the call.  Time for you to step back, and the person on the other end is pretty much going to tell you they either (A) aren’t interested, or (B) that they could use you.

(A) Thank them for their time, and wish them a good rest of the day.

(B) Here is your chance to deploy the ES.  Tell them “great!” and take the opportunity to explain in more detail what you do, so that they know exactly what you’re offering them.  Remember, you don’t need to cover everything, just the main points.  They’ll find out more about the details later in the follow up discussed below.

After your elevator speech, they should have a clear idea of the overall service you provide.  Its hard to say where a call will go at this point, but once a future customer has conveyed that they are interested, usually you will get 1 of 2 responses:

• They need artwork now.  You may get information as to what kind of artwork they’re looking for, and you can let them know how that fits into the service you offer.

• They just need your information to hang onto for a later time, when they’re ready to proceed with their project.

Either way, you need to be ready with your Follow Up Information which we’ll cover below.  A follow up will be the point where the person you’re speaking to wants more information about you, typically in the form of pricing and portfolio samples.  If they don’t ask, you should offer anyway as a way of making yourself open and approachable.  It’s a good sign!  You have their attention, interest, and now you have a chance to further market yourself.

The follow up will give you a chance to show off your work and pricing by providing an information tear sheet, as well as another form of contact through email.  The email will reinforce the call, give you a chance to convey your thanks for the chance to talk with them, and make it easy for that person to get back in touch with you later.

At this point the call is pretty much over.  The person you called knows who you are, what you do, has let you know what they need, and you’re going to provide further information to them so they can assess your service at their leisure (unless they decided on the phone that your hired right then and there!).  Again, thank them for their time (make sure you got their email!) and that’s it!

Practice and Templates

So, you’ve looked at all the information above on what to include, but there’s just too much going on.  How you do actually get started with saying all this when you call?  Here is a good “template” I use, which you can get going with.  Don’t worry, after the first few weeks you’ll have your own version that fits your style and delivery.

“Hi, I’m calling for [business name]?  My name is __________ , and I’m a graphic designer from __________.  I’m calling to see if I could offer assistance with any graphic design or artwork needs that your business may have. “

Notice we ask for the business first.  We are calling numbers that could be someone’s home, so the person you’re calling may not be expecting a call for their business.  Remember to state where you’re from and if you’re local.

That’s it.  That’s really all you need to open with.  Minimal fluff, but concise, and it’s not so much at once that someone will want to say “Whoa…back up.  What?” It’s hard to practice where the call could go from here.  Just know your ES, be confident in your product, and be yourself.

In the case of getting an answering machine, just go through your main template above, but add the following after the above:

“If this is a service that would interest you, please call me back at __________”

Finish by restating your name, and wish them a good day/evening.

Call yourself a couple times just to get used to hearing a ring tone on the other line and then pick up.  Control how fast you speak.  It should be a smooth, controlled pace (if you’re nervous, you’re going to talk quickly or stammer).  Have the lines in front of you to recite.  It will be burned into your memory after about an hour’s repetition.

Follow Up Info

As we noted earlier, toward the end of the call you’re going to want to make sure you can either follow up with their request for more information, or offer it to them if they didn’t ask so that they have something to reference.  Ask for an email and send a short, polite message thanking them for the chance to talk, and noting the following information so they can review your work and contact you:

• Phone (cell and home if you have ‘em)

• Website or Business Facebook page (you should have this already, but if not, an online album from a provider like Flickr can work).  If possible, be sure to have an “about” page that gives people some background on who you are!  Your future customer isn’t just investing in your work, but also the experience of working with you.  They should know how cool you are.

• Price sheet.  Here’s a chance to design something interesting that people will see as not only an information sheet about your service but a little piece of your artistic ability as well.  Outline your payment style and pricing on popular items on an easily printable sheet such as 8.5×11, letter size.  Don’t go too crazy with the ink colors and graphic techniques, because you don’t want to drain their toner if they print it out and it should be small enough in file size to email without crashing their server.  Take time to think out your pricing strategy if you haven’t already.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

I hope this information was helpful to you.  I’m certainly no expert, and I’m not what you’d call a great public speaker.  The fact is, this has worked for me, so I’m confident it will work for you too.  Give it a shot and make yourself known.

