After a Vietnam Trade Delegation: A B2B Follow-Up Plan

Start with the meetings that actually took place

Compare the final schedule with the delegates' notes. Record which appointments took place, who attended and what each company wanted to discuss. Keep cancelled or rescheduled appointments visible so they can be handled appropriately in the program report.

For each completed meeting, identify the action accepted by the participants. A request for a product sheet needs a document and a sender. A possible technical call needs someone to check interest and availability. Where the notes are unclear, ask the delegate to confirm the intended next step before contacting the counterpart.

Keep each delegate company's records separate. Two businesses in the same delegation may have spoken to the same Vietnamese organization about different subjects. Preserve that context when assigning follow-up.

Prioritize the tasks with a clear owner and purpose

Start with commitments that already have an agreed date, then look for information blocking the next discussion. For example, a counterpart may need an application detail before it can review the proposed equipment. Resolve that dependency before asking for a new appointment.

Use the discussion to decide what comes next. An active technical inquiry may need a specialist response, while an exploratory conversation may need a short reading pack and an agreed later check-in. Let the counterpart's stated interests and timing guide the approach.

When a company has not expressed interest in continuing, record that outcome. It gives the organizer useful feedback about the matching brief and helps the team focus its effort on relevant actions.

Use a meeting action tracker

A shared worksheet or your existing customer-management system can hold the action list. Give every task one person responsible for moving it forward. The fields below are a suggested starting structure; adapt them to the information your program needs.

Send a short message tied to the conversation

The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service recommends a brief email after a trade event to thank the contact and share relevant information. For a delegation meeting, make the reference specific enough that the recipient can connect the message to the discussion.

The example below uses placeholders. It describes neither an actual company nor a completed TD VIET NAM assignment. Replace the bracketed text with the details and commitments from your meeting, and send only the material appropriate to that conversation.

Subject: Follow-up on [topic] — [Company A] and [Company B], [meeting date]

Hello [Name], thank you for meeting with us during [delegation or event] in [location]. We discussed [application or business objective] and your question about [specific point].

As agreed, I am sharing [document or information]. The section on [relevant part] addresses [question discussed]. [Named colleague] will provide [remaining item] by [agreed date], subject to [dependency, if any].

Would [proposed next step] be useful once you have reviewed this information? Please let us know your preferred timing, or if a different colleague should join the discussion.

Best regards, [Name, role, company and contact details].

Agree what the delegate, organizer and local team will handle

Discuss responsibilities before the coordination assignment closes. Commercial answers usually need input from the participating company, while the organizer may be gathering a program summary and the local coordinator may be helping with introductions or meeting arrangements. Confirm the actual scope with everyone involved.

The table below is an example of how responsibilities can be divided. It should be adapted to the project agreement and the companies' preferred working process.

Review pending replies before sending a reminder

Check that the promised material was sent to the agreed contact and that your own outstanding task has been completed. If there was a review date, use it as the basis for a relevant check-in. If no timing was agreed, ask whether the subject is still a priority and when a further conversation would be useful.

Keep a reminder focused on the question or action left open. A message that repeats a general sales introduction gives the counterpart little reason to respond. Record any change in priorities, contact person or timing so the next follow-up reflects the latest conversation.

If a contact asks to end the discussion, update the record and respect that request. Where there is no response, describe the task as awaiting a reply and decide internally when to review or close it.

Report outcomes with the evidence available

Build the organizer's report around the delegation's original objectives. A distributor search may produce requests for product information and further partner discussions. A market-exploration visit may produce clearer requirements or reveal that a proposed company type is a poor fit. Both can be useful findings when recorded accurately.

Separate delivered activity from later commercial developments. Identify the meetings held and the follow-up actions confirmed. Record subsequent progress when the participating company reports it, with an update date. Keep confidential company details within the agreed reporting audience.

Use the review to improve the next brief. If several meetings needed different technical participants, adjust the requested roles. If buyers asked for information missing from the company profile, add it before the next outreach assignment.

• Meetings and activities delivered, supported by the final attendance record
• Topics discussed and information requested
• Agreed actions, owners, timing and outstanding dependencies
• Feedback on counterpart relevance and meeting preparation
• Later developments reported by the companies, with their status and update date

Include follow-up in your Vietnam program brief

Agree the follow-up scope while planning the visit: who keeps the meeting records, how companies receive introductions, which coordination tasks continue after the event and when the organizer receives an update. A clear handover helps each team know which actions it owns.

TD VIET NAM supports trade delegation planning, B2B schedules, local coordination and post-program reporting. Share your target sector, participating company profiles and the support you need after meetings to discuss an appropriate project scope.

Common questions