An event touch earns its place by giving the prospect a reason to talk before the event, a useful conversation during it, and a clear next action afterward. Most success at in-person events comes from prospecting that sets meetings at the event.1 Book those meetings before the conference starts.2 An event where prospects can meet people in similar roles can itself be enough reason to reach out.3 Build around that reason, then carry the conversation through the event and into a scheduled follow-up.
Pick the event touch
Pick the event before writing the message. It should give the person a natural reason to reply and a specific way to meet.
An event that lets prospects meet people in similar roles can be sufficient reason to reach out.3 Use the event as the reason for contact. Ask about a specific event, invite someone to a hosted event or reservation, or offer an introduction to a speaker.4 Personal invitations matter because otherwise people may say they did not know the event was happening.5
For each contact, decide what the reply should make possible: a meeting, an invitation, a reservation, or an introduction. Keep the message tied to that event so the person has something concrete to accept or decline.
Before the event
Turn the event reason into a planned sequence. Arrive with conversations already in motion instead of trying to find every useful contact on the floor.
Build a pre-conference sequence6 and put calls and emails to prospects into it.7 Ask people you have already met whether they will attend.8 About a week before the event, follow up with people you previously spoke to or emailed.9
Listen for whether they are attending and what they want from the event. A confirmed attendee with a reason for being there gives you a better opening than a generic request to connect. If there is no reply, keep the event as context for the rest of the cadence and do not treat silence as a verdict on fit.
During the event
Use the conversation to learn why the person came and whether a deeper discussion makes sense. Keep it short enough to respect the setting, then schedule an appointment when the fit is clear.
Ask, "Why did you personally want to attend this conference?".10 The answer will usually bring out the company they work for and why the conference suited it.11 Ask questions, let people talk about themselves and their businesses, and use the time to assess whether they could be a good customer.12
Attend speaker sessions to meet prospects there.13 When the conversation shows a possible fit, make a later appointment for a more detailed discussion.14 If the fit is unclear, keep learning instead of forcing an appointment. Ask what prompted the visit, what they hoped to solve, and what would make a follow-up useful.
After the event
Write the follow-up while the shared context is still easy to recognize, and give it a specific next action.
The period between a conference and scheduling the next meeting is where most post-conference deals go to die.15 Use follow-up communication consistently across every part of the event motion. One-off activities do not help the situation.16 Assume everyone you met is receiving 50 to 100 follow-up emails asking for time after the conference.17 Reference the conversation you had and propose a specific next discussion so your message does not read like a standard event follow-up.
If someone organized a large meeting, text to thank them and ask, "How do you think that went?".18 That message recognizes the effort behind the event and gives you a reason to continue the conversation.
Use the follow-up to test the buying path as well as interest. Event conversations can feel productive, yet the interested contact is often not the actual decision maker.19 Ask who else needs to be part of the next discussion and how the decision will be handled. The path from an event introduction to a call or meeting, then to a proposal and close, can run too long, with insufficient conversion rates.20 Define the next conversation before the event goes cold.
Field visits
A field visit belongs in the cadence when it gives someone a concrete reason to meet at the office. Treat it as a dated touch with its own invitation, conversation and follow-up.
Team members routinely visit different offices.21 Give the visit a clear purpose before asking for time. During the visit, carry the event questions into the conversation, listen for fit, and leave with a next action that can happen afterward. The same event logic applies: context earns the reply, the conversation tests relevance, and the follow-up keeps the touch moving.
What not to do
Keep these warnings close to the workflow before sending the invitation or follow-up.
- Keep networking and prospecting as separate motions.22
- Many people call attending a networking event prospecting to avoid doing prospecting.23
- People who are pitched throughout the day may shut down if an interaction appears to be an attempt to make a sale.24
- A vague coffee follow-up is a waste of time and effort 98 percent of the time.25