If you have any other great tips to share that I’ve missed, please let me know and I’ll add them with your permission.

- Pen and Pixel are One

“I’ll do anything but cold calls.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve read or heard that phrase from graphics people (and other entrepreneurs).  Cold calling is the line drawn in the sand.  You just don’t go there.  Cold calling is like the greasy used car salesman of marketing techniques.  I’ve come to the conclusion that for many, the emotional equivalent of the thought of cold calling someone can be similar to that of sky diving with no equipment other than a 6 inch layer of bubble wrap.  Most would rather sky dive given the choice between the two.

There are lots of ways to reach future customers, and I will make no argument that some ways of selling yourself are just better cut out for certain kinds of people.  You can use the internet and it’s many facets, or use print media.  You can direct mail eye catching info-nuggets via postal service.  You can even use your car as a dynamic advertisement, or say something cool on the radio.  Lots and lots of choices!  However, I want to bring to light why traditional phone calls to a local prospective lead are hard to beat in a number of important ways, and why anyone with some self confidence and patience can make it work on a small budget.  It’s worth your time to give it a try.  I would know, because it’s one of my favorite and most successful techniques for picking up new customers and making people aware of what I do.

This is why Cold Calling sucks and I won’t do it:

The Stigma. I think the first thing that puts people into fits of cold sweat when they think about pitching themselves to complete strangers is the immediate comparison of themselves to telemarketers.  I don’t know a single person that enjoys fielding calls from telemarketers.  Then there’s the association with pushy, needy, or sneaky tactics to keep you on the phone so you’ll do something you don’t want to do.

Invasion. In these days of email, texting, and social connectivity through Twit/Face/Space, everyone communicates at a distance, acknowledged only when convenient through the push of a key.  Actual voice communication now carries even more of a feeling of plowing into not only someone’s personal space, but their time as well.

Nerves. You don’t get to delete your first botched line and start over when you call a prospective client.  When you’re on the phone, emotions, apprehension, and preparation show through one’s voice clearly and such exposure can be frightening to someone who isn’t prepared to quickly convey their ideas clearly and with confidence.

Rejection. How much can one stand to be turned down and not call an endeavor a waste?  Being told “no” or worse is not going to brighten anyone’s day, and it’s not going to brighten anyone’s week either after days and days of the same.  It’s one thing for someone to quietly throw away your postcard or delete your e-newsletter, but someone telling you to go away can really affect your drive.

This is why Cold Calling rules and you should love it:

Relatively Cheap and Easy. Do you own a phone?  Congratulations, you are equipped to call people!  You don’t need to hassle yourself with printing fancy things or trying to customize the infrastructure of a web utility.  Unless you’ve already killed all the minutes on your phone (if you’re using a cell), you’re paying for it anyway.  Might as well get your money’s worth.  You’re going to have to buy your clients’ contact information from somewhere, which is discussed below*.  You may also have to access it online to buy it, so an internet connection is pretty much an indirect necessity, but if you’re reading this you’ve already got that taken care of as well.

Captive Audience. Contemplate for a minute how hard businesses work to make you pay attention to their advertising.  When you call someone, you have either all, or a substantial portion of, their attention even if only for a few seconds.  Even if you have to leave a voicemail, odds are high that person will listen to enough of your message for you to get the key information through to them.  Make this time count!

Authentic. To simply talk with someone is one of the best ways to express your true personality and in doing so, make your point stick.  If you really mean what you say about your product, and say it sincerely, it will be clear you’ve got your soul invested in what you do.  People do pick up on that, and it can be a powerful way of making a lasting impression.

Opportunity. If you cold call someone, you’re showing to at least some degree that you want that work, because you’re taking the time to try to contact someone directly.  Showing that kind of ambition is an advantage and speaks to your character.  The worst that can happen is that you’re told not to call back.  Think about the best that can happen.

