How Professional Is Your School?

Posted by Mike Massie on June 29, 2010

The Only Job Security For Martial Art School Owners

Even the youngest students expect a level of professionalism from their instructors. Remember, children will express their views and opinions to their parents, and such conversations often influence parent's buying decisions.

Here’s a question for you…

How professional is your school?

This is an area that is typically ignored or taken for granted in martial arts schools, yet I have observed it to be a pivotal factor in the success of many, many schools.

So, here are some areas where you may consider evaluating and improving the level of professionalism in your school.

Doing so could very well pay off for you in increased enrollments and word-of-mouth referrals.

Facilities

The next time you walk into your school, make a point of looking at it with fresh eyes. Look at it from the perspective of someone who is walking in for the first time evaluating the facility as a potential customer. What would they think?

In my experience, few school owners pay particular attention to the cleanliness and orderliness of their schools. This is a huge mistake. The way your school looks (and smells) is a big part of how people perceive your facility.

In my first school, it was admittedly not in the best location. We had no external doors or windows, it was at the end of a long hallway, and the space was more or less a warehouse facility. Also, I had fixed the place up using a lot of secondhand and bargain basement building materials, which resulted in mismatched floor tiles, and a “DIY” appearance on the fit and finish of the interior.

So, we took great pains to keep the place as clean as possible. I’ll never forget the time when we had a female guest instructor teaching, and she walked out of the restroom with a surprised look on her face. “That’s the cleanest bathroom I have ever seen in a martial arts school,” she stated.

The point here is that, even if you don’t have the best facilities, you can still make a good impression by keeping them as clean as possible. Also, a fresh coat of paint on the walls once or twice a year and replacing old and worn equipment is a must. If it’s dirty, clean it. If it’s old and worn, replace it. Look at everything in your school with fresh eyes at least once a week, make a list of what needs cleaned, repaired, and replaced, and knock it out immediately.

Procedures

Do you answer the phone professionally… every time you answer? Are visitors promptly welcomed as they walk in the door? Do you return phone calls promptly the same day you receive a voice message? Do you even have a list of procedures to follow that outline how to take a new student from their first contact with the school through the entire enrollment process?

Having protocols and procedures in place are what make the difference between amateurs and professionals. Amateurs wing it, while professionals know exactly what to do at every step of the way, because they have a procedure, protocols, and contingency plans in place that they’ve memorized and practiced until they become second nature.

Customers can tell when you’re winging it. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been calling martial arts schools in my area while performing a competitive analysis in certain areas of my city. And, I’m amazed at the fact that 50% of the schools I call don’t answer their phones, while the other 50% do not have any basic phone sales training at all. That’s right – NONE of the schools I have called knew a thing about setting appointments and selling over the phone.

So, imagine what would happen if just one of them put professional protocols and procedures in place. I can assure you, they’d quickly outdistance their competition and increase their market share dramatically.

Be professional. Have professional procedures and protocols in place that cover everything from answering the phones to handling students professionally who are withdrawing from classes. All other things being equal, what separates you from your competitors is how professionally your clients are treated. Over time, this WILL make a huge difference in the volume of your referrals in your community.

Policies

How well do you treat your clients? Do you have posted policies regarding membership agreements, late fees, cancellations, and attendance? Are you of your word when it comes to enforcing those policies equally across the board? Do you treat every student fairly and without bias or preference based on your posted company policies?

Your company’s policies are part of the agreement you make with your customers that says, “I’ll provide ‘x’ service for you, you’ll pay me ‘y’ in return, and if ‘z’ comes up this is how you can expect us to handle it.” Having such policies in place assures the client that you intend to treat them fairly should things go awry, and it also lets them know what they can expect when the unexpected occurs.

Ask yourself, for instance:

• Is it fair to make someone pay the balance on their membership if they move to another town due to a change of employment?
• Would you want to continue paying for martial arts lessons if you were permanently disabled due to illness or injury?
• If you were the student, would you like to have the option to make up classes missed due to illness or vacation by attending extra classes during the weeks following the missed classes?
• Were you the student, would you appreciate having a three-day grace period before late fees were incurred on late tuition payments?
• If you were the student, would you appreciate having the NSF fees waived on the first occurrence of a check or EFT payment being returned or rejected for non-sufficient funds?

