Planning your follow-up after an event

There are some terrifying sets of figures floating about the industry suggesting 62% of leads are not followed up after an event.

The fact that any are neglected seems at best embarrassing and more poignantly, rather pointless. It is the equivalent of walking into shop, paying for your goods and walking out without your purchase.

Unsurprisingly, everyone I know says that they do follow up after an event. The question then perhaps should be, do they follow up effectively?

Effective follow-up
Think about your visitors and what they are used to. Would it be better to hire a light-pen and scan their badges or use a laptop to manually input their details? Many exhibitions now employ QR codes so that exhibitors and visitors can exchange details with people they meet as they go.

However, at some consumer shows visitors do not have badges or business cards, so a manual system may be best. Remember, the quicker and easier it is for you to capture their details, the smoother and more pleasant it will be for your visitor.

Record also any special details and timescales, who else they are considering and make a note of any buying cycles or budgets.

Amongst the best systems I have seen are those which additionally categorise their leads into some sort of urgency list - for example, hot, warm and cold. In this way when the leads are being followed up (and let's face it, often it is not the stand personnel who subsequently follow up) the salespeople know whom to contact first. A good tip is to ensure everyone involved understands and adheres to the same definitions of hot, warm or cold or a scale of one to ten.

When then should you follow up?
Smarter exhibitors, who are more on the ball than most, follow up their leads whilst the show is happening, rather than waiting until the dust settles afterwards.

All you need do is prepare a standard letter or email in advance of the event, which suits most enquiries, thanking them for visiting your stand that day and promising that a named individual will contact them within the agreed timescale. These could be sent out at the end of each day to all of your stand visitors. If you wish to do your bit for the environment, you can also use this opportunity to direct them to your website or email a PDF brochure in the appropriate format for them to look at rather than sort through their over-stuffed carrier bags for your literature.

Once the show is over, by all means copy, analyse and input your data, but you should also ensure a copy goes straight to the sales team. Some of the leads may be so hot that a more switched-on (or less analytic) competitor could steal a march on you whilst you are still debriefing and sorting your prizes. Most leads gathered will be hot and need to be followed up within three or four days of the event. Some can wait, but an acknowledgement or commitment to the next step should also be agreed within those post-event days.
 
Research suggests that we should be prepared to follow up six times before a lead converts - an email, a PDF, a phone call, an appointment and a follow-up call perhaps.

Whether you’re attending a networking event down the street, a trade show in Vegas, or a major industry convention in London, you need to have a focused post-event follow-up plan in place ahead of time.  Here’s how to get started:

Clear space on your calendar for follow-up
The faster you follow up, the more likely people will remember you. Set aside time post-event to write emails or make phone calls. If you attend a local networking event, follow up within 24 hours. If you attend a large trade show or convention, follow up with 2-3 days of arriving home.

Choose a goal
What do you want to happen when you reach out to people in your follow-up? Do you want to set up meetings with potential clients? Schedule demos? Remind them to purchase your newly published book?  Your goal will determine your message, which brings us to...

Write an attention-grabbing message
Whatever you write or say needs to grab their attention, so focus on them. How will your services or products make their lives easier/better? Why should they buy from you? What benefits will they get?

Keep the message short and to the point. If you’re sending out a mass email, spend a lot of time on the email subject line to ensure your email gets opened.

Make an ask
Based on your goal, make your ask very specific. Tell them what you want them to do, and make sure it’s easy for them to do it. If you include a link to the contact page on your website, make sure the link works!
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Set up an automated email campaign
If you’re using email for follow-up after a large event, definitely set up an automated email campaign. Send them valuable information in each email, like a case study, ebook, infographic, or special offer, like a free consultation.

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