Tips for Post-Event Follow-Up and Networking

A lot of the value of attending or speaking at a conference doesn’t come from being there. It comes from what you do afterwards. How many times have you come back from a conference or event and thought, “I should’ve done more to maximize that experience”? Not just attending the sessions or showing up at the networking receptions, but turning it into something meaningful for your visibility, your relationships and your business development efforts. Me too 🙋🏼♀️ It’s easy to get caught up in our busy lives, especially after returning from a conference and then move on to the next thing without following up. What you proactively do after the event is what can turn conversations into relationships and visibility into opportunity. Here are some ways to make the most of attending your next conference: ✔️ Prioritize the people you met and follow up with context on LinkedIn or by email, referencing your conversation and suggesting a clear next step ✔️ Follow up with organizers to share feedback and express interest in speaking or getting involved in future programming ✔️ Turn your conference notes into key takeaways and share them as content (LinkedIn post, blog post or short video) connected to your work, your clients or what you’re seeing in the market ✔️ Host your own webinar to recap key themes and extend the conversation ✔️ Interview speakers or attendees whose perspectives stood out and use that content in a webinar, blog post or on social media ✔️ Host an internal recap to share key insights and connect them to your team’s work ✔️ Turn questions or conversations from the event into content or targeted outreach ✔️ Share insights from the event in an email newsletter ✔️ Add relevant new contacts to your email list so you can stay visible with them ✔️ Create a simple system to stay in touch with the people who matter most ✔️ Review the attendee list and reach out to people you didn’t meet ✔️ Follow up with speakers you admired, even if you didn’t connect in person ✔️ Identify one trend or theme you kept hearing across conversations and proactively share that perspective with clients or colleagues You already put in the time and energy to be there. This is how you carry that momentum forward. Which of these ideas resonated most with you? #LegalMarketing #ClientDevelopment #LinkedInTips #BusinessDevelopment #PersonalBrandingTips

>>>𝗡𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘂𝗽? 𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽. That’s the rule I’ve set for myself after too many missed connections at great events. You know the drill: → You leave a room buzzing with ideas, names, and conversations. → You promise to stay in touch. → Then real life kicks in—and the momentum disappears. I’ve learned this the hard way. Now, I don’t attend unless I’m ready to do the follow-up work too. Now I'm trying something new: → I teamed up with an accountability partner to debrief post-event. (Thanks Elina!) → We share notes, fill in gaps, and add next steps. → That accountability makes a huge difference. I’ve also added two tactics that make a real impact: → Book follow-up meetings on the spot. If the convo’s going well, lock in a next step before you part ways. → Post your takeaways publicly. Share a few insights or reflections from the event. It signals value and helps people reconnect. If you're not using a CRM, here’s my simple follow-up playbook: → Input all the people you've met in a spreadsheet. → Use LinkedIn as your mini-CRM. Be very specific in a DM how and when you met. → Personalize your connection requests or your 1st DM. Mention the event. Reference your chat. Two lines are enough. → Follow up while it’s still fresh. Send the article, make the intro, or just say “great meeting you.” → Engage publicly. Comment on their latest post. Like something they shared. Stay visible. → Make your profile do the heavy lifting. Clear headline. Updated summary. Recent post. Your profile should reinforce the connection. IRL is just the spark. What you do after—that’s what turns a name tag into a relationship. What’s your follow-up system look like? Photos from Tuesday event at Technology Park Ljubljana where we talked about dos and don'ts of opening new markets.

