The room was full, the energy was great, and people came up afterward with real interest. Then most of them disappeared. You have a handful of business cards you forgot to follow up and a list that barely grew.
The event was a success by every measure except the one that matters most: turning the attention you earned into relationships and revenue.
Free: the Events, Training & Consulting course. A plain-language walk from registration to follow-up to invoice. Start the course
What the silence costs you
Every attendee who vanishes is a conversation you earned and never had. Six weeks later you are back at square one, promoting the next event to a list that barely grew.
Why people disappear
It is not the event. It is the 72 hours after it. Contact details are scattered, no one is assigned to follow up, and there is no easy next step for the people who are ready.
The process: five steps from registration to signed client
1. Capture every attendee as a contact
When someone registers, record their name, email, phone and which event they attended in one list.
Example: “Registered for the October workshop.”
Pro tip: Collect payment at registration for paid events. People who paid show up.
2. Email the next day
Send a thank-you with a useful resource and one soft call to action, to attendees who agreed to hear from you.
Example: “Thanks for coming, here are the slides, and here is how to book a call.”
Pro tip: Include your unsubscribe link and honour it. It is both the law and good manners.
Free: the Events, Training & Consulting course. A plain-language walk from registration to follow-up to invoice. Start the course
3. Make booking a call easy
Share a link so interested people can pick a time without a back-and-forth.
Example: “Book a 20-minute call here.”
Pro tip: After the call, log a next step and a date.
4. Send a clear proposal
Spell out scope, fees and timeline and let the client accept it online.
Example: “Workshop series, three sessions, fixed fee.”
Pro tip: Follow up on any proposal that has been out for a week.
5. Track the work and invoice from it
Log hours and expenses against the engagement and invoice from the record. For recurring work, set the invoice to repeat.
Example: “Monthly retainer invoice, reviewed and sent.”
Pro tip: Review the first few automatic invoices before trusting them.
Where this runs
All five steps work with a spreadsheet and a calendar. When volume grows, we run the same process inside the business system we set up for clients (Odoo Community), with registrations, contacts, follow-up emails, proposals and invoices connected. The process is the point. The tool just keeps it going when you are busy. The free two-minute Enquiry Leak Check will show you where enquiries slip away in your business.
Your next step
Before your next event, decide who emails attendees the next day and what the one next step is. If you want to see the full flow, the free Events, Training & Consulting course walks through it.
Free: the Events, Training & Consulting course. A plain-language walk from registration to follow-up to invoice. Start the course