How to make sure you never forget to follow up

Have you ever been to a networking meeting, exchanged business cards with new contacts, come back to the office, put the business cards to one side, and .... there they stay?

You keep meaning to get in touch and say how nice it was to meet them, or perhaps arrange to have coffee or lunch, but never quite get around to it.  Before you know it, 3 months or more have gone by and it would be embarassing to make contact after all this time. 

If you've found yourself in this situation, even once, you already know your lack of follow-up could have cost you a potential customer or joint venture partner.  You're not alone though, many small business owners fail to follow-up with networking contacts - because they don't have a system in place!

My own system ensures that, not only do I send each new contact a 'nice to meet you' note within 24 hours of the event, their details are also added to my address book & a diary note made to contact them again within a month of the original meeting. 

What steps are in your follow-up system?  I'd love to know.