Treating Group Sales As A Funnel

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Most teams sit at a 75–85% group renewal rate… but that’s not the goal — it’s the starting point. In this episode, Jeremy breaks down what elite renewal actually looks like, why groups really don’t come back, and how small breakdowns quietly kill retention. If you want to stop rebuilding your book of business every year and start compounding revenue, this is a must-listen.

Key Topics Covered

• Why 75–85% renewal is average — and why 90%+ should be your target
• The hidden cost of low renewal rates (and how it kills efficiency)
• The real reason groups don’t come back: “death by a thousand cuts”
• Why lack of follow-up is the #1 renewal killer (and how to fix it)
• How experience vs. expectation gaps destroy retention
• Turning one-time group outings into long-term relationships
• Simple post-event follow-up systems that drive repeat bookings
• How to segment groups by renewal potential and prioritize the right ones
• Why you’re not selling tickets — you’re selling someone else’s reputation
• The KPIs that actually matter: tracking renewal revenue, not just volume

Timestamps

00:00 – Why renewal rates matter more than you think
 00:30 – Industry benchmarks vs. real goals (75–85% vs. 90%+)
 01:35 – Renewal rate = reflection of your entire system
 02:28 – The compounding impact of lost groups each year
 03:53 – Excluding one-time groups from your true renewal rate
 04:51 – Why higher renewal = massive efficiency gains
 05:20 – “Death by a thousand cuts” — why groups actually leave
 05:49 – The #1 mistake: not asking for the renewal
 06:45 – No follow-up = no renewal system
 07:16 – Experience vs. expectation gaps
 08:12 – Group leader pressure: you’re selling their reputation
 09:10 – Why transactional thinking kills long-term revenue
 09:39 – Creating next steps and ongoing engagement
 10:08 – One-time vs. repeatable groups (and how to handle both)
 11:04 – Turning situational buyers into repeat customers
 12:23 – Game day execution + post-event engagement
 12:52 – Using photos and recaps to reinforce the experience
 14:35 – Pricing vs. perceived value
 15:04 – Positioning your offer as a time-saver
 16:55 – Building a simple follow-up sequence (24–72 hours + beyond)
 17:21 – Creating urgency for next year’s booking
 18:10 – Giving group leaders a “win”
 18:39 – Segmenting groups by renewal potential
 19:31 – Tracking renewal KPIs that actually matter
 21:18 – Why renewal is always improve-able
 21:47 – The real takeaway: small issues drive churn
 22:17 – Shift from transactional → relationship-based selling
 23:13 – Using surveys and feedback to continuously improve

Episodes mentioned: 

134: Season Tickets vs Single Game - And How to Convert One Into the Other

139: What Is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)?

Call to Action

Pull your group sales data from last season and answer two questions:

1. What percentage actually renewed?
2. Why didn’t the others come back?

Then build a simple post-event follow-up system — because without it, you don’t have a renewal strategy… you have a guessing game.

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