Ezra McCarthy
Hello and welcome back to the Lawn Care Blueprint Podcast. Today we got an episode for you, a little different but super practical. Today I want to talk to you about something that helps your business stand out, grow and get more customers. And what I’m talking about isn’t marketing, it’s not Google Ads, it’s not your website, it’s something physical and often overlooked, business cards.
Now don’t go to sleep yet because this is actually really practical and really helpful. I wanna tell you about something but before we get to start, I wanna let you know this is not an affiliate. I don’t make anything by telling you about this, but I do really like their product. I bought from them several times.
And what I’m talking about is a business called MyMetalBusinessCards.com. And what they do is right in the business name, it is Metal Business Cards. So today I wanna share with you why these cards matter, how they can make an impression and whether or not you should get them. So, Wena is here with me today and we’re going to have a discussion on this. So, we’ll just dive right in.
Wena
Hello Ezra. So for first reactions, what was your first reaction when you held a metal business card?
Ezra McCarthy
You know, oddly enough, I actually heard about metal business cards on a podcast and I did some research and one of my favorite authors is called Seth Godin. And one of the principles that he really talks about is standing out. And this is something I try to be obsessed about because I want people to remember us because as business owners, it’s very difficult. Especially in our business, there’s, you know, the proverbial chuck in the truck.
There’s people on every street corner, seems like who are doing what we do, but maybe not as well. So we need to remember how do we stand out as a business. And we talk a lot about here growing and marketing, but this is a great physical way to do that. So I actually ordered them. When you go on their website, they got some insane, insane examples. They’re different colors. They can literally cut out. Like obviously you think of a business card shape and they can cut out. There’s holes in it. You can do like a can opener, or like a bottle opener, and then have your business name on it. You can do all kinds of crazy stuff.
And so when I got it, the first thing you’ll notice is when you grab one, they weigh differently. Now, a normal business card, they’re normally paper, people pass them out like candy, and they’re really kind of trash. But when you hand this to people, the way they respond, because as soon as you grab it, you feel the weight of it is different. And you probably, we probably all done it. We hand out business cards, they stick it in their back pocket and you know what happens as soon as they go inside, right in the trash can. But these are different. As soon as you hand it to your customer, they stop, they look down and let me tell you some real reactions I’ve got before. I handed it out, they looked down, they said, wow, you’re not gonna be cheap or another one I often get is, wow, where did you get this? And only back up to the cheap one. As a business, that’s what I want to convey. I want to convey the thought of premium, of quality, and what better way to do that on each of these touch points than to showcase we do quality work and you’re telling them, hey, we’re not the cheapest guy, but that’s okay.
Ezra McCarthy
And then what a way to stand out because if they’ve got something they’ve never seen before, now this is like a memento. This is something you keep. I’ve talked to people and they’ve got that card like a year later and they still remember it and they say, I remember that card. And maybe they, they even saved it in a spot because they’ve never had one like that before. And so business cards are so valuable. I’ve had it, I actually gave it to someone and they passed it on to someone else.
And then they call me and they say, hey, as soon as I saw this card, I knew I wanted to work with you. And so it’s such a different reaction than just the normal cheap Vista print. And I get it when you start, that’s kind of where you are. But if you’ve got any customers, I mean, this is one of, I would say really one of the first things that you should be buying because it really does make a difference.
Wena
Yeah, first impressions do last. So that’s a pretty good impression to make. What about now? We live in a digital world. Do you think business cards still matter?
Ezra McCarthy
Let’s start with this. Do I think junk, cheap, everyday, normal business cards matter? No. Because everyone else has them, they’re using the same template from Vistaprint, and they’re boring, they’re going to get thrown out, they’re not even worth buying. Now these, they do cost, but they are worth it. And the way I do it, I even tell people, because people ask when you hand them out, wow, these must cost a lot, how much do these cost?
And then I tell them, say, I don’t hand these out to just everybody. And you know what that does to the customer. They think, wow, I get one of these. It really changes the way people see you and your brand. You’re not just cheap everyday, but you’re something special. You’re something different, memorable. And it’s really worth it because what is the whole point of a business card to help them remember you. And then when that time comes, when they need you they look at it and these metal business cards, it’s kind of like an apple box. Now Wena, I know you use Apple, how many Apple boxes do you have in your closet?
Wena
I’ve collected six of them. For the past 10 years, I kept all the boxes.
