Ken AI logo

Sales email templates

Trade Show Follow-Up Email Templates

In Ken's view, send the first email within 1-2 business days of the show, name the conversation or the problem they mentioned, and ask for a call. The 7 templates below cover booth talks, brief hellos, badge scans, missed meetings and session attendees.

Template 1 as a Ken Sequence Step

Ken sequence step

Query

Sequence step 1 - Trade show follow-up email

Subject
From the [event name] booth
Body preview
Good to talk at the [event name] booth. You mentioned [their problem], and the short answer is [key point]. Want me to show you ...
Variables
{firstName}, {company}, {sender_first_name}
You write
[event name], [their problem], [key point]

Template 1 below, "The booth conversation recap", set up as the first step of a Campaigns sequence.

Use this template in KenAI personalization: 300 credits per 1,000 contacts

When to Use

In short Send it within 1-2 business days of a trade show or conference, to everyone you met or scanned.

  • You had a real booth conversation and promised to send something.
  • You met for a minute and need to give the one-sentence version.
  • You only scanned their badge and need an honest first email.
  • You planned to meet and missed each other.
  • They came to your talk or session.

Templates

In short Copy any of the 7 templates below, replace each [bracketed] part and cut any line that isn't true for you. Ken fills the {firstName}-style variables.

Variables

The templates use Ken's editor syntax. Ken fills {firstName}, {company} and {industry} from each contact and {sender_first_name} from the sending inbox. {{First Line}} is an AI variable. Ken's AI personalization writes it for each contact from the prompt of that name. To cover an empty field, add a fallback after a pipe, such as {firstName|there}. Replace every word in [brackets] with your own before you paste.

Your signature

For cold and other commercial email, put your postal address and a one-line opt-out in the signature under {sender_first_name}, such as "Reply stop and I won't email again." The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires both, B2B email included.

Template 1: The booth conversation recap
Subject: From the [event name] booth

Hey {firstName},

Good to talk at the [event name] booth. You mentioned [their problem], and the short answer is [key point].

Want me to show you how it would work at {company} next week?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It picks up the exact problem they named at the booth, so it reads as the next beat of that talk, not a cold email.

Template 2: The met-briefly email
Subject: [event name] hello

Hey {firstName},

We only had a minute at [event name], so here's the short version: we help {industry} teams [outcome].

Open to a proper call next week?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It admits the chat was short and gives the one sentence they need to say yes.

Template 3: The badge-scan email
Subject: After [event name]

Hey {firstName},

You stopped by our stand at [event name], though we didn't get to talk. Most people who visit are looking at [common reason].

If that's you, I can show you how {company} would [outcome]. Want a walkthrough?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It's honest about the badge scan and leads with the most common reason people visit, so it never fakes a conversation.

Template 4: The missed-you email
Subject: Missed you at [event name]

Hey {firstName},

I hoped to catch you at [event name], but our schedules didn't line up. I wanted to show you [topic], since [reason it fits].

Want to do it on a call next week instead?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: The missed meeting is a true, specific reason to write, and the ask moves the same conversation to a call.

Template 5: The session-attendee email
Subject: After the [session name] session

Hey {firstName},

Thanks for coming to [session name] at [event name]. The part most people asked about afterwards was [topic], so I wrote up how teams like {company} handle it.

Want me to send it over?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It extends the session with one useful follow-on piece, which is easy to say yes to.

Template 6: The post-show meeting ask
{firstName},

Now that [event name] is behind us, I'd like to pick up where we left off on [topic]. I can show you [what you show] using {company}'s own numbers.

Open to a call this week or next?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: Once the post-show inbox has cleared, a direct ask that builds on the booth chat gets read.

Template 7: The show close
{firstName},

I still think {company} would get [outcome] from what we talked about at [event name].

If it's not relevant right now, just reply and I'll stop emailing.

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It ends the show thread with belief and a plain opt-out, which earns a reply either way.

Timing

In short Ken's view: send the first email within 1-2 business days of the show, then follow up 2-4 days apart and stop after 3 emails.

