Some people think that networking is handing out business cards. Congrats, they have one step of the business branding idea down.
Real networking is about building your brand with individuals you meet. Like any marketing or branding experience, it takes multiple exposures to your message to create a “memorable” experience. The more the merrier.
As a Business Development kinda guy, working on my branding is the life blood of what I do. Every contact I make is a chance to stick my name out there with a different twist, sometimes I say it, sometimes I write it, and sometimes I even dance it (I’d post a video, but the net police would take it down).
Realizing each step is a chance to put my name out there, I’m very happy to wear a dress shirt with the Blogging Systems logo on it. I often get people asking half way through an introductory conversation why I’m wearing a logo shirt as the Director of Business Development, as if my title required me to wear some perfectly pressed Pradda shirt.
My response is simple and is usually in the form of a question.
”What company do I work for?”
Without pause, 95% of the people asking me the question look down at my shirt and say “Blogging Systems”
If I map out a generic introduction;
- I usually shake a persons hand and offer a verbal introduction. “Hi, my name is Barry Hurd. I’m the Director of Business Development with Blogging Systems.”
- I also inevitably offer them a business card, with my name, title, and company on it.
- To follow it up, I usually wear a nice dress shirt with our name and logo on it.
- My laptop also has a screensaver and emblem on the monitor.
By the time I’m done with a basic 30 second introduction, a typical conversationalist will have been exposed to our name and logo five to ten times from at least four different styles of presentation.
A lot of people ask “Does that really do me any good?”
The answer is YES. The most repetitive word in my entire introduction is “Blogging”. As a marketing fact, I have been introduced as the “Blogging Guy” by too many names to list. The terms that your audience here the most often and most repetitively will sink in.
On the same manner of relationship building, I almost always volunteer to wear a name tag with my name and company on it. It doesn’t keep me from verbally introducing myself, it merely adds another exposure to my name.
The real question everyone should be asking themselves is -
Why don’t I wear a nice shirt with my logo on it?
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Barry, very well said. 
there's no place like 127.0.0.1 (for those of you that are scratching you head- to a geek- that means "home"
I take terrible pictures. Of course that could be memorable. I'm hoping that my BRAND will be stamped on the hide of your mind and heart. (hmmm, maybe that is a new tag line.)
Great Post Barry, I could not agree with you more.