Ezra McCarthy
And you know what’s so funny about that? I finally made myself throw some out, but I would be the same way because they’re just so beautiful. They fit so nicely together and it just almost feels like a memento that you don’t want to throw them out. I don’t know. And I don’t know how to. Every time I ask people that, I don’t know that I’ve met someone yet who says, I throw them out every time.
Wena
Yeah, you’re right.
Ezra McCarthy
Because they’re just almost impossible to throw out. You’re like, I feel like this is the crime to throw this out. And then you move and you’re like, man, I got all these boxes and you throw the phone out before you throw the box away. And what if our business cards were like that where people were like, I just can’t throw this out. And they’re gonna remember your business because literally I have never yet met another law and landscape business who has taken time to do this. And it’s like, why not? What a cheap way to stand out.
Wena
I wonder if there are metal business cards that’s going to be like magnetic ones that can be placed in a fridge. I just wonder though.
Ezra McCarthy
I think they, yeah, they have all kinds of different ones. They have bottle opener ones, they have keychain ones. I don’t know that I recommend that. But yeah, I’d recommend checking it out. When you go, there’s so many neat designs. They even have, which I don’t think it has the same feel, but they even have bamboo ones that are really thin. They’ve got plastic ones, which to me, what I like is the metal ones because they have the feel. Like if you’ve ever seen those credit cards that have metal in the inside.
As soon as you grab it, you realize, okay, wow, this isn’t just some cheap flimsy card. And that’s the same thing. When you hand it to people, I’ve had people turn it around and ask me like, is this a credit card? Like, what is this? And that’s the whole point. We want to catch their attention.
Wena
Because it’s unique, right? Is there a particular design that’s stuck with you?
Ezra McCarthy
I like the ones kind of with holes in it and the metal ones because like I said, they really have a lot of different designs, different types and I think simple designs but also with a little bit of flair and color work best on metal. And for my lawn care business, we would have you get your logo etched on there. You can have holes, you can have different things. And so all of those things together really help your card stand out to your customers.
Wena
So let’s get practical here. How many business cards, metal business cards do you usually hand out or do you pass them out like candy to everybody?
Ezra McCarthy
Yep. And normally I don’t. And this is what I recommend because when you go, there’s different packages. It’s been a little while since I bought some, but I’m actually almost in, almost out and going to need some more. You’re going to average about three to $5 per business card. Now, before you choke listening in, cause we’re used to these, I don’t know, 10 to 25 cent paper business cards. Think of it this way. If that business card, just if you paid a couple hundred bucks or 50 to a hundred.
If one of those business cards, or maybe let’s say you got three to four extra customers from that set of business cards, gladly I would pay for four to five premium clients for that cost. And so when we start looking at that, we say, okay, I’m to be strategic. Who are the people that I want to hand these to? I’m not going to be going and passing them out at Walmart, just to random people. But in those strategic times, when it is worth passing out a business card, then we’re going to pull those out and we’re going to see a reaction like we already kind of went through several of those that we’ve gotten.
But it is practical like, no, it’s not just something that we just pass out to everyone, but it is worth passing it out to the right people. Like for example, in our industry, realtor or commercial contract or these high clients, the clients, ideal clients that you’re trying to service, these are the people that we want to hand them out to.
Wena
Now let’s dig into the bigger picture, how these cards actually affect your networking. Has a metal card ever led to an opportunity you might not have had otherwise?
Ezra McCarthy
Yes, very clearly. I’ve had people say, hey, I went with you. saw this card. I knew right from when I saw it that I was going to go with you. And that’s what we want. We really want people as soon as they hear about us, they see our branding, they see our website, they see our business card. It’s all aligned into that premium experience because I’ll give you an example. McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A, they both sell fast food, but they’re completely different experiences.
One, you go in, they have quality team members, they serve you well, they have a positive attitude, the food’s somewhat better quality, Chick-fil-A obviously, and then you got McDonald’s that seems like, looks, yeah, I won’t go into all the details there, but you understand, and they can charge way different prices because they’re serving different people and they have a different feel to it. So in our businesses, how we present ourselves, how we serve people is gonna reflect how much we can cost. And each of these touch points, what I mean by that is our interactions with the customer from the quote to the business card, to the website, to the service being provided. Now notice the service being presided is already after we’ve had several touch points with the customers.