You paid for the booth, wore the polo, and smiled for 3 days straight. And then you got home, opened 400 emails, and followed up 10 days later with "Great meeting you at [show]!" They had no idea who you were. The show isn't where you lose the ROI. The week after is. Here's what actually works: 1. Your follow-up starts before you arrive 👉 The directory is published weeks in advance. Your competitors aren't reading it. 2. Not every lead deserves the same follow-up 👉 Someone who spent 20 minutes with you is not the same as someone who grabbed a pen and walked on. 3. Tag leads hot / warm / cold before you leave the floor 👉 Hot lead: personal note, specific callback, clear next step. Warm lead: relevant resource, light ask, nurture sequence. 4. Include a photo of your booth in your follow-up email 👉 Faces blur after a full day on the floor. A photo jogs the memory before they read a word. 5. Record a 30-second testimonial on the floor 👉 Almost nobody does this. It's the most powerful content you'll make all year. 6. Make it about them, not about you 👉 Nobody asked how long you've been in business. They want to know if you can solve their problem. 7. Send a 60-second video instead of an email 👉 No script. No editing. The most memorable follow-up they'll get from anyone at the show. 8. Always end with a clear next step 👉 "Let me know if you have questions" is not a next step. It's a wish. 9. Follow up more than once, no reply isn't no 👉 Most buyers are busy, not disinterested. 3–5 touches over 3 weeks. 10. Connect on LinkedIn while you're still at the show 👉 One connection from the floor beats 10 cold emails sent a week later. 11. Post a "what we heard" within 48 hours 👉 Not about your product. About their problems. These posts travel. 12. The best content from a show isn't about your booth 👉 One sharp observation from 3 days on the floor will outperform any product post you write all year. The booth opens the door. What you do next determines if it was worth it. What's your favorite way to follow up? 👇 _________ Ready for more leads? Sign up for my free weekly newsletter here → https://lnkd.in/eRXtjQ_C

The real work starts after the networking event ends. The event creates the introduction. The follow-up builds the relationship. Within 24–48 hours, send a short note and reference something specific you talked about. Going the extra mile differentiates you and personally, I find it gratifying. It shows my respect for them and their time and that I appreciated our conversation. Skip the generic “let’s grab coffee;” rather, make it personal: • Connect on LinkedIn with a personal note and a highlight from the conversation • Share a relevant article or insight • Make a thoughtful introduction • Send a quick “thought of you when I saw this” message In a world where there's a lot of AI jargon, a genuine comment and connection will stand out in the right way. Most people probably don't have a CRE need at the moment; rather, they’re deciding whether they’d enjoy continuing the conversation and building the relationship. Consistency builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. Trust builds strong relationships. What kind of follow-up makes you want to reply? #CommercialRealEstate #CRECommunity #Networking #RelationshipBuilding #MadisonWI

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰, 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. Too many business owners and sales teams spend time, money, and energy attending events… only to let the connections go cold afterward. FYI: The real ROI comes from the 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲. After attending yesterday's Northern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce Business Expo, I was reminded that successful networking isn’t about collecting business cards. It’s about building intentional relationships and creating consistent follow-through. Here are 6 post-event activities that help turn conversations into opportunities: 1️⃣ 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. Don’t trust your memory. Record key details, pain points, personal connections, and follow-up ideas while they’re fresh. 📱 Tech Tip: Use Voice Memos or your phone recorder between conversations or in the car afterward. 2️⃣ 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐑𝐌 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲. If contacts sit on your desk, they’re forgotten opportunities. 📱 Tech Tip: Use your CRM’s business card scanner to upload contacts and notes instantly. 3️⃣ 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥. Not a pitch, a connection. “Great meeting you… enjoyed learning about your business…” goes a long way. 📱 Tech Tip: Create an email template in your CRM to save time and stay consistent. 4️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧. Networking shouldn’t end when the event does. 📱 Tech Tip: Use the LinkedIn QR code during the event to make connecting effortless. 5️⃣ 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐲. Post takeaways, lessons learned, or best practices from the event, and tag people you connected with in the comments. 📱 Tech Tip: Use Surfe.com to integrate LinkedIn activities with your CRM. 6️⃣ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐮𝐩 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧. Consistency beats random outreach. 📱 Tech Tip: Use sequences and automation tools in your CRM to stay visible without relying on memory alone. If you or your salespeople are struggling to get the results desired from your prospecting efforts, let’s chat. Sandler Franchising #prospecting #networking #salesprocess

