Trade show follow-up email: template, examples and ChatGPT prompt
Updated · By Robert Breen
A trade show follow-up email thanks the lead, mentions what you actually talked about at the booth and offers one small next step, sent within a few days of the show. Use this the Monday after a trade show, when you have a stack of badge scans and scribbled notes and a two-day window before the memory fades. Leads ignore a generic "great to meet you" email. They answer one that remembers what they said and offers a small next step. The prompt turns each lead's notes into a short, personal email and sorts leads by how warm they were, so the strongest conversations get your attention first.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are a sales rep writing follow-up emails to people you met at a trade show. Context: The show was [SHOW]. We sell [WHAT WE SELL]. My offer for follow-up: [NEXT STEP OFFER]. Here are my notes on each lead, one per line, with name, company and what we talked about: [LEAD NOTES]. Task: For each lead write a short email that mentions one specific thing from our conversation, connects it to one thing we do, and proposes the next step above. Mark each lead hot, warm or light based only on the notes, and list the hot ones first. If the notes are too thin to write something personal, say so instead of inventing a detail. Don't promise anything I didn't list and don't claim we have met before the show. Format: For each lead: the name, the rating, a subject line, then the email under 90 words. Warm, direct, no hype. Sign off as [YOUR NAME].
Fill in the blanks
[SHOW]- The event name and date.
[WHAT WE SELL]- Your product or service in a few words.
[NEXT STEP OFFER]- The one thing you'll offer, such as a 20-minute call or a demo link.
[LEAD NOTES]- One line per lead: name, company, what they said or asked. Shorthand is fine.
[YOUR NAME]- The name that signs the emails.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an AI Demo Request Form That Qualifies Leads. Northwind Scheduling Software is the made-up software company from the sales lessons. The trade show and the three leads below are invented for this example.
Role: You are a sales rep writing follow-up emails to people you met at a trade show. Context: The show was the Regional Clinic Managers Expo, October 22. We sell scheduling software for appointment-based businesses. My offer for follow-up: a 20-minute demo call this week or next. Here are my notes on each lead, one per line, with name, company and what we talked about: Dana Whitfield, Whitfield Physical Therapy: three clinics, double-bookings, asked about text reminders, wants a call soon. Raj Patel, Patel Family Dental: just browsing, took a brochure. Ellen Cho, Cho Vision Center: renewing her current software in January, wants to compare. Task: For each lead write a short email that mentions one specific thing from our conversation, connects it to one thing we do, and proposes the next step above. Mark each lead hot, warm or light based only on the notes, and list the hot ones first. If the notes are too thin to write something personal, say so instead of inventing a detail. Don't promise anything I didn't list and don't claim we have met before the show. Format: For each lead: the name, the rating, a subject line, then the email under 90 words. Warm, direct, no hype. Sign off as Sam.
What a good answer looks like
- Dana is rated hot and her email names the three clinics and the double-bookings.
- Ellen is warm, and her email mentions the January renewal and a comparison.
- Raj's note is thin, so the email stays short and the output says why.
- Each email proposes the same 20-minute demo call and nothing more.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Verify that every personal detail matches your notes. A wrong detail shows you weren't listening.
- Don't send a batch under one subject line. Read each email as the person receiving it.
- Check that you can actually deliver the demo times you offered, and add real slots before sending.
- Log each lead and their rating in your CRM before the emails go out.
Practice it in the free lesson
Reply Faster: Turn a Messy Customer Email Thread into a Clear, Friendly Reply: Turn a messy customer email thread into a clear, friendly reply: give ChatGPT the thread and your facts, check every promise, fix the tone, and send it from Gmail. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Build an AI Demo Request Form That Qualifies Leads
Terms used here
Related prompts
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- Cold outreach email prompt: An honest cold email prompt for ChatGPT: verified facts about the prospect only, who you are and why you're writing, one easy…
More follow-ups prompts
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- Vendor W-9 request email prompt: Ask a vendor or subcontractor for a Form W-9 with a clear reason, a deadline and a safe way to send it, so year-end forms aren't…
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Frequently asked questions
- How do I follow up with trade show leads by email?
- 1) Sort your badge scans and notes into hot, warm and cold. 2) Write to the hot leads first, within two or three days. 3) Open with the detail they told you, not "great to meet you." 4) Offer one small next step, such as a 15-minute call or a sample. 5) Send one short follow-up a week later if they don't reply.
- Is there a trade show follow-up template I can copy?
- A simple template: "Hi (name), thanks for stopping by our booth at (show). You mentioned (their problem or question). (One sentence on how you help with that.) Would a 15-minute call next week be useful? (Your name)." The prompt fills one in per lead from your notes, so each email sounds like you remembered them.
- What are some trade show follow-up email examples?
- Hot lead: "Great talking about your scheduling backlog. Can we do a 20-minute demo this week?" Warm lead: "Nice to meet you at the show. Here is the one page on the feature you asked about. Want a demo when it suits you?" No reply: "Following up once in case my first note got buried. I can send times for a short demo whenever you are ready." Each one names a real detail from the conversation.