Such policies give the student the benefit of the doubt. In addition, having policies such as these posted in your school conveys the message that, while you do have policies in place to prevent unethical customers taking advantage of the school, you also have the customer’s well-being in mind. “Firm but fair” is a good attitude to have when it comes to drafting and implementing your company’s policies.

In Closing

Professionalism is the result of  expertise, experience, competence, caring, and consistency in action.

And while any amateur can hang out a shingle and start a school, the professional instructor is one who emphasizes excellence in every aspect of their school’s operations. Elevating your school to the level of such excellence will take you a long way toward securing your financial future as an instructor.

Be excellent at what you do, because professionalism is job security for martial art school owners.

Making Black Belt Too Easy

Posted by Mike Massie on June 2, 2010

How To Get Small-Dojo-Big-Profits In Hard Copy At A Discount…

Real quick before I get into today’s article – I have a limited number of Small-Dojo-Big-Profits business system manuals in hard copy that I am selling at a discount. There is nothing wrong with these manuals, other than the printer messed up the shrink wrapping .

Normally hard copies of the manual go for $149. I’m selling these half-off at $77 + $5 for shipping.

I only have a few copies, once they’re gone, they’re gone…

Click here to order

Sorry, the books sold out quick. If you want to buy it at the regular price, check out the Small Dojo Big Profits website.

Now, on to today’s post:

The Dangers of Making Things Too Easy

What happens when you give students a black belt on a silver platter? All you have to do is look at our industry for the last 25 years to see..

Are you struggling with balancing retention versus quality in your school? I know I have in the past, and it makes things even harder when you’re worried about paying your bills and making rent each month.

But is there really any need to worry about this issue? For years, “experts” in the mainstream industry have told us that the reason why martial arts schools lose students is because they make things too hard and students don’t feel like they’re progressing.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the next century… we started seeing public interest in new trends in the martial arts… namely:

• Grappling
• Reality-Based Self Defense
• Mixed Martial Arts

At least based on the information I get from networking with school owners locally and across the nation, interest in these market niches is at an all-time high in our industry.

Yet, you don’t have to do much research to see that adults are flocking to grappling, MMA, and reality-based self defense programs by the droves… I think we can all agree on that.

But Here’s The Funny Thing…

Now, think about this for a second – there’s nothing easy about participating in those types of programs. Moreover, in arts that exist within these niches, rank is a secondary consideration to training and learning… exactly the way it should be in every martial art.

Case in point – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Sure, every once in a while you hear about a BJ Penn or a Lloyd Irvin getting their black belt in three or four years. But those are extremely rare cases. For the most part, it takes the average student as long to get their first belt in BJJ as it does to get a black belt in the average tae kwon do school (not in my school, but we’re not the norm, either).

What gives? For more than 20 years, hasn’t the mainstream industry encouraged martial arts school owners to make the “black belt” the beat-all end-all goal in your school, in order to increase retention and to encourage students to stick around for the long haul?

If that’s the case, why is it that BJJ schools are seeing record enrollment numbers and interest among that most elusive of markets – the adult segment?

And, lest you blame this all on the UFC craze, let me draw your attention to all the Israeli martial arts schools and reality-based MMA and JKD schools that are doing extremely well in this economy. Once again, rank is secondary to training in those programs.

There Must Be An Explanation For This

Oh there is, believe me. You see, we are living in an information age, a time when the average person can go to Google and research anything they want… when anyone can go online and in just a few keystrokes find out what other people think about anything and everything.

The exchange of information is tremendous… and this has led to a consumer who is more educated than ever before.

That includes pubic opinion about which martial arts are best for self-defense, for children, for women… you get the picture. And, the result of 26 years of commercial karate and tae kwon do schools handing out belts like candy has resulted in a public perception that they are just for kids.

So How Did We Get Here?

Folks, it’s no coincidence that I’m writing this article just before the major motion picture release of The Karate Kid remake. Certainly, this movie will spark interest in traditional martial arts training among young people (or maybe just kung fu schools – who knows?)

However, the question we need to be asking ourselves is whether we want to continue to make the same mistakes that were made in our industry over the last three decades. You know… following the tremendous influx of children that entered martial arts schools after the release of The Karate Kid in 1984.

Money makes people in our industry do some stupid things, not the least of which is watering down a martial art for mass consumption in pursuit of profit.

So, How Do We Fix This Negative Perception?

Not that I’m saying you should change your kids curriculum so you’re teaching children like little adults…

However, I am suggesting that we place the emphasis in our schools on training and learning, instead of little pieces of cloth that don’t mean much without the skill to back them up.

