After 15+ years running my tech services agency, I've learned that conferences and networking events are either goldmines or money pits. The difference? Your follow up system.
Conference tickets average $2,500+. As a small business owner, at the end of a long day of networking, I’d find myself shuffling business cards, trying to note who to follow up with. "Wait, Sarah was building which AI thing?"
Over the years, I’ve realized two things matter most: capturing context immediately and sending personalized follow-ups fast.
Doing this has not only doubled my immediate conversions from high intent leads but has also improved my referrals by 400% from people I was otherwise letting drop.
In the last year, I built Regards AI as a personal CRM for networking events to make this system scalable for myself.
Key Takeaways:The Problem: Conferences are expensive. You lose money if you forget details or you send generic follow-ups that get ignored. Two things matter most: capturing context immediately and sending personalized follow-ups fast. The System:
The Tool: Regards AI is a personal CRM for networking at events and conferences. It allows seamless and unlimited business card scans, voice notes to text, immediate reach outs and automated follow-ups. |
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What Actually Happens at Most Events
It's Day 2 at TechConf2025. Your pocket has 30+ business cards. Your brain is mush. You do a rough prioritization for the people most likely to be customers and ignore the others.
By the time you're back at the office a week later, you send generic "Nice meeting you!" emails. Most go unanswered. That $2,500 ticket just became an expensive networking exercise with zero ROI.
Why traditional networking fails:
Business cards get lost or mixed up
Even if you scan business cards, you’ve forgotten the context
The little details that you connected about are forgotten
Generic follow-ups get ignored
Your gut-based lead qualification system doesn’t always work
Delayed outreach = lost opportunity
I was guilty of all this. It cost me tens of thousands in missed opportunities.
My System for Maximizing ROI from attending Conferences
If you are wondering if that conference ticket is worth it, this system helps you maximize the returns from it.
During the Conversation
Be personal & authentic – Making a genuine, warm connection will increase the likelihood of you being remembered by them and of remembering them. Try to find shared interests, ask about family or find some personal detail to index on.
Be present — Focus on the conversation, not typing notes.
Be helpful – Think of yourself as an advisor not a “seller”. Being transactional is a turn-off.
Commit to next steps — Make specific promises: "I'll send that case study tonight."
Immediately after - Capture context
Scan their business card or save contact on phone
Record a 15-30 second voice note: "Met Sarah Chen from TechFlow. Struggling with SaaS retention. Mentioned DataCorp case study. Wants call next week. Loves hiking — just back from Patagonia."
The little details matter and become a starting point to build the relationship
After the Event (Same Day)
Add to Linkedin
Send personalized follow-up — That evening, send an email like:
"Hi Sarah, great connecting at TechConf! Enjoyed hearing about TechFlow's challenges. Here's the DataCorp case study [link]. Want to chat next week? Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon work? P.S. — Send me details of your favourite hike in Patagonia – I’d love to visit!"
Set reminders for:
Follow-up call (one week)
Value touchpoint (one month)
Why This Works
Speed matters: 24-hour follow-ups put you in the top 5%. You're fresh in their mind.
Details matter: Specific references prove you listened and create instant rapport.
Consistency matters: Every person gets followed up. Today's C-tier connection might be next year's biggest client.
Why I Built a Personal CRM for networking
I tried doing it manually with Apple Notes, spreadsheets, and notebooks. Nothing worked when meeting 50+ people at multi-day conferences.
I needed something that:
Worked on mobile
Easily saved and scanned business cards
Captured context without breaking conversation flow
Organized & researched contacts automatically
Reminded me to follow up
Made personalized outreach scalable & fast
That's why I built Regards.
How it works:
Scan the card (2 seconds)
Record voice note (context saved instantly)
Auto-research (pulls LinkedIn and company data)
Triggers personalized outreach (with customizable templates)
Automated reminders (based on your notes)
Result? I went from 30% follow-up rate to 100%. My conference ROI increased 4x.
What to Look For in an Events CRM or a Personal networking CRM:
Must-Haves
Mobile-first — Full functionality on your phone. Desktop-only CRMs are useless on conference floors.
Fast capture — Business card scanning and voice-to-text. Typing is impossible during events.
Flexible tagging — Tag by event, connection type, and priority level.
Immediate reach out – Email integration to send quick catch up notes right after the event
Nice-to-Haves
Auto-enrichment — Pulls LinkedIn profiles and company data automatically.
Follow-up automation — Quick-to-customize templates with scheduled sends.
Team collaboration features
Event ROI analytics
What Doesn't Matter
Complex pipeline stages
Lead qualification metrics (add them to your sales CRM once intent is shown)
Heavy reporting dashboards
Desktop-focused features
Tips for Maximum ROI
Before the Event
Prepare 3-4 email templates with attachments introducing yourself or your firm that you can customize quickly.
During the Event
Capture context in the 30 seconds after each conversation. Include what you discussed, their pain points, what you promised, and one personal detail.
After the Event
Process everything within 24 hours. Clean up typos, score connections, send all immediate follow-ups. Do NOT ignore anyone – sometimes the person you dismissed can be the one sending you referrals in 6 months.
Follow-up cadence
A-list: Immediate email + call in 1 week + monthly check-ins
B-list: Email in 24 hours + LinkedIn + quarterly touches
C-list: Newsletter + bi-annual value adds
Track metrics: Which events generated quality connections? What timing got best responses? How many turned into opportunities?
Ongoing
Keep engagement personal – AI is to be your assistant to remind you who to reach out to and when, but the connection should be entirely human
Be a connector — introduce people who'd benefit from knowing each other.
Add value first — share insights before making asks.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
"I'll remember later" — You won't. Capture immediately.
Generic follow-ups — "Nice meeting you" emails get deleted. Reference actual conversations.
One-and-done — Relationships need nurturing. Set multiple touchpoint reminders.
The Bottom Line
After 15 years of conferences, the best networkers aren't the most outgoing — they're the most organized. They remember your name months later. They follow up with what they promised. They nurture relationships consistently.
Your conference spend is too expensive to waste on forgotten business cards. Start simple: use an events-focused CRM, capture context immediately, and commit to 24-hour follow-ups.
Conferences can change your business trajectory. But only if you follow up.
Why we built Regards
I’m bad at staying in touch. Not because I don’t value people. Its a lot of work, and I didn’t have a system. This started as my fix. A quiet assistant that helped me nurture relationships thoughtfully. When people noticed the difference and asked what I was doing, it slowly evolved into a product. And the love has been incredible. Regards, Khuze
