Take Care of Your Network - So It Will Take Care of You Podcast host Jordan Harbinger has made a habit of checking in with the people in his professional network on a regular basis - and he makes sure to pay it forward.

He hears it all the time: An entrepreneur thought they could count on their network for something — to boost sales of a book, say, or create buzz for a new project — and it falls flat. They think their network is the problem, but Jordan Harbinger has a more educated guess: "The problem is you took your network for granted," says the host of The Jordan Harbinger Show podcast. To make sure he never loses sight of those valuable connections, he does two things consistently. First, he reaches out to five people every day. "This doesn't happen at random," Harbinger says. "I use a CRM called Connection Fox, where I've organized hundreds of people I've built good relationships with. The CRM reminds me when I haven't connected with someone in a certain amount of time — I set it for three or six months — and then I simply check in via text or email. I'll ask how they're doing, share a little about me, and that's it. It doesn't take much time."

Related: Build the Network Necessary for Your Startup to Succeed