So, you’ve started attending networking meetings and you’re meeting people and collecting business cards. What do you do with those cards? Are you scanning them on your system? Do you send the person a note card or email to say that it was great to meet them? If not, why not?

Habit #7- Not following

This is a habit that all networkers can fall into at any given time. Sometimes we get so excited by the prospect of a new client that we forget to do the necessary work. We think they’ll call us because they seemed very interested. Instead, we need to call and email them. They are too busy and can forget just like us. Here are some suggestions to help with the tracking process.

1. When you receive a business card from a new person, determine if they are a good prospect. If so, lean over a corner of the card as a reminder to follow up with them.

2. When you get back to your office, give your assistant (if you have one) your cards and ask him or her to send a “Nice to meet you” card or email to each person.

3. Call them in a few days to set up a coffee meeting or a phone meeting to see if it makes sense for the two of you to work together.

4. If they were not a good prospect for you, search your database and see if there are any contacts that might be a good fit for them, then call and introduce them.

The bottom line is that networking is very effective. You can go to a lot of meetings and meet a lot of people, but if you don’t follow up with them, then the networking process becomes pointless.