Last night (Friday), I attended a local networking event. Good conversations. Solid connections. No pitching. This Saturday morning—less than 14 hours later—I sent a simple follow-up email. Not a sales message. Not a hard CTA. Just a genuine note to continue the conversation and a reminder about the Hub we discussed. Result? 👉 One person booked time on my calendar for this coming Monday. Here’s the lesson most people miss: Networking doesn’t work in the room. It works in the follow-up. My approach is simple: - Lead with a genuine compliment - Find common ground - Detach from the outcome - Follow up while the conversation is still fresh People don’t want to be sold. They want to reconnect with someone they enjoyed talking to. That 12–14 hour follow-up window is where relationships turn into momentum. Collecting business cards is easy. Building relationship currency takes intention. And that’s where real growth begins.