I'm Wayne (The Wizard) Wallace — a HighLevel CRM expert and business success coach based in Las Vegas. For twenty years I ran a photo and video business without a CRM, and sticky notes and scattered inboxes cost me more than I ever realized. Here I share what I've learned about CRMs, digital business cards, automation, and networking so you can skip the hard lessons I had to learn the long way.
Most people show up to networking events unprepared. No link, no website, just a pocket full of paper cards that go out of date the moment they are printed. Here is why a digital business card changed the way I network, follow up, and book calls.
I do a lot of online networking, and having a digital link to a business card is incredibly handy. If you are on Zoom or any other platform that has a chat window, you can just write a short sentence. "Here is my info" or "Here is my digital business card". and drop your link.
It is like a mini website. You can put as much information as you want on it, and people have all your information in one place. Right at the very top of the digital card, there is a "Book a Chat with Me" button, and I get calendar bookings all the time from this.
But the real power is not just in sharing your info. It is in what happens next.
I love paper cards because you have something physical, and I actually have a funny story about that. I gave out business cards from my photography business to lots of people over the years. One time I got a call from an insurance agent. He said he had just moved into a new office, and he found my paper card sitting there.
That card had been sitting in a drawer or a box for who knows how long, and it still got me a call. There is real staying power in a physical card.
I am not against paper cards. If you have one, it is a great idea to put a QR code on it that links to your digital business card. That is the best of both worlds. the physical reminder and the always-current digital link.
Here is the thing most people do not think about: most printed business cards are out of date as soon as you print them.
You cannot add any information to a paper card once it is printed. If your website changes, if your phone number changes, if you have a new video message you want people to see. you are stuck with what is on that card until you pay for another print run.
With a digital business card, you can constantly be editing it and making it suit your current needs. It is a dynamic card. If your website changes, you update it. If your phone number changes, you update it. If you want to add a new video message, you just add it. The link stays the same, but what people see when they click it is always current.
I am a photographer, and a lot of times I will be at an event doing photography, and someone will ask me for a card. I just break out my phone, tap the screen, and there is my QR code.
It is quick and easy. I do not have to go digging through my bag or wonder if I even remembered to bring cards with me. It is really handy because you always have your phone with you.
I create a QR code and put it on the home screen of my phone. That way, if I am out networking in person and someone asks me for a card, I can just turn on my phone and they can scan the QR code right off the home screen.
All my information is on the card. There is also a save vCard option, so if someone is on their phone, they can save the vCard to their contacts, which saves all my information directly into their contacts. They can also bookmark it.
But usually, if I am at a networking event, I tell people, "Hey, click on that link I just dropped in the chat, and then you will see a 'Book a chat with me.' Go ahead and book a chat right now before you forget."
You have to make people take action right away, or else they will forget about you. They are going to meet twenty other people that day, and they are not going to remember you.
You have to have a call to action, and you have to give them a reason to connect with you right then and there.
My digital business card is actually a lead magnet. I give away free digital business cards that I created with RizeIQ. It is a lead magnet and a great networking tool. I highly recommend it.
I have also created a new blog feature where you can blog as part of your digital business card. Now you have SEO capabilities built right into your card, so it is actually better than a website, plain and simple.
A website just sits there. A digital business card with a blog actively brings people in through search, gives them a way to book you, captures their information, and follows up automatically.
I use a CRM system called RizeIQ. The calendar is part of RizeIQ, so when someone books a calendar appointment, it goes straight into my CRM and into a pipeline.
The person who booked the appointment gets notified by text and email, and then I get notifications too. I rarely have a missed calendar appointment because the system handles the reminders for both of us.
You can get a free 14-day trial of RizeIQ at rizeiq.com/trial.
When you create your free digital business card, there is an option to upgrade to the advanced business card, which has the RizeIQ CRM attached to it. If you do that, then you can have powerful workflow automations kick in when someone books a call with you or even clicks on a link.
We have a full analytics backend for the card, so we know when someone is clicking on your links and, if you have a video, how much of the video they watched. It is a really smart card, and it can track everyone that visits your card.
That is the difference between a digital business card and a smart digital business card. One just shares your info. The other one tells you who is looking, what they are clicking, and whether they actually watched your video. and then follows up with them automatically.
Here is the honest truth I have learned from years of networking: most people that go networking are not prepared.
They do not have a link. They do not have a website. They are just showing up at networking thinking they are going to get business.
When you show up prepared with a digital business card, then you are going to book calls, and you are going to make sales. I do it all the time.
The people who win at networking are not the ones with the fanciest cards or the biggest personalities. They are the ones who make it effortless for the other person to take the next step. to save their info, to book a call, to remember them after the event is over.
A digital business card does all of that for you, every single time. Want to see how the CRM side of this works? Check out my post on why you should use a CRM for your business, or explore the all-in-one pricing options to get started.
Wayne Wallace is a HighLevel CRM expert, business success coach, and the founder of GoRizeIQ. He helps agencies, coaches, and local businesses grow with automated lead generation, marketing, and follow-up — all powered by a digital business card that books calls, captures leads, and follows up on autopilot.