The Art of the Season Build: Lessons Learned on Building a Season in Your Ticketing System

It’s that time of year again. As you finish up your attendance reports for this past weekend’s many performances, an email arrives to your inbox titled ‘2025-26 Season Performance Schedule: For Staff Eyes Only.’

You hurriedly click on the email and are delighted to see that some of your favorite artists are returning next year. You identify the shows that you know will be audience favorites and run quick Google searches on the titles you haven’t heard of before. Then, the anxiety hits. You need to build this season in your ticketing system!

Don’t panic, you’ve got this. Trust in your well-earned experience and ability to learn more about the CRM.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned throughout the years building seasons for many different organizations. I hope these will help you focus on the task at hand.

Lesson 1: Create a Schedule

A clear understanding of the roadmap to build your season will reduce stress along the way.

Plot out the season schedule on your calendar or on a spreadsheet and identify milestones. Know the timing of your on-sale dates, when you will need to mail out tickets, when promotions will occur, and other key moments in the schedule. From there, you can identify the critical path of your build and back out the timeline of when tasks need to be finished.

Sometimes, we don’t have all the information at hand. Mapping out the knowns and unknowns on the timeline can be vital to identify what can be done now. For example, if you are unsure of your single ticket on-sale date, you can work to set up your subscriber rollover and pricing while you await more information. Having a solid timeline for your season build is also helpful when communicating deadlines for decision-makers.

Lesson 2: Set Goals

We’ve all been asked last-minute questions during the season: Who came to the performance? What kinds of tickets were purchased? How did people hear about the show? Be proactive and identify these questions ahead of time so you can plan your season build accordingly.

For example, do you need to report on the total discounted revenue for a production run, or do you need to be more specific and break that down by group sales, one-off promotions, and ongoing community discounts? Aligning your setup with anticipated, key data reports will save you time and energy later in the season.

Lesson 3: Know Your Team

It should give you comfort to know that you are not alone in this!

Identify who will be responsible for various components of the season build. Who is going to provide the artwork and copy to place on the purchasing path? Who is setting the budget and pricing for the performances? Who do you go to with questions on seat quality and expectations for the audience experience? Who else on your box office team can assist on elements of the build?

Brainstorm a list of your project team and start a dialogue with them. Coffee and donuts go a long way!

Lesson 4: Identify the Change

Remember, you rarely need to start from scratch! What can be copied over from last year’s build, and what is new or different from previous seasons? Are there new seating configurations, pricing & scaling, or new membership benefits being implemented this year?

Studying the past setup will give you a great foundation to start and ensure consistency year over year. Of course there is always room for improvement, so build on efficiencies from past seasons. It will make your work life easier mid-season.

Lesson 5: Plan for Contingencies

Expect the unexpected!

Make a list of all the challenges that could happen in a season and create a plan on how to address them. Talk to your artistic and production teams about integral considerations like potential sound and sightline issues in the hall or where you might want to hold seats off from sale until you have a better idea of how the production will unfold.

Chat with different department heads about their anticipated seat holds for donors, marketing trades, press, and company VIPs. Review documentation about what parts of the season build are easily changeable and what would require significant effort.

Above all, plan for how you would communicate changes to your audience.

Final Thoughts

My career in box offices at performing arts organizations across the country has taught me these lessons. Many of them I learned the hard way. You may also learn tough lessons as you work through the season build but remember to be kind to yourself and roll with the punches. You’ve got this!

Let us know if we can help! Here at JCA, we have experts who can help you build your performance season in your ticketing system. Whether you need training to get you up to speed, advice on the process, or another set of hands in the system, we’ve got your back.