Following through is just as important as following up.Following through (the act of continuing a plan, project, scheme,or the like to its completion) is an important part of following up(to maintain contact with someone so as to monitor the effects ofearlier activities). Here are some best practices to help youfollow through on your follow-up.

1. Start in the presentation phase.

There are four phases to networking: preparation, presentation,follow-up and maintenance. Preparation is doing your homeworkbefore an event or meeting. Presentation is introducing yourself(or getting yourself introduced) to others, having greatconversations, offering the infamous elevator speech and exchangingbusiness cards. The follow-up starts there, in the presentationphase, with you saying something like, “Does it make sense for usto exchange cards? I promise to follow up with you to explore waysto refer each other business.” Now when you follow through with ane-mail, phone call or text (no, really!), you already haveestablished yourself as reliable and serious.