Trade show follow up email template: copy, adapt, send

You are back from the fair with a stack of business cards, and the first job is to send everyone a thank-you. The hard part is not writing; it is writing to thirty people one by one, personally and fast. This post has a trade show follow up email template for each interest level, plus WhatsApp versions: copy one, change two details, send. When to send is a different question, and Following up after a trade fair covers it.

What a good follow up email after a trade show contains

• Where you met. The name of the fair and, if you can, the stand. The person you are writing to talked to hundreds of people that day.
• One detail you discussed. “The problem on your packaging line”, “winter stock”. This sentence is what separates your message from a mass mailing.
• What you promised. Price list, catalogue, samples. Attach it, or say when it will arrive.
• One next step. A meeting day, a call, a visit. Offer two options, not five.
• Keep it short. A thank-you e-mail that does not fit on one phone screen gets left for later.

In the templates below, replace what is in square brackets: [Name], [Fair], [detail], [promise].

Hot contact: right away, with a concrete step

A hot contact showed clear interest at the stand: asked for a price or wanted a meeting. This message goes out within the first day or two. According to EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2015 survey, only 22% of exhibitors respond to trade show leads within 24–48 hours (ExhibitorOnline); writing early puts you in the minority.

Subject: After [Fair]: [promise] attached

Hi [Name],

Thank you for stopping by our stand at [Fair]. We talked about [detail]; as promised, [promise] is attached.

I would like to go through it in a short call. Would Tuesday or Thursday afternoon work for you?

Best regards, [Your name] · [Your phone]

WhatsApp:

Hi [Name], we met at [Fair], I’m [Your name]. The [promise] I mentioned is in your inbox. Could we have a short call this week about [detail]?

Warm contact: remind, keep the door open

A warm contact was interested but in no hurry. The message goes out in the first week and reminds more than it asks.

Subject: We met at [Fair]

Hi [Name],

We had a short chat at [Fair] about [detail]. I am attaching our catalogue; the pages on [detail] are [page numbers].

If this comes up in the next few months, I am one phone call away.

Kind regards, [Your name] · [Your phone]

WhatsApp:

Hi [Name], we talked about [detail] at [Fair]. I have sent the catalogue to your e-mail; if you have questions, write me here.

Cold contact: a short thank-you is enough

A cold contact dropped a card and walked on, or has no need right now. A thank-you and a link are enough; do not push.

Subject: Thank you for visiting [Fair]

Hi [Name],

Thank you for stopping by our stand at [Fair]. You can look at our products at [website]. I hope to see you again at the next fair.

[Your name]

Follow up email after a trade show: as a visitor

If you went to the fair as a visitor, without a stand, a thank-you still works. This time you stopped at a stand and got information:

Hi [Name],

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about [detail] at your stand at [Fair]. As we discussed, we would like a quote for [what you need]. I can share the details whenever it suits you.

Best regards, [Your name] · [Your company]

An example, filled in

Here is the hot-contact e-mail with the brackets filled in. This is the level of detail that makes it read as personal.

Subject: After Hannover Messe: price list attached

Hi Maria,

Thank you for stopping by our stand at Hannover Messe. We talked about the leaks on your packaging line; as promised, the price list for the new seal range is attached.

I would like to go through it in a short call. Would Tuesday or Thursday afternoon work for you?

Best regards, Alex · +00 000 000 000

Use the same structure for warm and cold contacts: a thank-you, one detail, one link.

After you send

Two things remain once the message is out: recording what you sent, and deciding when to write again if no reply comes. With a list of thirty people, you cannot keep that in your head. Counting who replied, who is waiting and how many you got back to per fair is covered in Trade show follow up best practices.

How Musteri makes this easier

Musteri has no ready-made message templates; you copy the text from this post and paste it. What it does is everything around the message:

• It is clear who to write first. In Fair Mode each record is saved with an interest level (hot, warm, cold) and the follow-up is set automatically: the next day for hot, three days for warm, a week for cold.
• The fair’s follow-up list. Each fair has its own list, so you see at a glance who is waiting for a reply.
• E-mail or WhatsApp in one tap. From a person’s page your e-mail app or a WhatsApp chat opens. You paste the text from this post.
• Every contact is recorded. E-mails, WhatsApp chats and calls you start from Musteri are added to the timeline automatically, so you can see later which contact you wrote to and when.
• Notes hold the detail. The [detail] blank in the template is filled by the note or voice note you took at the stand.

How the record is created at the stand is on the Fair Mode page.