If you’ve ever come home from a networking event with a business card in your pocket and done absolutely nothing with it — this is for you.
I’ve just come back from a two-day business conference, and I’m still processing it all.
I met a lot of people over those two days. Amongst the familiar faces there were a whole lot of new ones — business owners I hadn’t come across before, whose work I genuinely found interesting, and who I could see myself connecting with, referring to, or supporting down the track.
And as I’ve been thinking about it, I keep coming back to this: for many people, those connections will go nowhere. Not because the conversations weren’t good. But because nobody follows through. Okay, maybe not nobody, but certainly not everybody!
You swap details. You get home. You’re tired. Life takes over. And six weeks later you remember that chat and feel a little sting of guilt because you never reached out.
Not this time.
Some of the people I met actually self-identified as leads on the spot. They said things like “I really need help with that” or “that’s exactly where I’ve been stuck.” Those are easy. A genuine, personal reach-out in the days after the event keeps that connection alive, and I know exactly how to nurture them.
And some of them are warm, potential leads. Not potential sales. They connected with me. They now follow me on Instagram. They might sign up for my newsletter (this one). And the job right now isn’t to sell to them — it’s just to stay on their radar in a way that actually feels good on both sides.
That’s what nurturing is. Not a drip campaign designed to convert. Not a string of check-in messages asking if they’ve thought about it yet. Just showing up consistently as a real person who’s genuinely useful, thoughtful, and curious.
After a networking event, before you do anything else, sort your new contacts into two buckets.
Hot leads: people who expressed genuine interest, said something that sounded like a yes, or specifically named a problem you solve. These get a warm, genuine personal reach-out within 24hrs while the conversation is still fresh. Make sure it’s personalised and not all about you.
General Leads: people you connected with who you haven’t had a sales conversation with yet, or aren’t ready yet, but who might be down the track. These go into your nurture list. You’re not chasing them. You’re just staying visible, connected, and useful over time.
We separate them because treating both groups the same can result in either pushing too hard or waiting too long. That can lead to lengthy silences, and nobody likes waiting for an eternity for a reply. Knowing which is which means you can show up with each one with confidence rather than uncertainty or second-guessing.
If you want specific suggestions and guidance, come to one of my lead workshops.
