Send the note by 10 a.m. the next day. Send a different note depending on what happened: a real conversation, a swapped card, or a talk you only watched. Then send one more touch about two weeks later that adds something new. Everything else on this page is about what to put in those messages and how to keep track.
The wording below follows one event, a Thursday chamber breakfast attended by Rafael, who owns Halsey Print Works, a commercial print shop. He came home with 14 business cards. Three were real conversations, eight were quick card swaps, and three were people he only saw speak. That sorting is the first step, and it takes ten minutes.
Sort the cards before you write anything
The night of the event, lay the cards out and write one line on the back of each: what you talked about, or "no conversation." Then make three piles. The real conversations get a personal note. The card swaps get a short one. The people you only watched get a different kind of message altogether. A good time budget for Rafael's 14: three notes at about six minutes is 18 minutes, eight shorter ones at two minutes is 16, and three speaker notes at three minutes is nine. Forty-three minutes in total, spread over the evening and the next morning.
Note one: you had a real conversation
Use when: you talked for more than a minute and learned something about their business.
Subject: Menus for the March opening
Hi Dolores, good talking with you at Thursday's chamber breakfast. You mentioned opening the second location in March and not having menus sorted yet. I pulled together a one-page price sheet for menus (150 to 500 copies, three paper stocks), attached. Could we do 15 minutes next week to look at it? Tuesday at 10 or Wednesday at 3?
Rafael Ortega, Halsey Print Works
rafael@halsey-print.example
Why it works: the subject names her problem, the first lines prove you listened, the attachment is something she can use without replying, and the ask is a choice between two times. Variation: if she's likely to prefer a visit, offer a tour of the shop in place of a call.
Note two: you only swapped cards
Use when: you exchanged cards and a sentence or two.
Subject: Nice to meet you at the chamber breakfast
Hi Sam, we swapped cards Thursday at the chamber breakfast. I'm Rafael from Halsey Print Works, the print shop. I wasn't sure what your team prints most. Is it more forms and invoices, marketing pieces, or signs? If a short price list for any of those would be useful, I'll send it. Either way, good to meet you.
Why it works: it reminds him who you are, asks one easy question, and doesn't ask for a meeting yet. Variation: if you saw his company logo on a truck or a storefront, mention it. A concrete detail beats a generic "great to connect."
Note that swapping a card isn't permission to add someone to a newsletter. Write to them one to one. Commercial email in the US has to follow CAN-SPAM (accurate sender and subject, a physical address, a working opt-out), so include your business address and a line like "If you'd rather not hear from me, reply no."
Note three: you only watched a talk
Use when: a speaker or panelist said something useful and you didn't talk to them.
Subject: One idea from your lease talk
Hi Janelle, I was in the room Thursday when you spoke about commercial lease renewals. The tip to open the renewal conversation 12 months out is one I'm taking back to my own shop. I own a print shop, and two of my clients are about to hit that exact window. If it's useful, I'd be glad to introduce them to you. Thanks for a practical talk.
Why it works: it's specific about what you took away, it offers something instead of asking, and it's short. Speakers get notes that say "great talk." They rarely get one that names a tip and offers a referral. Variation: send a LinkedIn request with the same first sentence.
The second touch, two weeks later
If Dolores hasn't answered, wait about two weeks and write once more. Add something new; don't just ask whether she saw your note.
Subject: Re: Menus for the March opening
Hi Dolores, a quick follow-up on the menu price sheet. If you want menus in hand by early March, proofs would need to start around mid-January, so I'm holding a spot on our schedule through the end of this month. If the plans changed, no need to reply.
The new piece is a date. The note gives her a reason to answer now and a clean way to ignore it. After that, stop. More on spacing is in how often to follow up with leads.
Log every contact in one place
A card in a pocket is a lead you will lose. Put every person in one sheet that night: name, company, event, date met, one line on what you talked about, which note you sent and when, and the next step. The lead tracking spreadsheet columns work as they are, with "event" in the Source dropdown. If you use Rocketship, you can drop the same list in and have the second touch go out from your Gmail on the date you choose. The AI workers reply if the person answers and offer times for a meeting.
Turning a connection into a meeting
A connection becomes a meeting when you offer something small and specific with two time options. "Let's grab coffee sometime" fails because it asks them to do the planning. Fifteen minutes by phone, a shop tour, or a walk through a sample pack works because they can say yes quickly. If they reply but go quiet on dates, the wording in the appointment setting script helps, and for the next time you're in a room full of prospects, getting customers from trade shows without a booth and how to follow up after a sales meeting pick up where this ends. When one of these contacts becomes a customer, how to ask for referrals is the next step.
Events give you a few names; steady outreach gives you the rest. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required.