Posted by Mike Massie on January 29, 2010
Matt Stover preparing to place another one through the uprights. Photo courtesy Colts.com
So my old buddy Matt Stover is going to the Super Bowl again.
And, he’ll have the distinction of being the oldest NFL player ever to play in a Super Bowl game.
To be truthful, Matt and I haven’t spoken in years.
But, in the off-seasons prior to his 1999 and 2000 seasons with the Ravens, I had the privilege of helping Matt train his off leg for greater balance and increased kicking precision.
Those two seasons were break out seasons for Matt and the Ravens.
I’d like to believe I had a small role in that. Matt thought I did, and said so. I don’t take much credit though – there are a whole slew of professionals who work with pro athletes, and each one does their share to help out.
And, Matt’s the guy who did all the hard work, and the one with the golden leg. 
But the crazy thing is, I’d have never thought in a million years that I’d have *anything* to do with an NFL player going to the Super Bowl.
And it would have never happened if I’d listened to all the people who told me I was wasting my time with my dream of being a full-time martial arts instructor and school owner.
I thank God that He made me resilient (thank you, God).
And, when I’m watching the Colts play in the Super Bowl this year, I’ll be thinking to myself that I at least had a tiny little part in making that happen.
Have a great weekend, and go live your dreams.
Until next time,
Michael D. Massie
P.S.: Small Dojo Big Profits explains how I did it… in spite of all the people who said I couldn’t. Check it out if you need some guidance or inspiration.
Posted by Mike Massie on April 22, 2009
You may have them, but are you using them properly to generate new business?
Do you know what your biggest source of referrals is? You!
That’s right – you are (or, you should be) the number one source of referrals for your school.
Maybe you never thought about it that way, but if you’re not currently “referring” the people you meet everyday to your school, then there’s definitely something wrong with that picture.
Maybe you’re shy, lack confidence talking to people, you fear rejection, or just feel that you’ll be perceived as being “salesy” if you are constantly talking to people about your school.
Here’s my advice: Get over it.
Here’s why…
- You should be excited enough about your business to tell everyone you know exactly what you do and how it can benefit them. If you’re not, then you should seriously consider seeking another career. The fact is, from the moment you first decided to open a business, you entered the sales profession. Either get comfortable with the idea of selling face-to-face, or go get a job that doesn’t require personal selling.
- No one else is going to be as enthusiastic about your business… so who do you think will make the best sales person for your school?
- You are the face of your business. There’s a tremendous amount of leverage inherent there in your position as a martial arts instructor and business owner. Think about it… if the owner of a local upscale restaurant walked up to you in public and offered you a free table reservation and dinner – wouldn’t you be flattered? I know I would, and I’d be sure to take them up on it just as soon as possible.
Talking To People About Your Business, Made Easy: Massie’s “Three-Step Referral Marketing Method” For Attracting New Business To Your Martial Arts School
First off, think about how many people you interact with in your community on a daily basis. You meet people at the store, at restaurants, getting your car repaired… the list is endless. Each of these people represents a potential client – because, even if they aren’t interested in taking martial arts, they most likely know someone who does.
So, how do you approach someone to tell them about what you do? First, forget all the sales talk, and ditch any terms that the average person on the street wouldn’t be familiar with – it turns people off.
Of course, if someone asks you what you do, it’s okay to have a brief “elevator speech” prepared so you know what to say… but it shouldn’t come off as an elevator speech. Instead, it should be natural sounding, much like how you’d explain to your best friend what you do.
Here’s an example of what NOT to say:
“I’m Sensei/Sabumnim/Sifu/Guro Al Smith from Wasabi-Ryu Goshin-Jitsu Academy. I’m a godan in Wasabi-Ryu Goshin-Nin-Jitsu, which focuses on kansetsu waza and ne-waza from the Nine Hands Seven Fists Three Types of Horseradish school.”
You laugh… because you’ve either said or heard something very similar at some point in your martial arts career.
The Opener, Done Right
So, here’s an example of how to speak in a language most people can understand and relate to… the language more commonly known as WIIFM (“what’s in it for me”):
“Hi, I’m Jenny Smith. I teach martial arts classes that help people like me… I used to be overweight and afraid that I wouldn’t know what to do if I was attacked. So, I took up martial arts and kickboxing, and now I teach it to people who are like me that want to lose weight and learn self-defense.”
There’s your opener. Simple, just the facts, and with an interesting back story that is just enough to peak someone’s interest, without feeling like you’re pitching them on something.
Notice that there are no promises whatsoever in that little speech – just facts. Promises will automatically put people on the defensive, because they immediately sense that you’re trying to sell them something.
