I Don't Want Your Business Card

Earlier this evening, I was at a networking event talking with a promising new entrepreneur. Good conversation, clear potential in his business. As we wrapped up, he reached into his pocket and extended his business card.

I didn't take it.

His surprise was obvious - wasn't this the professional thing to do? Instead, I pulled out my phone: "Let's connect on LinkedIn right now."

Here's why I've stopped accepting business cards entirely.

The Friction Problem

That business card is going into my pocket. I'll meet 15 more people tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll find a stack of cards with no faces attached, no context about our conversation, and no clear reason why I should reach out. If I do email you, it'll feel like a cold contact - because functionally, that's what it is. You won't remember our conversation either.

Sure, your card has your phone number. I could text you (and, honestly, texting is an under utilized means of business messaging). But your email will probably end up in my spam folder, and if you change jobs, that contact information becomes instantly obsolete.

LinkedIn Actually Works

LinkedIn survives job changes. It survives email changes. It survives phone number changes. More importantly, it creates an ongoing connection rather than a one-time exchange. Once we're connected, I see your posts. You see mine. I can reach out months later and you'll remember who I am because my face is right there with my message. LinkedIn messages don't hit spam folders, and they signal pre-approved contact - we both acknowledged this connection.

For sales and marketing, it's even better. I now have a channel to you that doesn't require newsletter signups or CRM gymnastics. Your network sees when we engage. My updates reach you naturally.

The CRM Advantage

If I do want to import your details into a CRM, LinkedIn makes it trivial. With a business card? I need a scanner, manual data entry, or some OCR process that probably mangles half the information.

The Real Choice

When someone offers me their business card now, I see it as a binary decision: either we connect on LinkedIn right now, or we're not connecting at all. Because that card is going to get lost, and I'm going to forget who you were, and we've just wasted both our time pretending to network.

So no, I don't want your business card. Pull out your phone, open LinkedIn, and let's actually connect.