VIP WEEK: First Time Guest Follow-up

This whole week we’re focused on the first time guest.

(As I say in the video, I’ll interchange “First time guest” with “VIP”. Same thing.)

• Who they are.

• How to find them, know them, talk to them.

• Why it’s important.

But the majority of the content will most likely land on HOW to follow up with them.

Right off the bat … this is NOT a manipulation or sales gimmick. I HATE that. And more than that, I hate the false-humility “deep church” people who think being a good steward of guests, a good connector, and a hopeful disciple-maker is somehow a bad thing.

Hey Chaco-wearing dude, if you want to be passive about your guests, that’s totally fine. But being intentionally proactive in connecting with first time guests is not a bad thing.

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A few starting clarifiers:

1. A GUEST is someone you expect to come back. A VISITOR comes once and you won’t see them again. You VISIT a hospital. You’re a GUEST at Disney.

   1. Cue music “Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test … .“ You get the idea.

   2. Language matters. Stop saying “Visitors.”

2. There is not one way to follow up with guests that trumps all others. The work, the intentionality, the evaluations, the flexibility to adjust, and more… all that goes into making great connections and great experiences.

3. There is NO magic tech system that I’ll ever endorse that will take the place of a personal connection. 99% of the cool new software, system, or database tools help the staff be more efficient, not the guest. And 99% of those times, the staff are just being more efficiently disconnected from real people. Which brings me to this…

4. If you don’t have time to text someone who comes to your church, stop working at church. You’re NOT that busy. Literally you’re not. Literally no one. Literally. Yes, that famous guy too. Literally. Literally I’m literally so you get the point. If you don’t want to talk to people, change industries. You’re not made for vocational ministry. (Or you’re choosing to be bad at it, actually.)

   1. This is coming from me, the introvert, who works hard to smile, be patient, speak slower, endure dumb stories, and who gives my number to almost anyone who asks. And I still sleep at night fine, I get more done in a day than most in a week, and I don’t need soul-health retreats every 6 weeks. So it CAN be done.

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VIP Week, it’s on! Here’s what’s coming.

1. Intro (this post)

2. The First Text

3. The Second Text

4. The Third Text

5. The Wins

Add you questions as you think of them. Otherwise I can’t help.

See you tomorrow.