And, let the public know that your school focuses on training, not selling belts. At the very least, maybe we can educate the public about how to know the difference between a “black belt factory” and a serious martial arts school.

Do you agree? Disagree?

Let’s hear it! Post your comments and opinions below – I’d like to know what you think.

Why You Really Need To Market Your School Online

Posted by Mike Massie on March 18, 2010

Research Shows The Vast Majority Of Local Shoppers Research Online Before Buying

This is how local consumers in your area are finding martial arts schools these days. The question is... are they finding your school or your competitors when they do their shopping research online?

It’s no secret to my readers and newsletter subscriber’s that I have a web marketing firm that provides web design and local SEO for small businesses.

That’s why I consider it my business to stay on top of online marketing trends. The good news about that for you is, I get to share that information with the martial arts business industry at large via my martial arts business blogs and websites.

In the last several years, one of the more obvious trends I’ve been following is the shift among consumers from doing offline consumer research to doing their research online before making a buying decision.

This is a trend that has been in the makings since the internet fully debuted way back in the 1990’s. But over the last year, it appears that the transition has reached full acceptance among the vast majority of consumers.

It’s true… according to this recent report regarding consumer behavior, 90% of local shoppers look online first before they buy:

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007566

This just goes to show that now it’s more important than ever for martial arts schools to have a strong online marketing presence.

Which, incidentally, is something I’ve been telling you for the past several years.

Why hasn’t anyone else been hammering this stuff home to you?

I would speculate it’s because the people writing articles in the industry publications wanted to make sure they got to jump on the online marketing bandwagon first…

Don’t Worry – It’s Never Too Late To Improve Your Marketing

But while you may find yourself showing up late to the party, it’s still not too late to start marketing online.

However, if you want to get ahead of your competitors who are already established, you have to do it right.

That means:

• Having a well-optimized website and that integrates social media marketing right on the site.
• And, one that ranks high in the local search engine results and that converts traffic to leads.

If you don’t have a site like this set up yet, get on it fast – the window is closing to get the jump on the rest of the competition and to move to the front of the pack in the new frontier of online marketing.

One Final Tip – Make Sure You Own Your Online Marketing

One last thing – if you’re considering using the online yellow pages as your primary online marketing method… stop!

You’re much better off spending that money on getting your own website and making sure it ranks high in the search engine results.

Here’s why:

• First off, you don’t own any listing you purchase on someone else’s website. So, you really have no control over the results you get from it – basically, by not owning your online marketing presence, you are leaving your livelihood at the mercy of someone else.
• Second, you have to keep paying for that listing to keep reaping the benefits from it. On the other hand, once you pay to have a good marketing website developed and ranked in the search engines, you’re pretty much done spending money on it (unless you’re in a highly competitive market – then it might be wise to spend some of your ad budget each month on search engine marketing).

Regardless, you own that website for life once it’s paid for (unless you do something foolish like signing up for a website service where you pay a monthly fee for a site you don’t own – which results in your paying over and over again for something you could have already owned many times over).

So, if you don’t already have a decent marketing website for your school that ranks high in the search engine results, get on it immediately. There’s not doubt that shoppers are using the internet as the primary means by which they research products and services before they buy.

The only question is – can they find your school online when they are researching martial arts schools in your area? The answer to that question will determine whether or not your school is still here in years to come.

The Crisis Threatening Traditional Values In The Martial Arts

Posted by Mike Massie on January 21, 2010

…And What I Plan To Do About It

For nearly all my adult life, I've taught martial arts professionally and operated full-time martial arts schools... so I know EXACTLY what challenges you face, day in and day out.

Yesterday, I told you that the only way to preserve traditional martial arts values in this industry is for like-minded instructors band together.

I’d like you to know, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do through the Martial Art School Alliance International.

But before I tell you how we’re doing that, I feel it’s important to explain to you how I ended up launching this huge project (which has taken me the better part of a year to realize) and how exactly that can benefit you as a school owner.

“Oh No… Not Another Damn Consulting Company!”

Sorry for the strong language, but back when I was just running my schools, do you know how tired I got of people in the industry trying to get into my wallet?

Sure you do – because you probably feel the same way. And that’s why, ten years ago, I could have never, ever imagined myself doing what I do now… running a popular martial arts business blog, providing online coaching to hundreds of school owners, and helping new school owners find their way through a minefield of conflicting information and advice.