Trade show follow-up email cadence
DayStepGoal
Day 1 or 2Recap (template 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5)Pick up the conversation while they remember you
Day 5Meeting ask (template 6)Give one new reason to reply and ask for the call
Day 10Close (template 7)Give an easy yes or an easy out

Day 1 is the first business day after the show. Later gaps follow Ken's sequence guide: 2-4 days between emails, up to 5 before the last one.

Examples

In short 3 filled-in versions for industrial packaging, veterinary practice group and construction equipment rental, all with fictional companies.

Cindergate Packaging is a fictional company. A rep for a warehouse automation vendor writes to the plant director they talked to at the booth about mis-picks.

Example: Industrial packaging
Subject: From the packaging show

Hey Ruth,

Good to talk at our booth at the packaging show. You mentioned mis-picks on the mixed-pallet line, and the short answer is a scan check at the wrap station, not more people on the floor.

Want me to show you how it would work at Cindergate next week?

Mateo

Fallowmere Veterinary Group is a fictional company. A rep for a clinic scheduling app writes to a practice manager whose badge was scanned at the stand, with no real conversation.

Example: Veterinary practice group
Subject: After the vet conference

Hey Joel,

You stopped by our stand at the vet conference, though we didn't get to talk. Most practice managers who visit are trying to cut no-shows on routine visits.

If that's you, I can show you how Fallowmere would fill those gaps from its own waitlist. Want a walkthrough?

Hana

Kettleby Equipment Rental is a fictional company. A fleet-telematics rep writes to a rental branch manager they planned to meet at the show but missed.

Example: Construction equipment rental
Subject: Missed you at the rental show

Hey Carla,

I hoped to catch you at the rental show, but our schedules didn't line up. I wanted to show you idle-time tracking, since Kettleby added two branches this year and the fleet is spread thin.

Want to do it on a call next week instead?

Dev

Mistakes to Avoid

  • Waiting a week to write. By then the post-show inbox is full; send the first email within 1-2 business days.
  • Sending every lead the same "Great to meet you" email. Write one version for real conversations and an honest one for badge scans.
  • Pretending you talked when you only scanned a badge. They know, and the email reads as fake from the first line.
  • Attaching the brochure. Ken's deliverability rules flag attachments on a first email; describe the one thing they asked about and offer to send it.
  • Writing "Thanks for stopping by" and nothing else. Name the problem they mentioned and ask for the next step.

FAQ

How soon should you follow up after a trade show?

Within 1-2 business days, while they still remember the conversation. Then send follow-ups 2-4 days apart and stop after 3 emails, in line with Ken's sequence guide.

What do you write in a follow-up email after a conference?

Name where you met and the problem they mentioned, give the short answer and ask for one next step, such as a call next week. If you only scanned their badge, say so.

What subject line works for a trade show follow-up?

Plain words with the event and the topic, such as "From the packaging show" or "Missed you at the rental show". Skip "Great to meet you" for scans you never spoke to.

Should you send the same email to every trade show lead?

No. Split leads into real conversations, brief hellos and badge scans, and write one version for each, so nobody gets a recap of a talk they never had.

How many follow-up emails should you send after a trade show?

Three in total is a good default: the recap, one meeting ask with a new reason and a short close. Add another only if it says something new.

Do This in Ken

Send This Sequence in Ken

Run these templates as a Campaigns sequence in Ken. Campaigns finds and qualifies leads, writes personalized email and LinkedIn sequences, and sends them from your outbound inboxes. AI personalization, priced below, can fill the personal lines for each contact.

  1. Create a campaign and paste template 1 as the first email step.
  2. Add the next steps from this page on the days in the timing table.
  3. Replace every [bracketed] part, and add a fallback such as {firstName|there} where a field can be empty.
  4. Add your contacts and launch.
Module
Campaigns
Open in Ken
/waitlist
Cost
AI personalization: 300 credits per 1,000 contacts
Join the waiting listGet a free campaign built

The new Ken opens to the waiting list in batches.

Related

Sources

Every source, with the date we checked it
SourceChecked
FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business
Ken cold email skills (MIT), email-copywriting and campaign-strategy

Changelog

  1. Page published.