Practical tips from CLAY Venues on streamlining your event business, saving valuable time, and ensuring clear client communication.
In today’s fast-paced world, information and speed are everything. From how we build community to how we get our news—it all happens instantly. And events are no exception. Event pros know that clients need quick, clear information to make snap decisions and changes that bring their dream events to life.
Sounds great in theory, right? But the reality isn’t so simple. You’re not just an “easy button” for instant information. Instead you’re juggling multiple clients, vendors, timelines, and a mountain of details all at once.
Nobody gets this challenge better than CLAY Venues. Based in Colorado Springs, this events space is run by Becky Nuttall, Aaron Nuttall, and Tomi Erfe—a team with decades of event experience between them.
In their 6,000-square-foot urban industrial venue, they host everything from all-inclusive weddings to corporate events, and even provide studio space for photographers.
They’ve cracked the code on creating systems that help them manage tons of clients while giving everyone the information they need. And their business is thriving because of it—between 2023 and 2024, CLAY Venues saw their revenue jump by 48%.
Earlier this month, Mac Hughes, education manager at HoneyBook, chatted with Becky and Tomi on how the CLAY Venues team is able to do it all—in the age of instant information and speed. Here’s some key takeaways from the class on what every event pro should do to streamline their business, create clearer information and communication channels, and achieve their goals — all without burning out.
Automate, automate, automate
As we mentioned earlier, being an event pro can be a lot. The amount of tasks can be overwhelming, and getting that information quickly to potential and current clients can be a tedious task.
For the CLAY Venues team, automation has been critical to their success—they’ve set up systems internally that automate everything from time of inquiry to the day of the event. Automations are built in every part of the business, and the team credits automations for a lot of their success.
Here’s why:
It frees up your time for what matters most — running your business
“If you’re glued to your email answering questions all day long, you’re focusing too much in the depths of your business and not on what really matters,” Becky explains. Automating repetitive tasks and communications liberates your mental bandwidth for strategic thinking and creativity.
Whenever Becky noticed she was answering the same question multiple times in a week, she added it to her automation workflow. Questions about open houses, what clients should be doing during planning lulls, and other common inquiries now receive proactive communications, freeing her team from constant email monitoring.
It stretches your team’s capabilities
One of the most powerful benefits of automation is how it helps “stretch a smaller team for a longer period of time.” When Becky hired sales staff, she realized she couldn’t rely on mental notes about process exceptions or manual tweaks. Automation created consistency that allowed her team to function smoothly without her constant involvement.
As Becky puts it, systems should be set up so that “if you were not doing it, somebody else could come in and take over for you and make that happen.”
It helps reduce client confusion
Automation isn’t just about making your life easier—it also dramatically improves the client experience. By using automation to proactively answer common questions before clients even ask, you reduce confusion and anxiety.
For example, when clients with longer planning timelines started feeling anxious about whether they should be doing something, Becky’s team added an automated email that reassured them: “Hey, don’t worry, things are moving on our side. There’s nothing for you to do yet. We’re here if you have questions.” This simple automation has stopped those anxious check-in emails, and made their clients feel like they’re in the loop.
How to bring automation into your workflow
If you’re hesitant about diving into automation, Becky offers practical advice:
1. Block time for setup: “Block off your calendar, saying for the next two hours I’m going to work on automations and just kind of hammer it out and get it done.”
2. Start with what you already have: According to Becky, the best way to get started is using a recently completed project as a template to create from. “Much of what you need is probably in emails you’ve already sent,” says Becky. “Begin by copying those into your automation flows.”
3. Monitor and refine: Becky finds that reviewing her automations regularly is key, especially at the beginning of each booking season.
4. Embrace your humanity: Sometimes automations won’t be perfect and there’ll be some mistakes. But the pros of automations still far outweigh the cons. According to Becky; “Tomi and I have sent out emails too early and have had to follow up. Don’t worry. People are okay with you being human.”
The bottom line is clear: in today’s event industry, automation isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential for growth, client satisfaction, and your own sanity. As Becky says, keeping everything under one roof with strategic automation “just keeps there from being confusion and way less falls through the cracks.”
Meet your clients where they’re at
Let’s face it—the events industry isn’t what it used to be. Today’s clients communicate differently, research differently, and have entirely new expectations from the professionals they hire. The good news? Adapting to these changes doesn’t have to be complicated.
The key is surprisingly simple: meet your clients where they already are instead of expecting them to come to you. This means embracing how they communicate and creating bridges between digital conversations and in-person experiences through tools and graphics.
The most successful event pros have figured out that when you align your business with clients’ natural habits and preferences, everything gets easier—from initial inquiries to final bookings.
Clients are now digitally native—so you should be too
Today’s clients aren’t just planning differently—they’re communicating differently too. And Becky knows this first hand; “80 to 90% of current couples that are booking [with us], they’re young Gen Z. They’re doing everything on their phone.”
This dramatic statistic shouldn’t be surprising when you consider how most people—especially those who are Gen Z or Millennial—communicate:
- They’re constantly connected to their smartphones
- They prefer quick, informal communication channels
- They expect immediate responses and seamless experiences
- They’re less likely to regularly check email inboxes
As Becky notes, “They’re way more likely to check their text than they are to check their email.” Fighting this trend means potentially missing out on bookings and creating unnecessary friction in your client relationships.
Though embracing digital communication is essential, Becky reminds us that it’s just the first step. After successfully booking a tour through text or email automation, “it really kind of switches to being a hospitality moment, like really talking to them, finding out who they are, connecting with them person to person.”
Becky’s approach recognizes that technology should facilitate, not replace, meaningful human connections.