The thing is, I didn’t get in this for the money… in fact, I never meant to get in this thing at all. This all started out with me writing a martial arts business manual about doing business honestly and with common-sense fiscal values. But, it ended up with me becoming a weekly advice columnist for thousands of martial arts school owners and instructors.

Why The Martial Art School Alliance?

Not that I’m complaining… and to tell you the truth, I really don’t mind it at all. While I never intended to become a business coach, I have to say I enjoy helping school owners succeed.

But I never intended to do this full-time, even after it took off. So once I started getting a lot of requests for advice and business guidance, I knew I’d have to find a way to deliver information on a mass scale soon… else I’d be spending all my time working with individual clients and I’d never have a life.

Funny thing about that… did you know that there’s a lot more money in doing one-on-one consulting?

Sure, I could make a killing charging people for “consulting packages” (what I call prolonging your pain – consultants make a lot more money when they take a roundabout route to helping you solve your problems).

So, why don’t I do that?

Number one – and I’m being perfectly honest here – I don’t believe that it’s an efficient use of my time. Second, I value my time dearly, and quite frankly most school owners who need solid business advice can’t afford to pay my hourly rates.

So, I figure it’s better for both me and the school owners I help each month to deliver information on a mass scale at a very reasonable price. They get what is very nearly personalized coaching at a fraction of the cost, and I get to go hang out at the bookstore or with my wife any day and time of the week I please. It’s a win-win, all the way around.

So, now you can see why I created the MASAI site, and why I felt it was worth investing the last nine months of my life to realize.

Was It Worth It?

Heck yes. I’d have to say that this project has been as rewarding as promoting one of my students to black belt, if not more so.

And truthfully, I am darn proud of the results. As of today we have nearly 100 information-packed articles and dozens upon dozens of ad templates and resource documents on the site. In addition, I spend considerable time answering questions on our forums, and frequently respond with new content that specifically answers questions our members have posted on the boards.

The great thing is, our members are also more than willing to help each other out by sharing advice and information on the boards. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to answer a member’s request for advice only to find three or four of our members have beat me to the punch.

They’re a great group of people, and it just goes to show what a strong community we’re building through this organization.

Future Plans – Where MASAI Is Headed

One of the issues that’s been bothering me for the last few years is my concern with where the martial arts industry is headed. It seems like every year, we get further and further away from our traditional values, and move more and more toward becoming an industry without a soul or conscience.

“It seems like every year, we get further and further away from our traditional values, and move more and more toward becoming an industry without a soul or conscience.”

Well, I’m not okay with that – at all. And, after reading your responses from last week’s poll, I can’t just stand idly by without doing something about it.

That’s why I’m making it a point to make MASAI a haven for instructors who want to preserve their traditional values while still embracing the future.

You see, there’s just no way we can ignore the sweeping social, economic, and technological trends that are going on around us at breakneck speeds each day. To do that would kill the industry just as surely as abandoning our traditional values would.

Even so, I still strongly believe we need to preserve the heritage of traditional values in the martial arts. And, I believe that the best way to do that is to help like-minded martial arts instructors to be financially successful by providing the highest quality of martial arts business advice possible.

“The best way to do (preserve traditional martial arts values) is to help like-minded martial arts instructors to be financially successful by providing the highest quality of martial arts business advice possible.”

And that’s where MASAI is headed.

We’re Not “Anti-MMA” – We’re Just “Pro-Tradition”

Don’t be mistaken, we’re not trying to “fight” MMA. In fact, I there’s a lot I like about it and I openly encourage MMA instructors to join MASAI. Besides, like it or not, MMA is here to stay.

Moreover, there are a lot of instructors out there who actually want to teach MMA with traditional values; if anything, I want to see more of that, and to support those instructors.

On the other hand, we’re not going to be abandoning our member’s core values just to make a buck; that’s because we’re here to serve our members and to help them preserve the integrity of the industry.

My ultimate goal is to run an organization that is progressive enough to stay ahead of trends, while still staying true to the martial arts industry’s traditional roots.

Of course, I don’t have any delusions about how big this thing can get… I believe that 400 or 500 members is all we’ll ever see as far as growth and membership is concerned.

However, 400 – 500 like-minded martial artists banded together can accomplish a great deal with regards to preserving a legacy for generations to come. That’s my vision, and if you’d like to be a part of it I invite you to join us to be a part of that vision.

