A Guide to the Best Wedding Venue Showround Practices 

The viewing or showround is a vital and pivotal part of the wedding sales process and customer journey. You likely do this well, and I see some very well-planned viewings on my venue consultant travels. However, you can often make improvements to increase those conversion rates and obtain more booked dates from the same marketing and level of enquiries.

Are there things you’ve not updated in your processes or steps you perhaps used to do but have fallen out of the habit? Are there aspects that you take as given because your venue is like an old friend to you but is brand new to your potential wedding couple?  These are all things I encounter regularly when I’m auditing.

Today, I’m happy to share a generous handful of my best advice on ensuring your wedding venue viewing sets the right tone, ticking all the boxes of showcasing the best of what you can offer and helping you sell in a compelling way and with integrity at heart.

CONNECTION COMES FIRST

As the saying goes, ‘we don’t like to be sold to, but we like to buy’ and from people we bond with. Weddings are a people business like no other. The most crucial aspect to focus on in selling with ease, in person at a viewing, is building rapport and connection.

This is much easier in person than remotely, so plenty is on your side. Whilst knowing how to connect via building rapport can be a subject with lots to learn (I train on this separately, by the way), you can keep it simple by firstly showing genuine interest in that other person and secondly by always looking for shared experiences with the other person or people. Examples of this might be asking questions like how was your journey? Where did you travel from? But extending on that, depending on answers to look for a shared experience (perhaps you live in that town or maybe you have a connection to that place) – perhaps there is a chance to lead naturally onto asking about work or what their day-to-day is like.  Building rapport usually requires giving information about yourself to show a connection, match, and mirror. It can often be important to remember to listen as much as to ask the initial question – that might sound obvious, but when we’re trying to showcase what we have, there is a tendency to talk rather than listen. A mix of both is essential.

ARE YOU SHOWCASING YOUR HOSPITALITY?

It’s important to put yourself in your couple’s shoes – venue finding is part of the wedding journey and a life milestone. It’s also the first brush with how they and their guests will be hosted and looked after on the day with you.

Yes, it might be your 5th show round that day; yes, usually, your out-of-house caterers might run the food and beverage offering, but warmth and hospitality matter – pay attention to the simple but sometimes overlooked things. Offer a suitable drink – nicely prepared coffee, a stylishly prepared glass of something bubbly – presentation and greeting matters here more than you might think.

ASK BEFORE YOU TELL

An extension to my emphasis on listening above, listen to the needs and the brief before you launch into telling mode! Of course, many weddings will follow a pattern and a format at your venue, and you’ll know what works well in precise detail. Still, before you dive in and tell them what happens where, it’s essential to ask great questions of your couple to understand their motivators, needs, desires and challenges. Being able to fix and respond to their needs will have them buying with ease.

What does this couple want to prioritise? What’s important to them? Then, you can match it and meet their need with how you present your venue offering.

Some couples are more open than others  – absolutely. My best advice is to ensure you have requalified what info you have on them before you head off on that viewing. For many of my clients, that’s sitting down briefly over coffee to clarify priorities; it’s time well spent.

If they aren’t sure or aren’t keen to share their wedding plan, that’s fine, and it’s undoubtedly time to guide and inspire with your knowledge, but show and give options and, importantly, listen to the brief before providing the solution.

And don’t be afraid to use your intuition and instinct to ask a question that’s a bit “out there” (this is the coach in me speaking here as deep questions lead to breakthroughs!) – it might feel a bit uncomfortable, but if there is something that you think needs asking then politely (and with permission) raise it whilst you’re in person. If you detect, let’s say, price wobbles, niggles about turnaround times or use of space, for example, so much better to unearth that whilst you’re in person to spend time overcoming objections than to leave the couple to walk away.

AND HERE’S ONE WE PREPARED EARLIER

It might sound a little ‘Blue Peter’, and I might be preaching to the converted here, BUT for me, having a tablet (i.e. iPad) as part of your team viewing kit is essential. Yes, we all have images on our phones, but having a dedicated resource loaded with your venue’s galleries is far more professional, accessible, consistent across the team and a handy tool.

I know from my private work very recently that some venues have fallen out of the habit of using this or updating it when they did this before. If that’s you –  consider this your reminder to return to the tablet.

Spending time organising your images to showcase different styles will give you an easy-to-access resource to inspire couples according to their brief. You should sort your images seasonally to showcase winter, spring, etc., and what each season shows regarding your venue and outdoor features. You may want to have different spaces dressed in different styles. You may need to showcase an intimate set-up for the ceremony or dinner versus the big grand party. Never forget that most couples have never done anything like this before – they need to see it to believe it.

ASK FOR THE BOOKING

So you may not use those exact words, but are you making it clear at the end of a viewing that you’re keen and enthusiastic to welcome this couple to your venue, that you appreciate and want their wedding, that you love their plans and would be honoured to host them?

Are you offering to explain what happens next, talking them through aspects like catering, bar, and date holds?

Can they see themselves marrying there? Are you tackling doubts, questions, worries, wobbles and objections head-on? Did you know that often the first doubt stated is not usually the main one, so remembering to ask when you’ve answered one question, ‘And what else?’ can be an effective technique to have in mind…