How’s Your Party Business?
By Beth Standlee, CEO, TrainerTainment
Group events and birthday party business is something this industry can count on. Even when times are hard, people desire social connection. Hoping for enough walk in traffic to provide your business all the profit you need may not be the best strategy these days.
Marketing Alone Is Not Enough
Discounts, marketing promotions, social likes or clicks can be an iffy way to generate enough revenue to cover payroll. Soooooo, maybe it’s time to break out your party shoes and work on inviting people to hold their next group event or party at your place.
I know it would be great for everyone to book online. I meet many owners who want digital to do the heavy lifting. However, as the author of People Buy From People, I still feel the best way to consistently build business is to stop hoping automation, ad spend and digital booking will drive the same kind of business that consistent outreach to companies, kid groups, charitable organizations and church groups can.
Implement a 3-Pronged Approach
I’m not anti-marketing. However, marketing should drive leads, then, sales closes the deal and operations delivers a great experience. If you want the kind of business that realizes sales on purpose, 2026 is the year to commit to this 3-pronged approach.
Guidelines that Drive Results
It’s not enough to establish revenue goals. Party and group revenue are a result of daily behaviors that drive sales. Here’s a simple formula for a full-time sales representative.
Good KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) rely on measurable actions. In my experience with hundreds of sales teams, the following focus makes the biggest difference in group and party growth.
KPI #1: Meaningful Conversations
Each day a good sales team member will make or take the number of calls needed to have at least 10 meaningful conversations daily (50 weekly).
The definition of a meaningful conversation is they know what to do next with the lead. Examples could be:
1. They are sending a proposal.
2. They closed the deal and got a deposit.
3. They need to have a follow-up call with someone else and book a date and time for the call.
4. The potential lead said, “never mind, I’m not interested.”
KPI #2 – Close Ratio
Outbound Group Effort – A good group sales representative will spend no less than 20%-25% of their time working on outbound leads. This effort could include past event reach, referral and new business development. Often, the close ratio may only be about 10% with this group. Even with this low rate of close, establishing new business is the growth spurt that can take your group business from 8%-10% of your total revenue to 15%-30%. The other great news about having group events is new people, who’ve never been to your place, now know how wonderful you are and will bring their friends and family back on another day!
A 10% close ratio with outbound sales is an acceptable close ratio for this type of reach.
Inbound Group Leads – When a lead comes in through the web, the phone, or the front door, a well-trained sales representative will close 40%-60% of the time when it comes to group sales. If they aren’t closing at this rate, it may be that they are a transactional reservationist rather than a trained relational sales rep who understands how a solid people first sales process can make all the difference.
Aim for a 50% close ratio with inbound group sales leads.
Birthdays – It is wise to have an online booking system for birthdays. Birthdays tend to be static with set time slots and well-established packages. The data shows us that 60% or more birthdays are being booked online so if you are missing an online booking option, you may be passed over by a location who does provide that option. We still need well-trained representatives who have the knowledge to follow a sound sales process and when they do, birthday party close ratios can be as high as 70%. They’ve called you. Manage the call in a caring way by connecting, qualifying, focusing on the child, proposing the best solution, and closing the sale.
A 70% close ratio is achievable with birthday leads.
I hope groups and parties are a focus for you this year. Set good goals and manage the behaviors that create sales. Please feel free to reach out to me if you want additional support. I’m always happy to talk through your current situation.
Beth is the CEO of TrainerTainment LLC, a coaching company devoted to the family entertainment and hospitality industries. Beth and her team are focused on helping the companies they serve make more money through sales, guest service, leadership and social media marketing training. Training products and services are delivered in person, through books and DVDs, and virtually with e-learning courses, webinar development and 24/7 online access. Beth is also president of AAMA. Visit her company’s website at
www.trainertainment.com.