Dynamic and immersive visuals are critical to selling your space
For venue pros, it’s more important than ever to give your clients a canvas where they can fully visualize their dream event. “How can you show them their vision in your space? You’re really selling their own vision,” says Becky. This reveals the core of client-centered service in the event industry—understanding that couples aren’t simply buying your venue; they’re buying how their vision comes to life within it.
Floor plans take this visualization to the next level. Your digital materials should show rather than tell how the space will accommodate their specific needs.
In practice, this looks like:
- Interactive floor plans that adapt to guest counts
- Visual layouts showing different ceremony and reception configurations
- Digital representations of how vendors will be positioned in the space
These all play a crucial role in the CLAY Venue team’s process. Here’s how they implement it into their workflow:
- Bringing the vision everywhere: Becky’s team uses iPads during tours to capture clients’ ideas and preferences directly in HoneyBook’s notes section
- Real-time customization: They create proposals and adjust their Prismm floor plans on the fly during tours.
- Digital access across the board: Their entire team, including bartenders, planners, and assistants, has access to iPads with timelines and floor plans on wedding and event days.
- Centralizing all of the space information in one place: According to the CLAY Venues team, centralizing their floor plans and space configurations—like through the Prismm integration in HoneyBook— has not only been a game changer for the team, but also a more cohesive experience for their clients.
This approach helps clients move from abstract ideas to concrete visualization. As Becky notes, showing clients how their specific event will work in the space is fundamental to the sales process.
Ready to meet your clients where they are?
Here’s how to start:
1. Assess Your Current Communication Mix
Begin by honestly evaluating how you currently communicate with potential clients. Are you still relying heavily on email when your clients prefer texting? Do you make prospects fill out lengthy contact forms when they’d rather send a quick message?
2. Implement Multi-Channel Nurture Sequences
Take a page from Becky’s playbook by implementing a nurture sequence that includes both text and email. This two-pronged approach ensures you’re reaching clients through their preferred method while providing complete information.
3. Track Response Rates by Channel
Pay attention to which channels generate the highest engagement. As Mac noted in the conversation, “This is really highlighting being able to speak your couples’ marketing language.” Your metrics will tell you exactly which language they prefer.
4. Create a Seamless Handoff to In-Person
Once your technology successfully books that tour or consultation, have a plan for transitioning to the personal connection. Becky’s approach includes:
- Preparing a proposal in advance based on intake form information
- Having contracts templated and ready
- Focusing the in-person meeting on understanding the couple’s vision and investing in the right tools and visuals to make it come to life.
- Making the meeting about connection rather than paperwork
As mentioned in the live class, staying in lockstep with communication trends is “somewhat unique to the wedding industry” because couples “are always going to be in that kind of cutting edge technology” demographic.
Event professionals who recognize and adapt to these preferences create a significant competitive advantage. You’ll not only book more clients but also establish yourself as a modern, client-focused business—exactly what today’s couples are seeking in their vendors.
By meeting clients where they are—you demonstrate from the very first interaction that you understand their needs and are equipped to serve them effectively.
Templatize everything
In the fast-paced world of event planning, time is your most precious resource. One strategy that helps the CLAY Venues team maximize their efficiency is the strategic use of templates and templatizing different documents and processes like proposals, contracts, responses to questions, and more.
Here’s why they’ve made the switch:
1. Consistency in Client Experience
Templates ensure that every client receives the same high-quality information and experience, regardless of which team member they’re working with or how busy your season is. This consistency creates trust with clients and ensures no important details slip through the cracks.
2. Mental Space for Creativity
When routine communications are templatized, you free up mental bandwidth for the truly creative aspects of event planning. As Mac noted, “The more you’re able to trust your tools and systems as a member of your team, the more you’re going to free up and enable your on the ground team to do their best work.”
3. Flexibility Without Starting From Zero
Good templates don’t lock you into rigid communications. They provide a foundation that can be customized as needed. Becky and her team use templates with highlighted sections for personalization, allowing them to maintain efficiency while still creating tailored client experiences.
Don’t make it all or nothing
Even though templatizing might feel overwhelming, Becky and her team live by the “50% rule” — the idea that templatizing doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach. What this means is that just consider templatizing “50, if not more” of your daily tasks. That way, even if it’s not everything—you’ll still get time savings from the tasks you’ve made into templates.
Remember, you don’t need a perfect system—you just need to begin capturing and reusing your best work.
What to templatize first
Based on our conversation with the CLAY Venues, here are the highest-impact areas to begin your templatization journey:
- Inquiry Responses: Create templates for initial responses to new leads
- Proposals/Contracts: Develop core templates that can be quickly customized
- Follow-up Sequences: Design a simple sequence of emails for after consultations
- Common Client Questions: Create template responses for questions you answer repeatedly
As Mac summarized, “What you are already doing today is what you could be templatizing and systemizing and automating tomorrow. So just make the time, and block your calendar.”
Bring it all together: Your roadmap to a streamlined events business
Running an events business doesn’t have to mean constant chaos and burnout. As we’ve seen from Becky and Tomi, the right combination of automation, client-centered communication, and smart templates can transform how you operate.
So what’s the one thing you should take away from all this? Start small, but start now. You don’t need to revolutionize your entire business overnight. Begin with one automation, one template, or one new approach to meeting clients where they are. As Becky advises, “Just start somewhere.”
Remember that these systems aren’t just about efficiency—they’re about creating space for what truly matters in this industry: meaningful connections with your clients and the creative work that drew you to events in the first place. When your business runs smoothly behind the scenes, you have more energy to pour into creating exceptional experiences.
The CLAY Venues team has shown us that true success doesn’t require superhuman abilities or working around the clock. It simply requires being intentional about how you spend your time and energy, leveraging technology, and always keeping your clients’ experience at the center of everything you do.
Ready to learn more about reclaiming your time while delivering even better service to your clients? Check out the recording of the live class here.
