This morning I paid a visit to my friendly, neighborhood printing store (PB Printing), where Mario the manager was on hand to listen to my latest tales of printing mishaps.

“I have a business card crisis,” I announced. “I am trying to print my new cards with the new logo, and two printers have produced disappointing results. See, this one is too flimsy, and this one was cut too small. And I have 1000 of each! Don’t you think I need to redo them?”

Mario paused, thinking for a moment. “Yes, this one’s a little thin. And it’s so strange that these cards are so small, but honestly — and I don’t mean to talk myself out of a sale — honestly, you’re just being too picky.”

Too picky? Didn’t he see that the cards were not PERFECT? Couldn’t he tell that I was ready to pay yet more money to make everything EXACTLY the way I had imagined it?

Mario continued, “I know these little things mean a lot to you, but frankly, no one else will care. It’s a business card. It holds your information. These are both perfectly acceptable, and I’m sure you can think of better ways to invest in your business that will pay off more than this.”

Ahhh. Mario is indeed wise. Although my new business cards are not PERFECT, not one recipient would look at them and say, “Wow. Bad cards. I’m never calling her.” If I hadn’t talked to Mario, I would have gone to yet a third discount online printer to try to improve on the cards, and I would have ended up with another 1000.

Things I learned this morning:

1. Experts are helpful.
   Talking to Mario and benefiting from his years of experience, I saved myself time and hassle, not to mention more money. Thank you, Mario! (Plus, by talking me out of these cards, he probably earned himself another sale the next time I need to print something.)
2. It’s easy to lose perspective.
   As Mario pointed out — these are just business cards. You get them. You give them. Some stand out. Some don’t. It’s just no big deal.
3. Perfection is tough to find.
   The whole logo and site redesign started because I ran out of the old business cards. I needed to update my address and add other services to my site. Thus began a complete redesign that took several weeks, about a thousand bucks and a whole lot of worrying. And I had envisioned the perfect business card to be the culmination of my hard work.
4. Two thousand business cards is a lot.
   My original business card order in 2007 was for a thousand cards. It took me two years to give them all out. Now I have 2000 new cards. Anyone want one? Or a dozen?

Now that I’ve moved into a new office building, I want to rework my business cards and dump the logo design I created at 3 a.m. two days after I quit my day job.

Please help me find the look that best represents what Avenue Z has become…

Vote on the four logo finalists here!

With three bags of groceries in hand, I exited my grocery store a couple of days ago. A handsome young man stepped into my path. “Hi, do you want to save the environment today?”

Grrr! This was a guy from Greenpeace, I think, and they wanted me to sign something, donate something, volunteer for something… I don’t know exactly, because there’s nothing that turns me off more than someone infringing on my time, getting in my face to sell me something. I get phone calls all the time that start, “Hello, Ms. Z [incomprehensible proununciation]. This is [name] from [one of a billion charities with my phone number]. How are you doing this evening?” They proceed to start talking so quickly about whatever critical need they have (“This issue is about to go up for a vote, and we desperately need your assistance to get the word out!” or “Now more than ever these children need your help!”), and I politely try to wait for them to take a breath to tell them to STOP CALLING!

I try not to get angry at the caller or the pollster — after all, this person is just doing his job. But I can get sincerely furious when I rush to get the phone only to find a salesperson or fundraiser trying to get my attention and my money.

As a business person, I face the challenge of how to sell my services without bugging people. I would literally wilt if I ever made a phone call and someone said, “Thank you, but no. Please take me off your list and stop calling.” I would hate to be considered intrusive and obnoxious. I tried cold calling a couple of times since I started my business, but for the most part I rely on letters, postcards and email to reach out. I think they’re less invasive and more easily ignored or stopped if people don’t want to hear from me.

The problem is that people cold call and finagle a face-to-face meeting because they work. It’s simply my personal bias that makes me so resistent to these approaches. For example, I was very interested in an offer I received in the mail from an email blast service. I had them on my desk to call, but then they cold called me, and the guy was aggressive and irritating. “Please take me off your list,” I said as I tossed their flyer.

But that’s just me. Like I said, calling works. Walking up to people in an exhibit hall works. But you have to choose a marketing method that makes you comfortable as well as your prospective clients. If you hate receiving that kind of approach, chances are you’ll suck at making that kind of approach.

Ever feel like a furious ant, hopping up and down alone in a corner while no one pays attention?

I helped build a website for a client, and we launched about 4 months ago. From the beginning, the stats weren’t working correctly. Here’s a summary of my correspondence with the project manager.

4 months ago — Me: Hey, stats aren’t working. Project Manager: Be patient. It takes a while.

3.5 months ago — Me: Hey, stats aren’t working yet. PM: I’ll look into it.

3 months ago — Me: Hey, any updates? I’ve been doing research, and the following things are wrong on your end… PM: Silence.

2.5 months ago — Me: Hey, I have to have an update. PM: The techs say everything is installed correctly. The problem is on your end. Me: No. It. Is. Not! Here’s why! (lengthy email with info). PM: I’ll look into it.

[Repeat last conversation 2-3 more times with lengthy silences in between.]

1.5 months ago — PM: For the third time our techs have verified that everything is installed correctly. Please check the settings on your end. Me: For the umpteenth time, here’s proof that it’s not installed correctly! PM: I’ll look into it.

2 weeks ago — Me: HEY! It’s been a month! This is completely unacceptable. PM: Silence. Me: [Call to PM's Boss] This is unacceptable. PM’s Boss: I will get you an answer right away.

Last week — Me [to PM and PM's Boss]: HEY HEY HEY! It’s been another 2 weeks! Did you not hear me say this is unacceptable? PM and Boss: Silence.

Yesterday — [My client sends one email and makes 2 calls]. PM: Beth, we have repaired all your statistics. Please let us know if you need anything else.

***

My client sends one email. He calls and rips the PM a new one and asks her to ask the boss to call him. By 9 p.m., all my issues are repaired, despite the fact that for 4 months the company (through the PM) had been telling me that the problems were on my end. I spent hours doing research and writing emails to tell them exactly what was going wrong, and I swear they didn’t read any of them until the client got involved.

I’m still trying to figure out why they didn’t take me seriously. I remained professional but insistent the entire time. I followed up repeatedly. I even did all the homework for them to show them where the errors were. Nothing. It wasn’t until my client (who can be a real tough SOB) gets on the phone that things happen.

Is this because I’m a woman? Is it because I’m the marketing manager and not the actual client? Should I have launched into full bitch mode weeks ago? I kept my client fully aware of the challenges, but I asked him not to get involved until I tried my best to resolve it without reaming someone (my client is famous for reaming vendors). I knew that once he got involved, there would be blood, and there was.

UGH! Why didn’t they just take me seriously? Now, although I’m sure that they’re going to be much more responsive from here on out, we have a giant gap in our relationship. I like people to like me (I find I can get more accomplished that way), and my PM is certainly not ever going to like me again. I guess it’s not imperative that she does, but I certainly don’t trust her and I certainly don’t want to reach out to her for assistance on the site. The whole situation has, in my opinion, compromised the service I can give to my client, and it could have been resolved so easily (the problems were actually addressed and repaired in 3 hours).

Grr.