If you think about it, you really can’t promise anything to anyone, because you have no idea what they’ll do with your services. There’s no integrity there when you make promises you can’t deliver on in a conversation. So, avoid making promises when you are telling other people about your school.
The Next Step – Making A Genuine Connection
Now, the average person would take this opportunity and jump right into inviting your new prospect to your martial arts school.
And, that would be a mistake. The next step is to show the person you are speaking with that you have a genuine interest in their thing – whatever it is. So, now would be the time to ask them, “What do you do?”
Take this opportunity to ask them a few questions, and please, be sincere in your interest. If you don’t care about people enough to be genuinely interested in who they are and what they do, once again you should probably find another line of work.
Now, after you’ve shown you are actually interested in the person you are talking to, it’s time to invite them to your school.
Finally, The Invitation
Your next step after you’ve made a connection is the invitation. This is where you actually invite the person to your school.
It’s important to do this in a way that shows you like the person you are speaking with, and in a way that is both personal and without any pressure.
Here’s how you do it:
“Sam, I have to get going, but I’ll tell you what… here’s a card that’s good for one free month of classes at my school. Feel free to use it yourself or to give it to a friend. But, do me favor and hang on to it – it’s good for $150 worth of lessons and only my staff and students can give them out. You have my card, so feel free to call me if there’s anything I can do to help you with (whatever their thing is). Great talking to you!”
Easy, right? But no matter how easy or simple this seems, don’t underestimate the power of this Three-Step Referral Method. I personally have used this method to help build my school when I had almost no marketing budget to speak of, in a town where the previous martial arts school had all been “cut and run” operations.
Tip: You can use VistaPrint to quickly create custom business cards online. Click here to get started.
By going out, shaking hands, and putting a friendly, personal face on my school, I was able to change the image of what a martial arts school was about in that community. Further, I got to know a lot of people in my town, made some really strong connections, and ended up getting as many students from referrals as I did from my more traditional (and costly) marketing methods.
So, go get some cards printed up that have your business card on the front and a guest pass on the back and start shaking hands and meeting people in your community today.
You’ll be amazed at what this simple method does for your business.
Until next time,
Posted by Mike Massie on January 27, 2009
What exactly will you leave behind when you are through teaching martial arts?
“Have you ever wondered what your legacy will be when you stop teaching or doing martial arts?”
That’s a close approximation of the question I posed to the students and instructors in attendance during a recent black belt test I helped preside over. When I presented this question to the students who were taking the examination, I was admittedly surprised that my question seemed to garner the attention of the entire room.
Obviously, this is something that gives people pause, when they are confronted with their ever-present but not necessarily imminent mortality.
The question has been on my mind for many reasons, and I’ve given it a lot of thought recently. My motivations for puzzling out my own answers on the subject have to do partly with the fact that I’m reaching a point in my martial arts career where it’s time to start passing the bulk of my teaching responsibilities on to the next generation, and also partly with the fact that I simply think it’s an important question to ask yourself as an instructor.
And, I have to wonder… what is it exactly that I’ll have passed on during my time on the mat?
Seasons Change, And So Does Our Focus In Teaching Martial Arts
What do you want to be remembered for as a martial arts instructor?
There are a number of reasons why your focus changes as a martial arts instructor as the years go by. You might grow old (gracefully, we hope, as did Ueshiba and Funakoshi), you may face physical challenges (God forbid, nothing serious or life threatening, but the very real possibility of such a thing is something the pragmatic in me accounts for), your life situation may change, or you may simply have an epiphany regarding what you really want to accomplish during the remainder of your career.
The fact is, our instruction is a reflection of ourselves… our ethics and moral shortcomings, our knowledge and ignorance, our nobility and prejudices, our inner world turned right-side out.
Martial arts instructors tend to be iconic personalities, presenting an image to the world of what a martial arts sensei, sifu, sabumnim, guro, or coach is supposed to be. How ironic that our souls are laid bare on a daily basis through the lessons we attempt to transmit on the mat.
That such a reflection of our lives should be made public through the lessons we pass on to our students is not a thing that should be taken lightly. Still, it’s often something we give little thought to, all the while trudging through our classes as either lackluster automatons reminiscent of instructors long past, or perhaps, if we’ve executed the responsibilities of our chosen profession ideally, even as the source of inspiration for a younger, better generation of martial arts teachers.
At least, we hope that the latter is a challenge we’ve risen to meet before our time on the mat is done.
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Mike Massie is the author of Small Dojo Big Profits and runs a martial arts business coaching website for new instructors and small school owners, StartingAMartialArtSchool.com.