So we wanna talk about, and this is where just a few episodes back we had on, now I’m blanking on his name but he talked about the customer experience, never lose a customer again with Joey Coleman. And he talked about each of these touch points that we have at the customer and can we craft these so that our customer feels important, feels heard and it’s the experience. And if you ever listened to, I believe it’s Howard Schultz, he’s the founder of Starbucks and he really harps on time and time and time and time again, the customer experience. Because Starbucks, you’re gonna pay.
I mean, here it’s like five to six bucks for a cup of coffee, which is really nuts for coffee. But yet you see it and people are lined up out the door. Is it the coffee? Now the coffee’s not bad, but it’s really the experience they call your name, the feel, how it makes you feel when you buy it, the atmosphere in there. And we, we listening in may not agree with everything about Starbucks, but what we’re talking about is how it makes you feel the experience. And so as a lawn care business, I can guarantee you just about all the other lawn and landscaping businesses in your town are not thinking about touch points and are not thinking about customer experience.
I’ll give you an example. I just bought a vehicle and at the end they’re like, hey, can we give you a cup? And here there’s a lot of snow in the winter. So like, hey, do you have a windshield wiper, which is basically on one end is scraper and then there’s a brush, brush off the snow. Down south, you have to look this up, but definitely needed up here. And so like, Hey, can we give it to you? Now you may say that’s a small thing. It doesn’t matter, but does it? It does. Because these little small touch points build on how a customer feels. Not necessarily the cost.
Think of the difference between something like a Cadillac or I don’t know, a cheap Ford Pinto or whatever they call those things as a really old car, but just a cheap car. One, it’s all about price, just in and out. Now, a Cadillac can get you the same, a Pinto or some cheap Ford car. Sorry, you Ford lovers out there, but I don’t know, think of a cheap car and it’ll get you the same place as everything else. But yet people are willing to pay two, three, four X the price because of how it makes them feel, the experience, perceived quality, whether it is or not better. We’d have a discussion about Cadillac, but we’ll not go there because of how it makes them feel. Our customers, is the experience that we’re giving them? And these business cards play into that in a meaningful way.
Wena
So you’re saying that people will remember you more easily, right?
Ezra McCarthy
People will remember the experiences. And here’s a good example. was just listening to a podcast with, now he wrote the book, unreasonable hospitality. And I won’t try to pronounce his name, but he talked about, he was a restaurateur. He owned a restaurant or he literally his restaurant in New York was named, I number one in the world. Well, he was working on the floor one day and he was overhearing someone from out of the country and they were saying, we’ve so enjoyed our stay here in New York. We’ve really enjoyed it. But one thing that we haven’t got to try is a New York hotdog.
Now, a street vendor hot dog here, literally, I think he was saying his numbers like the average person when they came in, they would spend four to $500 per person for one meal. So this is a super fancy restaurant. Well, he’s on the floor and he hears that he’s and so what does he do? He runs out to a street vendor, gets a hotdog, comes back in, the chef makes it look all fancy, but it’s still just a New York street hotdog. Then he goes there and he says, Hey, I overheard you say that you enjoyed your stay, but you haven’t had a chance to get a New York hot dog. So we got one for you here. And they were just so blown away. Literally the hot dog was probably a couple of dollars, but yet it was the experience that they gave that somebody was given unreasonable hospitality.
That’s the title of his book, but they were unreasonable. And as a business owner, how can we have unreasonable service? And obviously we need to stay profitable. I’m not talking about being unwise, but the experience, that’s really what we’re giving someone. What is the experience that we’re giving to the customer? And that’s what this is really all about.
Wena
Before we wrap things up, let’s have a little fun with a big picture question. If someone’s on the fence about getting metal cards, what would you tell them?
Ezra McCarthy
I tell you is one, go to mymentalbusinesscards.com. This is not an affiliate. It’s just a great product and check them out. You are going to be blown away and ponder it and say, how many customers would this have to get me for it to be worth it? And I think once you start to do the math, even though it is way more expensive than paper cards, literally no one else I’ve seen in our industry is doing it. And here’s an opportunity for you to stand out.
So that’s a wrap for today’s episode of the Lawn Care Blueprint. Big thanks to Wena for joining me in this conversation about metal business cards, because even the smallest details like the card you hand someone can make a big impact. So if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share it with someone who’s also looking to grow their lawn and landscape business, and we’ll catch you on the next episode.