The 48-hour plan for actioning leads after a networking event

The best way to action leads after a networking event is to sort everyone you met into three tiers, send each tier the right message within 48 hours, and log every follow-up with a next date before you move on. Tier A gets a personal message the same day; tier B gets a short, useful note within two days; tier C goes into a "maybe" pile with one review date. This post sets out the plan hour by hour, with message templates for each tier.

Before you start: get everyone in one place

The plan only works if you can see everyone you met. Before you sort, gather:

• business cards and badge photos;
• people you connected with on LinkedIn or the event app;
• names in your phone's notes app or voice memos;
• anyone who emailed you during the event.

Ideally they are already in your CRM, captured as you went. If they are not, that is step one. See getting conference contacts into your CRM before you leave the venue for doing it on the day next time.

Hours 0 to 2: triage into three tiers

Go through the list once, quickly, and give each person a tier. Do not write any messages yet.

Tier A: a clear opportunity

• They have a problem you solve, or you have one they solve.
• You agreed a specific next step: a call, a proposal, an introduction, a document.
• Examples: "wants a quote for Q1", "asked for an intro to our CTO", "will send their deck".

Tier B: relevant, with no specific ask

• They are in your market, your industry or your network's orbit.
• The conversation was good, but nothing was agreed.
• Examples: a potential partner, a peer founder, someone at a target company in a different team.

Tier C: the maybe pile

• A pleasant conversation, with no obvious fit right now.
• People whose details you have but whose context you do not remember.

Most events produce a few As, more Bs and plenty of Cs. That is normal. The point of the tiers is to spend your energy where it counts.

Hours 2 to 24: tier A, personally and promptly

Tier A gets your best effort, quickly. Each message should mention one specific thing from your conversation, deliver anything you promised, and propose a concrete next step.

If you promised something:

Hi [Name], good to meet you at [event] last night. As promised, here is [the case study/proposal outline/link]. You mentioned [their specific problem]; page 3 covers how we handled that for a similar team. Would [day] or [day] suit for 20 minutes to talk it through?

If you agreed a call:

Hi [Name], thanks for the conversation at [event]. Following up on our chat about [topic], here is a link to book 30 minutes, or reply with a couple of times that suit you: [link]. Looking forward to it.

If you offered an introduction: ask the other person first, then send a double introduction. The follow-up templates guide has one ready to copy.

Then, for each tier A person, set the next date: when you will chase if there is no reply, or when the call is.

Hours 24 to 48: tier B, short and useful

Tier B messages are lighter. The aim is to be remembered well, so there is a reason to talk later. Give something small and ask for nothing big.

A useful resource:

Hi [Name], really enjoyed meeting you at [event]. You mentioned [topic], so I thought you might like this: [link]. No need to reply, just thought it was relevant.

A light connection:

Hi [Name], good to meet you at [event]. It sounds like we work with similar [clients/teams/problems], so it would be good to stay in touch. If you ever want to compare notes on [topic], I am happy to grab a coffee.

A LinkedIn connection note, if that is the more natural channel:

Hi [Name], good to meet you at [event] on [day]. Enjoyed hearing about [their project].

For each tier B person, set a follow-up a few weeks out, or a deliberate "no follow-up" if the connection is enough.

The maybe pile: one decision, two weeks later

Tier C is where good contacts go to die, or where they quietly wait for the right moment. Treat it deliberately:

1. Connect, lightly. If you spoke for more than a minute, a LinkedIn connection with a short note is fine. Do not send a sales message.
2. Set one review date for all of them, about two weeks after the event.
3. At the review, decide for each person:
   • Promote to B if something has changed: they posted about a relevant problem, or you thought of a useful introduction.
   • Keep, without a task, if they are a genuine part of your network but there is nothing to do.
   • Delete the record if you cannot remember who they are or why they matter.

Deleting is a perfectly good outcome. A CRM full of people you cannot place makes the whole thing less trustworthy, and keeping personal data you have no use for is not good practice under UK GDPR (see below).

Log as you go

Every message you send in these 48 hours should leave a trace:

• A note on the person: what you sent and when.
• The next follow-up date, or "no follow-up".
• How you met and where, if it is not there already.

That way the plan carries on without you remembering it. A week later, your follow-up list tells you who to chase.

Timing at a glance

Common mistakes

• Sending the same message to everyone. People compare notes after events. Personalise at least the first line.
• Pitching tier B and C. A sales pitch to someone who did not ask for one burns the goodwill you built.
• Waiting for the perfect message. A short, specific message today beats a polished one next week.
• Not logging. If the next date is in your head, it is not in your diary.

A UK GDPR note

Keeping the details of people you met so that you can follow up is personal data processing. Businesses commonly rely on legitimate interests for it, which means the use should be one people would reasonably expect, such as following up on a conversation you actually had.¹ Keep only what you need, and delete records you no longer have a reason to hold: UK GDPR's storage limitation principle expects you not to keep personal data longer than necessary.² Adding contacts to marketing emails is a separate matter with its own rules under PECR.³ This is general information, not legal advice.

How Shmor helps

The plan is easier when everyone is already in your CRM with a note and a date. With Shmor, you capture each person on the day by sending a card photo, badge, screenshot or voice note on Telegram, or by forwarding an email, and Shmor saves them to ShmorCRM, Attio or HubSpot with a note and a follow-up task. Your tiers map neatly onto follow-up dates: say "follow up tomorrow" for tier A and "follow up in two weeks" for the maybe pile. After you send a message, reply to the person's card with "sent the deck, chase in a week", and the next task is set.