As I mentioned in my last email about The Princess Bride, Miracle Max was onto something when he said “mostly dead is still slightly alive.”
I want to stay on that thought for a second, because something is happening in our industry right now that makes follow-up more important than it has ever been in the history of venue sales.
Here’s the data point that knocked me sideways when I first heard it:
Gen Z couples—who are now the primary wedding demographic, as you know—are taking up to **six months** from their first venue inquiry to making a booking decision.
Six. Months.
For context: five years ago, the industry standard was 2–5 days post-site-tour. Couples would walk your property on a Saturday and you’d have a signed contract by Monday. Those days are gone, and they are not coming back.
This isn’t ghosting. This isn’t disinterest. This is a generation that researches everything deeply, consults with everyone in their lives, compares and reconsiders, and takes their time with every major financial decision. They’re not being difficult. They’re being themselves.
Which means:
The “mostly dead” lead you wrote off after three weeks of silence? Still slightly alive.
The couple who toured in January and hasn’t responded since? Still in play.
The inquiry from before the holidays? Worth one more run at it.
But here’s the catch: staying in front of a couple for six months without being annoying is a skill. And most venues don’t have a system for it.
So here are three things that actually work:
1) Stop following up. Start showing up.
There’s a difference between a follow-up email that says “Just checking in! ” (which nobody wants to receive) and a follow-up that gives them something. A new photo from a recent wedding at your venue. A note that a date they mentioned is starting to attract interest. A detail you forgot to mention on the tour that you think they’d love. Every touchpoint should hand them something, not just remind them you exist.
2) Build a 6-month drip cadence and actually use it.
If you’re currently sending one follow-up email after the site tour and then waiting, you’re leaving bookings on the table. Map out three to five touchpoints and space them out over a few months, and make each one feel human and personal. You don’t need to write them all from scratch—you need a system. The venues winning right now have a follow-up sequence that runs whether or not they remember to send it.
3) Use the unexpected email.
When a couple has gone completely quiet and you want to know if they’re still in the game, don’t send “Just wanted to follow up!” Send something that surprises them a little. One of our top venue consultants famously sends what she calls the “toothpaste email”—subject line: “Toothpaste.” The email simply says: “I’m a mom, so when things go quiet I automatically assume someone’s in the bathroom making a mess. Just wanted to make sure everything’s okay with you two.” It works. Every time. Not because it’s a trick, but because it’s human—and humans respond to humans.
Bonus tip: if you get a response from the couple telling you they’ve booked elsewhere, cheer that! And try to find out where they booked. That info is very useful data for you!
TO-DO FOR YOU THIS WEEK:
Go look at every lead from the last six months that you’ve mentally written off. Pull them up. Ask yourself honestly: did I give them several actual, value-adding touchpoints over that time—or did I send one email and assume they were gone?
If the answer is the latter, you have work to do. The good news is, it’s figure-out-able.
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