Follow-Through Tools

Twenty waysto be remembered.

Jay Conrad Levinson taught that marketing is everything you do before and after asking for the sale. Danny Smith calls his version follow-through tools: the practical actions that keep you visible, credible, and remembered long after the handshake. Here they are. And here is what makes you actually use them.

The Manifesto gives the conviction.
The F.O.R.M.ing Conversation gives the starting point.
The Follow-Through Tools give the options.
The 8-Step Follow-Through gives the rhythm.
The Scorecard records the effort.
Danny Smith · Stop Wasting Handshakes
The options

The follow-through tools.

A short list of practical actions designed to convert a handshake into a relationship. Not a script. A menu you choose from, depending on the person in front of you.

01

Good-to-meet-you email

Reinforce the conversation while you're still fresh in their mind.

02

Follow-up email

Continue the conversation by providing value, not just checking in. Use often.

03

Follow-up phone call

Build trust through real conversation rather than another email. Use often.

04

Handwritten note

Thank, congratulate, or encourage in a way that stands out.

05

Referral request

Invite introductions only after you've earned credibility.

06

Make an introduction

Connect them with someone who can genuinely help them.

07

Share a useful article

Pass along information that solves a problem or answers a question.

08

Share a resource

Give them a practical tool they can use immediately.

09

Coffee or lunch

Move the relationship from acquaintance to friendship.

10

Invite them to an event

Let them experience your community. Danny calls this one of your most powerful relationship-building tools.

11

Add them to your blog or Substack

Ask permission, then stay connected by consistently delivering helpful content.

12

Connect on LinkedIn and social

Keep the relationship visible between meetings.

13

Repost one of their posts

Help amplify their message and celebrate their work.

14

Comment on their content

Engage thoughtfully instead of simply clicking "Like."

15

Interview them on your podcast

Give them a platform while learning more about their story.

16

Send a birthday or anniversary card

Remember important milestones that most people overlook.

17

Invite them to a customer appreciation event

Deepen the relationship in a relaxed, enjoyable setting.

18

Invite them to a workshop or lunch-and-learn

Provide education while creating another opportunity to connect.

19

Share a testimonial or success story

Demonstrate how you've helped someone with similar needs.

20

Repeat what works

Relationships are built through consistent, thoughtful follow-through, not one memorable interaction.

A warning from the book: repetition gets boring. As James Clear observes in Atomic Habits, the greatest obstacle to long-term success isn't failure, it's boredom. Twenty options exist so the rhythm never becomes a rut.
The system

Knowing the tools was never the problem.

Everyone who read that list already knows they should send the note and make the introduction. The gap is remembering, on the right day, for the right person, forty-five days later. Closing that gap is the only job the software has.

The CRM

Every contact, every relationship, every open loop. It queues the right tool against the right person, so follow-through stops depending on your memory.

Serves all twenty

The 8-Step Follow-Through

The rhythm. Eight intentional touches across forty-five days, so you know which tool to reach for and when, instead of guessing.

Gives the rhythm

The Scorecard

Records the effort. Lead points for the work you control, lag points for the results that follow. If you can't measure it, you can't improve it.

Records the effort

Lola, your follow-up writer

Drafts the written tools in your voice, so the email, the article share, and the testimonial take a minute instead of an afternoon.

Serves 01, 02, 07, 19

AI Business Card Scanner

Snap the card at the event. The contact is created and the forty-five days start before you reach the parking lot.

Starts the clock

The Networking Wire

The community calendar. It answers the question tool ten depends on: which event do I invite them to?

Serves 10 ★

Pipeline & Partner Grading

Shows which relationships are A+ partners and which are going cold, so you know who has earned an introduction and who just needs a coffee.

Serves 05, 06, 09

F.O.R.M. Conversations

Family, Occupation, Recreation, Motivation. The framework that gives you something worth following up about in the first place.

Gives the starting point

The Weekly Recap

Your week played back. Lead versus lag, your best day, and what you repeated. The feedback loop behind tool twenty.

Serves 20

A handshake is not the end.
It is the beginning.

Twenty tools, one rhythm, and a scorecard that keeps you honest. Sixty days free, no card required.

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