Now That You Know How MASAI Came About…

Does it sound like something that you can get behind? I hope so, because with every school that joins we grow stronger, and better able to serve our members.

And in case you’re curious, I’m not asking for much with regards to membership fees (less than the cost of a cup of coffee from your local convenience store each day). And that’s despite the fact that I’ve been told over and over again to raise the membership fees to double, triple, or more that what we’re charging.

But, I want the site to be accessible to all martial arts instructors, even those who are just starting out. And let me be honest about this – we can still deliver quite a lot with regards to business guidance and information, marketing and advertising assistance, and ongoing daily support without charging an arm and a leg for membership.

The Bottom Line…

The bottom line is, this isn’t about me – it’s about you and what your values are. So, I hope you become involved, and also invite others to join in order to help us grow.

Because one thing is certain; if martial arts instructors don’t band together to preserve the traditional values of the martial arts, this industry is going to look entirely different in five or ten years…

…and I have a strong suspicion neither one of us will like how it looks.

Is Resistance A Good Thing?

Posted by Mike Massie on October 27, 2009

Have you ever experienced this?

You make a seemingly insignificant change in your martial art school operations… maybe it’s a small change in your schedule, or you change the fee structure, or you change your hours, or you hire a new instructor to help you out with the class load.

Regardless of what it is you’ve changed, you suddenly are on the receiving end of a ton of resistance from your students. All at once, it seems like everyone is complaining and your students on the verge of mutiny…

Resistance Is A Common Occurrence In Businesses Like Ours

Sometimes it may feel like you're getting resistance from out of nowhere, but you should view it as a positive thing.

I see this often with the people I provide online business coaching to on my member site. They start off following some of my advice, notice some growth in their school, and then they start implementing the ideas and advice they get from me left and right.

Before long their school is growing at a much more rapid pace. Out of necessity, they find themselves in the position of having to change some policies here and there to accommodate the growth. And that’s when it happens…

Suddenly, the grumblers and complainers show up. If you run a school, I’m sure you know the type. They are the first and loudest to complain about everything, no matter how good your overall customer service and actual classroom instruction may be at the time.

Now, there’s a reason why we’re more likely to hear this sort of grumbling and complaining directly. In businesses like ours (including martial arts schools, gymnastics centers, personal training facilities, boot camps, dance schools, and so on) we tend to develop our business relationships with our clients on a very personal level.

That’s not to say you should get personal with every single client; on the contrary, the more professional (yet friendly) you keep your business relationship, the less likely you are to be on the brunt of this type of abuse from your clients when you have to alter your policies.

Enter The High-Maintenance Client…

Even so, there is a certain type of client that seems to suck the life out of a school. These are what I call “high-maintenance students.” They’re sort of like driving an old British sports car – you do derive some benefit from the experience, but the frequent problems that constantly require your attention make it almost not worth the trouble.

They tend to be only a small percentage of your enrollment, but they can take up the bulk of your time and energy… if you allow it.

In previous articles I’ve discussed how these types are a cancer in your school, and how it may be your best policy to find a polite way to fire these types of clients (read The 4-Hour Work Week by sometime MMA practitioner and full-time globe hopper Tim Ferriss for more on this topic).

However, what I’d like to discuss with you today is that when this happens, it is a good thing – a very good thing. Let me explain what I mean…

Here’s The Paradigm Shift: Resistance Is A Sign Of Good Things To Come!

That’s right… think about it a second and it’s not all that hard to reach that conclusion. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Complaints are a result of Resistance
2. Resistance comes from Fear
3. Fear comes from Change
4. Change is a (necessary) result of Growth

And, growth means your school is showing definite signs of health. This must mean that, when you meet with resistance, it’s a good thing – because good things are happening in your school!

Look, people are always going to complain and grumble when things change. It’s a fact of being in business, so get used to it. And, you know what I’ve found about this? When you simply reply with, “That’s our policy… now, is there something else I can help you with?” in a very matter-of-fact, unapologetic manner it tends to squash it in short order.

Sure, some of those people will leave; but then again, that’s the nature of the business, too. Students leave all the time for all sorts of reasons, most of which have nothing to do with being disgruntled. So, if a few grouchy students leave of their own accord – well, that just means the issue resolved itself, right?

And chances are good that those students will be replaced by others who don’t complain about every little policy change you make… which is yet another positive thing.

You see, resistance really is a good thing.