Come To The Tech Side
Ungos started in the mortgage industry, where he worked for about 10 years. While he made good money, he often found himself working long hours while only processing 10 to 12 loans a month. This was because he had to do most of the legwork without a streamlined process in place.
Eventually, he took a 50%-60% pay cut on his commission and switched to a company that offered an automated platform to help facilitate his work. He went from averaging 10 to 15 loans a month to 60 to 100 loans a month in 2005, and eventually closed more than $500 million in loans in 2006.
This opened his eyes to what an asset technology can be when used properly. “All it took was the platform, understanding how to use it, and being able to educate my clients on it,” he explains.
When the recession hit in 2008, the company Ungos worked for shut down. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because tech was (and had been since he first saw Star Wars as a kid) his true passion. He wanted to fulfill his vision of creating an interactive, virtual community where one could facilitate business transactions in a secure environment on the cloud a reality.
Every Minute Counts
This happened in 2010 with the creation of The Bar Pages and the digital business card. A frequent networker, Ungos came up with the idea after brainstorming ways to make his brand more memorable. In most networking events, you have limited time; there’s typically no way you’ll be able to reach everybody in the room.
Ungos knows every minute counts. “Why should you have to do your sales pitch every single time you meet somebody? It just becomes too repetitive and by the end of the night, you probably meet one or two people you really get to know, although you met 10 because you didn’t really get time to explain your whole story,” he says.
Instead of handing his card to the person he’s speaking with, he’ll ask for their mobile number and tells them he’ll send them his digital business card through a text. According to him, they say yes 90% of the time. This way, all they have to do is click one link. “Once they do, everything they need to know about me is there.”
How It Works
Ungos doesn’t expect all the people he does business with to carry his paper card around. “It’s all about having a dynamic business model with technology. When a person has your business card, they should be able to do everything. It shouldn’t just be, ‘hey, here’s my email and website.’ It’s too much work,” he explains.
If you click the link to his digital business card (which you can access by texting the word “digital” to 90407), you’ll be greeted with a short video that explains who he is and what he does. He’s also included buttons like “Let’s Meet,” “Refer Me,” “Contact Me,” “Pay Me,” and even directions to his office. These can all be personalized, and you can have as many different buttons as you’d like.
“This is word of mouth advertising gone digital,” he says. “All of the leads and referrals you get are now going to be more like endorsements. The people who actually send you that referral have already endorsed you in such a way that lets their friends and families know you can be trusted.”
This is particularly important in today’s TNC dominated culture. As a father of four with two teenage girls, Ungos forbids them to ride with Uber or Lyft. “As a passenger, wouldn’t you want to know if the luxury ground transportation company you were going to use was high-end and trusted? Wouldn’t you want to know the company picking you up was secure?”
Work To Adapt And Prosper
The Bar Pages is working hard to develop a standard; they don’t want digital business cards to be too fancy or complicated. The basic layout of the page is the same, because they want everyone to see it’s a simple product to use. It’s linked to all of your social media pages, and you can customize the entire experience a million different ways.
Although the company has only recently started marketing to businesses in the ground transportation industry, Kevin Illingworth of Classique Limousine in Orange, Calif. has already taken the plunge, while Miguel Gonzalez of All Roads Transportation, Inc. in Los Angeles is having one made. Ungos has just sent a proposal to Tony Chow of CYC Transport in Irvine as well.
But the million dollar question is: Does it work? Ungos says it all depends on how you use it. “For those who use it to its full potential, I’ve seen their businesses flourish. However, there are those who have one and don’t use it properly, yet expect the same results. You can’t really do that. It’s like if you own a Ferrari or Mercedes and you leave it in the garage and never drive it. The more you use it, the more ROI you’ll see.”
Just like with most new technology, there’s still a learning curve. Anyone can easily pass out a regular business card, but you run the risk of it getting stuck in a desk somewhere in a rolodex, rubber band, or excel spreadsheet — out of sight, out of mind.
“If you would take the time to change the way you normally do this and explain to a person what it is, the likelihood of them doing business with you is maximized,” Ungos says.
“The people who don’t use it properly still have an edge over other companies, but they’re not really reaping all the rewards because they aren’t taking the initiative. The digital business card’s job is to get the audience in front of you. If you aren’t seeing the kind of engagement you’d like, you have to learn and adapt to the reaction you are seeing. If you don’t take time to invest in your business, then you can’t really blame the tool,” he explains.
Information: Contact Jay Ungos via your mobile phone by texting “digital” to 90407, by scanning Jay’s TAG above with a QR code reader, or visit www.BPJay.info.
Keywords
business cards innovative marketing marketing/sales mobile applications mobile technology networking Social Media social media marketing WebXclusive
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