Event Lead Follow-up: What's the best approach?

Events are terrific places to gather qualified leads. The question is, "What is the best way to follow-up on those leads?" If you return from an event and you have a large number of leads then you are more limited as to the personable scope of the follow-up. Direct mailings and emails are your best bet, and then it is still virtually impossible to come across with a personal message. We do the best that we can and I suggest taking as many of the leads as possible and pulling them from your lead list and writing a personalized email or letter, or better yet a phone call to each of them.

Now if your lead list is smaller, say less than 50, then take the time to look at the companies website and any other information you can find before making the contact. This allows you to get very personal about their company and or product and is appreciated by the recipient. Your close ratio also will be higher. You don't need to even imply or state that you actually spoke to that person. Just acknowledge that you know they were there and you appreciate their presence and then tailor the rest of the message around how great they are and that you would like to invite them to view your services. By taking this approach, you are letting them know that you have already invested your time in them and common courtesy tends to prevail.

Our firm was at a local event this past weekend and I have only gotten to maybe 5 of the numerous leads that were collected and have already received 1 appointment. That is a 20% response rate, which is better than I had ever dreamed of, and it is all because I have taken my time in approaching these potential clients.