Why Your Follow-Up Game is Holding You Back (and How to Fix It) Let’s be real: lots of people crush the first meeting. You come in prepared, hit all the right notes, and leave feeling like you’ve just opened the door to a golden opportunity. But then… radio silence. No follow-up. Or worse, you do follow up, but the relationship fizzles out because you don’t know how to keep the momentum going. Sound familiar? It’s not just you, most people are great at starting relationships, but very few know how to maintain them. The truth is, the first meeting is just the audition. The real magic happens in how you nurture the connection after that. Here’s how to step up your game: 1. End the Meeting with a Clear Next Step Don’t leave the meeting with vague promises like “Let’s keep in touch” or “I’ll follow up soon.” Instead, nail down a specific action: “I’ll send you the article I mentioned by tomorrow.” “Let’s schedule a time next week to dig deeper into X.” “Would it be helpful if I connected you with someone in my network who does Y?” Make it actionable and time-bound so you’re not left scrambling later. 2. Personalize Your Follow-Up After the meeting, don’t just send a generic “Great to meet you!” email. Instead, reference something specific you discussed: A challenge they’re facing. A book, tool, or resource you promised to share. An idea you brainstormed together. This shows you were engaged and are invested in their success, not just yours. 3. Add Value Before You Ask for Anything This is where most people go wrong. They think, “How soon can I pitch them?” Instead, focus on helping them first. Share resources, insights, or connections that could make their life easier. The more value you bring, the more likely they’ll stick around for the long haul. 4. Be Consistent Without Being Annoying Networking is about staying top of mind without being a pest. Use these strategies to stay in touch without overstepping: Send a quick update on a topic you discussed (e.g., “I thought of you when I saw this article about X”). Check in after a few weeks with a question about their progress or needs. Invite them to an event, webinar, or coffee chat if it aligns with their goals. Consistency beats intensity. Don’t disappear for six months and then randomly pop up with an ask. 5. Schedule a Relationship Check-In Make it a habit to review your key relationships every month. Who needs a follow-up? Who can you re-engage? Networking isn’t about waiting for the right moment; it’s about creating opportunities through regular touchpoints. --- The Bottom Line: Strong networking isn’t built on one-off meetings—it’s built on intentional follow-ups. Stop thinking of it as “bugging” people and start treating it like building a partnership. The people who master this are the ones who stand out. So, take ownership of your follow-up strategy, and don’t let those first meetings go to waste.

Event ROI doesn’t break at the booth. It breaks on Monday. Because by Monday, the context is gone. The rep remembers: - the company name - a vague pain point - and that the conversation “felt good” So the follow-up turns into: “Great meeting you at the event…” Which is basically saying: “I have nothing specific to say.” Here’s the simplest post-event operating system I’ve found that actually produces pipeline. The 48-hour event follow-up OS 1) Before anyone leaves the venue, capture context (15 minutes) Do a debrief while it’s still fresh. 3 Rules: 1.) everyone stays 2.) no laptops 3.) no “we’ll do it later” For each priority conversation, capture 5 things: - What problem did they actually say out loud? - What’s broken in their current process? - What do they care about personally? (risk, time, reputation, budget) - Who else is involved? (names and roles) - What’s the next step they agreed to? If you don’t have those 5, you don’t have a lead. You have a badge scan. 2) Turn that context into something delegatable (30 minutes) This is the move most teams miss. Have reps record a 30–60 second voice note per priority account. Raw. Ugly. Specific. Now anyone can write the follow-up. Because the “why” is preserved. 3) 24 hours later: send the follow-up that proves you were listening One email. Short. No fluff. Structure: 1 line: what you heard 1 line: what you’re sending (resource / recap / next step) 1 line: the ask (calendar link or two times) If the follow-up doesn’t reference their world, it’s spam. 4) 48 hours later: score the event like an operator, not a marketer Don’t report “leads.” Report: 1.) ICP accounts engaged 2.) meetings booked within 14 days 3.) influenced pipeline 4.) one thing to change next time That’s it. Everything else is whatever. What’s your team’s biggest follow-up failure mode today: no context capture, no ownership, or no SLA?

