Quick Summary
The event is over and the pockets are full of business cards, but the "now what" phase is where the real work happens. This post explores the friction between manual follow-up exhaustion and the reality of a multi-year sales cycle. We dive into why trading billable hours for endless coffee chats is a recipe for burnout and how a strategic networking follow up email bridges the gap. By leveraging digital scale, firms stay visible for years, ensuring they remain the first call when a handshake finally turns into a high-value opportunity.
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Event season is here. Your calendar’s full. You’re shaking hands and collecting business cards (or LinkedIn connections).
And then… you get home.
Now what?
Follow up once? Grab coffee? Set reminders to check in every few months? It works. But geez, it’s a lot to manage manually.
What’s the Alternative?
In architecture and construction, the people you meet today might not start a project for years.
So they’re not ready to hire. And endless coffee chats aren’t always the best use of time.
This is where digital can help. Try this instead:
First, have coffee and dinner with people who might have a project or referral in the next 6 months.
For everyone else, stay in touch at scale. That typically looks like one of two ways:
- Regular email newsletter
- Consistent social media posts
Neither option will generate leads right away, but they will help you stay visible and top-of-mind so that when a project does come up, you’re the obvious choice.
Email Is My Choice
Personally, email has worked best for me.
About 20–30% of our clients are people who met me (or heard about me) years ago. They followed the newsletter quietly, and then one topic hit at the right time… and they replied.
It helps me stay in touch with 800 people without constant one-on-one follow-ups.
(If you’re curious, I use Flodesk. I switched from Mailchimp years ago because Flodesk’s design and analytics are much simpler.)
At Your Next Networking Event
If you’re heading to events this season, here’s a simple follow-up you can use to get those connections on your email list:
Hi [NAME],
It was a pleasure meeting you at [EVENT] last week. [ADD PERSONAL NOTE HERE].
If you’re free in the next few weeks, I’d love to grab coffee.
Also, I share a short monthly newsletter with our behind-the-scenes project updates. Happy to add you if you’re interested.
Best,
[YOUR NAME]
Try it after your next event!
And if you’re thinking about starting your own email newsletter, use my 25% off code for Flodesk.
Tchau,
Daniela