Fast. Provided you have a list of people to call already organized, you can cover a lot of ground in just an hour.  It’s essential to keep your speech succinct, but you should be able to make about 30 calls in an hour if you want.  Spread that over 5 business days and odds are, you’ll have a couple good leads that may turn into jobs every week.

Step Three: I’m gonna try this.  Now what?

Let’s start getting prepped.  Aside from charging your phone and knowing what you need to say, the first thing you’re going to need is a list of people to call.  Who, and what type of customer are you after?  My recommendation is to call new businesses that are local to you, or within your state.  Starting out locally gives you the best chance to develop a client base that refers other businesses and friends to you by word of mouth.  It also gives you the opportunity to hopefully meet your clients in person, which is a great way to work when possible.

It’s in your best interest to find someone who will not only need to establish their new business identity through a logo, but also require business cards, tear sheets, webdesign, etc in order to simply begin doing business.  Most businesses establish a relationship with an artist early on for their needs, and typically don’t change graphic services unless they’re unhappy with their service in some way – and you won’t have any idea when that time arrives in any sort of reliable manner.  Your chance to make a calculated inroad on a business relationship that lasts is right at the beginning.

*So, what’s a good way to find out who’s opening shop?  I recommend using www.bizjournals.com. Choose your locale, then go to Purchase –> Sales Leads.

I recommend a 13 week subscription to start, which will cost right around $360 last I checked.  That will give you plenty of time to hone your skills and at the very least, make your money back.  Bizjournals will send you an Excel spreadsheet every Friday of the month which contains a bevy of information pertaining to newly registered businesses in your state.  You’re going to have to sort this information out based on a few criteria.  Since you receive this info on a Friday, take a lazy Sunday to do this and be ready for the start of the week.  I like to keep the following information in the spreadsheet:

• Business Name
• Owner’s First/Last name
• Street Address
• City
• Service type
• Phone number

That’s pretty much all the info we need to do a little research and properly address someone on the phone.  At this point the information will look more focused but still a bit jumbled.  It’s up to your preference how you’d like to sort out this information, but when I receive a spreadsheet, I like to sort the cities alphabetically.  This will be useful because we will want to check the business in a search engine to see if they have a website (you want to educate yourself on what the business does whenever possible) and we may have to enter the city to hone the search.  This will simply help you organize how you search, and save you from having to type in a new city with the business name every time you search.

Unfortunately some businesses listed will not have a phone number.  This is where we’ll have to do some quick Googling.  If the business has established a website, you may be able to find contact info.  They may only have a Facebook page if they’re very fledgling which could offer a contact number.  See what you can pull up, but you may either have to contact them a different way (such as email) or just consider it a no-go.

Delete businesses you are absolutely not interested in.  You don’t need to call everyone.  If you aren’t feeling engaged and motivated to call someone, it’s going to show through in how you speak.  Make it worth your time and theirs.

The last step is the most fun: highlight the businesses that sound really cool – the ones you’d really love to do work for!  What businesses share a common subject or profession you naturally enjoy?  Don’t let an opportunity pass where you could inject your huge enthusiasm for that business into the artwork they need.  Naturally, there will only be a few of these businesses opening at any given time, but make sure you note them.

So, we’ve got our list, checked it twice, and we want to make some calls.  Next week I’ll go over how I like to structure my calls, how to practice so you feel natural, and having prepared information to email when a future customer want to know more.  When, not if!

- Pen and Pixel are One

Jill at Melnic Consulting Group received her table throw and put it straight to use at a trade show the next day! Melnic has great people, so it’s always enjoyable to put together graphics for them.

I wanted to post this up earlier, but Falafel King recently opened another restaurant in Athens, GA and I was really happy to be involved with their logo and sign design. It’s open and doing business so if you’re in town and can’t get enough falafel in your life, I suggest you stop by.

Big thanks for taking these shots and allowing me to show them to everyone, and an even bigger thanks for choosing me to begin with!

- Pen and Pixel are One