Ever had a great first meeting, only to watch the relationship fizzle out? You're not alone. Here are some resources for follow-up success: 1. The 24-Hour Thank-You Blitz Send a personalized note within 24 hours of your meeting. Reference specific points from your conversation to show you were paying attention. Subtly hint at future engagement without being pushy. 2. The Value Bomb (Week 1) Within the first week, share something relevant to their interests. This could be an article, event invitation, or impact story. The key is to prove you listened and care about their passions. No ask here, just pure value. 3. The Engagement Invitation (Weeks 2-3) A few weeks in, invite them to experience your mission firsthand. Think site visits, volunteer opportunities, or exclusive events. The focus should be on involvement, not money. 4. The Impact Showcase (1 Month Mark) At the one-month mark, share a specific story of your work in action. Connect it to the interests they expressed during your meeting. This is your chance to show how supporters like them make real change happen. 5. The "Round Two" Proposition (6 Weeks Post-Meeting) Around six weeks after your first meeting, suggest a follow-up conversation. Frame it as an opportunity to share updates and seek their input. Offer specific meeting options to make it easy for them to say yes. Remember: Every interaction is a chance to deepen the connection. Keep it donor-centric, valuable, and personal. P.S. What was your longest every follow-up attempt that ended in a gift?

How do you effectively follow up, post tradeshow or event? 1. During the show objective, should be to schedule meetings then and there for after the show. Create a script, an ask, or tie in an engagement so it’s easy to do so. 2. Proper qualifying. Does everyone on the team know what a qualified prospect is and how to qualify them? Have some discovery questions, and boxes to check that the team understands. Passing along 🥶 leads is the fastest way to create jadedness in sales about events. 3. Quality data in, is quality data out. Whether by hand, by software, by excel, doesn’t matter. Have a method for tracking interactions and leads. 4. Personalization. Take the time to personalize notes on leads, customers and potential opps. The more personalized notes, the more effectively and creatively you can follow up. 5. Follow up fast. Send an email same day. Something simple and just a touchpoint to remind them of the interaction and when you will follow up again. 6. If you are hosting events offsite during the event, invite quality leads and prospects to them during the event on the fly. 7. Connect your prospects and customers with resources they need. Are they trying to solve problems or need services/ products outside of what you do? Be an expert in your industry and know where to direct them and who to connect them with. Solve their problems. 8. Utilize giveaways, and engagements to create follow up after then event. It’s less salesy, and creates another touch point. 9. Big time prospect? Does your company have a podcast? Invite them on to learn more about them and extend relationship. Remember, tradehsows and events are a sales and marketing channel, not a cost of doing business. They require a strategic approach.

7 Ways To Follow Up After A Networking Call (Without Being “Annoying”): 1. The Post-Networking Call Struggle You worked so hard to land this networking call. You hopped on and it went great! But now... You have no idea what to say to keep the conversation going (or ask for a referral). Let’s fix that today. 2. Proactively Plan For The Follow Up The best follow up strategy starts in the call. Start by brainstorming questions the open the door for a follow up. Ex:  - What’s one book you’d recommend reading on [Industry]  - What could I do in the next week to level up my [Skill]  - What’s the biggest challenge your team is facing right now? 3. Plan For The Follow Up - Part 2 These questions are great because they open the door for a natural follow up. Using the same examples, now you can:  - Read that book, then follow up with a thank you + what you learned  - Take action on that advice for leveling up that skill, then report back and ask for more  - Brainstorm ideas for how to help them overcome that largest challenge 4. And If You Weren’t Proactive? Sometimes we’re not as proactive as we’d like to be. In those cases, the best thing you can do is have a system for capturing information during or right after the call. It could be taking notes during the call. It could be doing a voicenote brain dump that you have ChatGPT turn into a transcript. Do your best to minimize the time between call and notes. 5. Turn The Notes Into Ideas When you have your brain dump in front of you, review it for ideas. I love to use ChatGPT for this. Upload your notes and ask: “I just had a networking calll with [Person] who works in [Job Title] at [Company]. I’m attaching the notes from our conversation. Please help me identify their challenges, goals, and iniatives. Then help me brainstorm 5 ways to follow up with value (with email templates). 6. Don’t Be Afraid To Keep Following Up People are busy. Don’t be offended if your first follow up doesn’t get a reply. Instead, keep working on what they shared with you and find additional ways to follow up again. I recommend giving it 7 business days between follow ups. But if you keep following up with a focus on value? You’ll get the reply. 7. Asking For The Referral Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for. If they haven’t proactively mentioned a referral, wait until you’ve corresponded 3-4 times (via email, on a call, etc). Then say: “I’ve really enjoyed our conversations. I wanted to share an update. X, Y, and Z things have changed in my current role and I decided to begin looking for new opportunities as a result. If you know of anything, would you keep me in mind?”