Priorities

Posted by Mike Massie on July 21, 2009

If Ignorance Is Bliss, What Does Confusion Do For You?

Have you ever considered what your top priorities are as a new or aspiring martial arts school owner?

This is a topic that I’ve written about before, and I’m sure I’ll return to it again… probably because it’s something that new business owners confuse so often, and that confusion inevitably leads to disastrous consequences.

“And The Number One Priority For New Business Owners Is…”

This is something school owners get confused about - a lot. Too bad there aren't big huge road signs pointing the way to what you should really be focused on - which is getting new students!

Increasing revenues. Period. No two ways about it.

The hard cold facts of reality dictate that if you can’t pay your rent and your salary, you aren’t going to have your doors open for very long.

And, this is why I get so frustrated with school owners who think they can get by without spending money on marketing their schools.

Of course to me, it’s just counter-intuitive to think you can get new students and increase your enrollment without marketing.

But then again, over the last 15 years or so I’ve learned a thing or two. If I squint real hard and cross my eyes, I can actually remember a time when I thought just the act of starting a martial arts program was enough to attract students.

You know, like there was some sort of new-student-attraction-chi-energy that instructors possess that negates the need for having a good solid marketing plan in place. (And please, don’t contact me to tell me you have a chi kung exercise for that.)

Well, I quickly found out otherwise… and I’ve been learning how to market effectively ever since.

Having A High-Foot Traffic Location Isn’t What It Used To Be

The days of opening schools in high-foot-traffic areas (like shopping malls) and expecting that to be enough to fill your classes are long gone. Even if you can afford that sort of location (and if you can, why aren’t you just living off your trust fund like a good little trust fund baby?) there are too many activities to compete with these days to rely on foot traffic alone to fill your school.

You need more than just a big sign on the front of your building to capture the attention of your market… more than ever, you need multiple contacts with potential buyers to ensure that they pick up the phone or go online and contact you first when they are ready to enroll.

Sure, if you’re located next to the local grocery store, they’re going to see your school every time they need a gallon of milk or a carton of eggs… but what are the chances they’ll remember your name and phone number when they finally make the decision to enroll their kid in classes?

So, they are going to have to look you up online… BINGO!

That’s where your marketing still has to come into play, because if they find your competitor’s contact information online FIRST – guess which school gets the call?

Everything Else Is Just An Excuse For Having Crummy Marketing

While you may think your number one priority is teaching great classes, or making you sure you get that shiny new certification, or affiliating with the most reputable high-ranking instructors and organizations, or joining the latest “inner-secret-social-knitting-circle-and-business-mentorship group” – you’re dead wrong.

Sure, any of the above can make you a better instructor, help you pad your resume so you appear to be better qualified as an instructor, and shore up your ego… but they don’t count for much in the way of real, concrete actions that will help keep your doors open and grow your school.

In short, only revenue-building activities have any weight on the scales of your success or failure in business.

These revenue-building activities include:

1. Getting the phone to ring
2. Getting your email inbox overflowing with new leads
3. Getting new prospective students to walk through your front door
4. Converting a high percentage of your leads to memberships
5. Keeping a high percentage of the students you have enrolled

Now, students are always going to come and go – that’s a fact of life. No matter how dedicated they are, they move, get married, have kids, their job responsibilities change, etc.

So, you need to make getting a constant flow of new students through your front door your #1 priority.

Such A Simple Concept… So Why Do People Keep Getting It Confused?

I know, it seems so simple. So, why people keep getting it confused is anyone’s guess.

Of course, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the monthly mash-up of random martial arts management ideas that’s delivered to the front door of every school owner on the planet every month… would it?

Nah, it couldn’t be that.

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For a simple-to-follow, easy-to-implement, just-what-you-need-to-succeed, including done-for-you-every-month marketing, martial arts business coaching program that’s under $20 bucks a month, click here.

For set-it-and-forget-it local online marketing on a $200 a month or less budget, click here.

Martial Arts Referral Marketing Made Easy – Massie’s Three-Step Method

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…

1. 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.
2. 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?
3. 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,

Martial Arts Business Daily Launches

Posted by Mike Massie on January 14, 2009

Reading biased martial arts journalism day after day is more tiresome than seeing your students tie their belts improperly, despite your continued objections...

January 2009 is ringing in a new era for martial arts business journalism with the launch of MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com.

More than just a talking piece for martial arts industry special interests, the site aspires to become a true hub for martial arts business information, ideas, and news on the internet.

Please check back often and feel free to subscribe to our RSS feed to stay up-to-date on all our newly added content and commentary.